Ever since I bought my S4, my shifter was insanely loose. I could twist it around, lift it a few inches in my hand, and just have to throw the hell out of that shifter to change gears. Not anymore!

When I opened the assembly, I saw that I was missing basically everything I needed down there. Bushings, springs, you name it.


Here's what I did:

I went to the local pick-a-part trying to find some old FC's. None. No FB's either. I stumbled upon an old Mazda truck (B2000) and noticed it was FR like the 7. I took apart the shifter, and lo-and-behold, exact same shifter setup. I nabbed the bushings and the springs, went home, installed the bottom one underneath, squeezed the top bushing overtop of the ball, and bam, done.

AMAZING difference. Shifts are shofter, smoother, gearshift vibrates very little, and less noise through gearshift area. Very good change for a $5 set of bushings and a half an hour of labor.

 

Glad you fixed it, but a better solution would've been to spend a few bucks on new bushings from Mazda or Mazdatrix like most people do.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/shiftbsh.htm

 

yeah, and make sure that by you twisting it you didn't mess up or loosen the shift linkage.

 

Hey, go easy on the phr00t-dude. He's just displaying the kind of ingenuity needed to keep our cars going and our wallets from bleeding out. There are times (most of the time) when I can't afford shipping- much less new parts... You just need to be able to tell if the part is worn out or not. Thanks for the tip, Phr00t.

 

Just test drove a FC3C for my dad and this car had the same problem. The shifter bounced around and was rediculously loose. Bushings to blame?

 

Yes, just take the shifter out and check the bushings out to see what condition they are in.

 

Dont forget to put oil in there to will make it 20 times smoother than with just bushings.

 

this thread is great! i traded a guy a computer today for an 86 RX and the shifter was as loose as a hooker's ****. I will have my mech put a new one in for me.

 

you can do it yourself in about 10-15 minutes once you get the bushings, i found mine for like 30 shipped off ebay. makes the shifts smoother and easier. worth the 30 bucks i spent on them

 

anyone know how to change the oil in the shift tower? i know how to pour it in, obviously, but how do you get the old stuff out? syphon?

 

Wow, I'm surprised you found a vehicle with good bushings in it... those things disintegrate faster than chewable tylenol. Kudos!

To get the oil out try a turkey baster(?) Haven't tried it but I bet it would work.

Bushings are definitely worth the time and money!!! It will significantly improve your shifting.

 

Anything you can use to suck it out. If you can't find anything to remove the old, just top it up with some new stuff. (Ideally, you should buy something to get the old junk out though.)