finally found a quick fix for the sloppy shifter
 

my shifter had gotten so sloppy that it was starting to lock up... i popped it off and realized... hey... why dont i just wedge something between the cap and the pivit point? i lubed it up and wedged about a 1/2 inch piece of old airpump hosing in there and bolted it all back up. problem solved. shifts like new again.

a little quick fix that costs nothing just in case anyone else wants to fix there sloppy shifter.

Now how long will it last. You can get a full bushing kit for like $20 and fix it for good. Or at least for the next 100k-150k miles

Airpump hose will break down when is contact with the gear oil . This will happen very quickly. You will be trying to get chunks of hose and black goop out of the trans shifter housing shortly. You really should just buy the nylon busings and fix it correctly.

its just a little piece to keep the shifter from lifting up and down like an inch when you pull on it. theres barely any heavy contact with it. i soaked it in wd-40 for a couple hours, not gear oil.

But the trans has gear oil in it....

If your shifter moves this much the bushings have to be totally shot.
Or, the shift shaft is coming apart.

I would say the shaft is loose. when I replaced my bushings they were gone. nothing there bbut a broken spring and it only moved up and down abt 1/2 in.

Thats cool if it works i guess, but I would feel much better just springing for the whole 7 bucks or whatever I paid for some brand new shifter bushings.

oh really? a piece of rubber with a bit of wd40 on it wont hurt anything.

anyway... this is just a free fix and i dont see how it would hurt anything. if the OEM pieces break down and fall into the transmission i dont see how this will be any different.

since i know now for sure that my shifter problems are all solved by this general area where i put the hose piece im going to rig up a spring to hold it in place rather than rubber.

Well you see now you have metal to metal contact now and now there is actually a mild amount of pressure on it, dependant on how much gear oil is in there you may mess up your shifter, just a hypothesis but i think there are bushings there for a reason.

there is no gear oil in there! its the shifter.... damn people.... i put a thin rubber ring between the mounting plate and the pivot ball part of the shift lever. thats all. i did not pour wd40 inside the transmission. im not an idiot. there is almost no pressure on the "bushing" mocked up so its not going to disinigrate into the transmission.

even though the manual says put gear oil in the shifter.. umm i dont bother the oil doesnt go anywhere and its not worth eatting my bushings up over.. i grease everything and put just a tiny bit of gear oil in the oil eats the nylon bushings... i have the nicest shifter on any fc i have felt. everyone elses is eaten up. or just feeling nasty. mine is nice and crisp

But there SHOULD be gear oil, and if there isnt then the metal on your shifter will get eaten up even quicker. and yes, the nylon bushings even desintegrate over time and fall into the tranny and your used rubber hose will do so even faster.The parts for me were only $13 from mazda to replace. Two bushings and 2 springs, thats all you really need to have a nice feel.