I just bought an 88 SE 5 speed and the shifter in it is extremely sloppy. By "sloppy" i mean that it is hard to find gears sometimes because the shifter is so loose. The guy i bought it from said something about there being a missing pin or something. I would assume this is a linkage problem/bad bushing or something of that nature. But im not really sure as i am not aware of what the business end of the shifter is supposed to look like. Is this a re-occuring problem in most 7's? Please help.

p.s. I feel retarded for asking this question, but, What year(s) are considered an s4? I used to know but i quickly forgot when i sold my first 7.

 

86-88 is S4 if I am not mistaken. I just bought a JDM S4 TII engine and trans and the shifter in it never returns to center, just bounces around. The gears are there, but if your not in one the shifter will flop all over the place.

 

1986-1988 is referred to as Series 4, S4.

You shifter needs new businngs. Here's a good place to get them:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/g4.htm

There is a spring that returns the shifter to center. You can't access the cover to the shift change box without lowering the transmission. Most people just get used to the shifter not returning to center.

 

Awesome! Thanks guys!! Thanks for the link AE. I actually just ordered a set of bushings from them. As far as the spring goes, im gonna have the engine out hopefully tonight so i will take a look at it then. Thanx again

 

^ You dont need to have the motor out to drop the tranny.

 

Actually there is a pin in the shifter... Alot of people tend to overlook it as a problem... The surefire way to tell the difference, is bad bushings will cause the shifter to feel sloppy, hard to find gears, and it'll even flop all the way to one side... If the pin is missing you'll be able to fully rotate your shifter in the housing...

 

+1
i've pulled out just the tranny with the car on jackstands and a tranny jack
engine does NOT have to come out

 

Sounds like a broken spring in the shifter housing, bad bushings( upper and lower), and most likely an overly worn rubber shifter boot. If you unbolt the shifter and remove it you will most likely see all of the above. If so, go to mazadatrix.com buy new bushings and rubber boots. This should fix a ton of the sloppiness. If the spring is cracked and you feel like fixing it have fun. Then you get to take apart the linkage.

 

go with a mazdatrix short shifter, you will be fine.

 

Installing a short shifter will eliminate the wobble?

 

if the guy can't find the gears, then most likely its the roll pin!!