LittleCon

i started a thread last night about my new car. In which i mentioned than my shifter seem "clunky" and i had a hard time quickly selecting gears. FirstRotaryExp gave me alot of help in how to disasemble the shifter and all that, but now im stuck.

Im not sure what exactly im looking for (obviously a bushing, but which?)

FirstRotaryExp also mentioned refilling the shifter area with fresh gear oil, pretty straight forword, but i was just wondering if anyone had any tips on how i should get the old oil out

anyway, heres some pics (the whole thing looks like one big mess)

Icemark

From your pictures, the lower bushing is gone, but the top one is still there and fine.

So you could replace the lower bushing as well as all the boots and be just fine.

All your shift boots are wasted and need to be replaced.

t-too

I would replace of your bushings, its pretty cheap and its worth it to order them all at the same time. I'd also drain and refill the gear oil, or at least top it off. If you dont want to order from mazdatrix.com, you can buy two of the same bushing from Mazda(they only have one kind for some reason, i think they carry the upper bushing only). I agree, the boots are pretty important to replace as well, but it sucks because theyre pretty spendy for how simple a part they are. It looks like your centering spring is broken too, thats why your shifter falls to the left instead of resting in the middle. Not important and not worth replacing for all the work- I just thought i'd point it out.

wrankin

What Icemark said. You probably need to replace your shifter bushings.

Goto the following site for enlightenment: http://www.mazdatrix.com/

Mazda will claim that there is no lower shifter bushing. It is not in their parts fiche. They claim that the FB and FD trannies had two bushings, but the FC only had one. From the number of people who have open up their trannies and found no lower bushing, this is entirely plausable. But everyone seems to agree that the Mazdatrix kit with the two bushings seems to work well.

You definitely need new boots around the shifter handle.

Suck out all the garbage in the shifter reservoir and replace with fresh fluid - see the Mazdatrix site for specifics.

-b

LittleCon

i understand i need to replace the boots and bushing(s). i got that

but my problem is .... where exactly are they? im guessing the bushing im pointing to in my last picture is the 'top' bushing, right? But now theres a bottom one too?? lol wheres that?

and is there a drain plug for the gear oil or something?

also the 'centering spring' wheres that? and how is it replaced

sorry if this is hard to understand, im still new to all this and im just trying to get by.

thanks for all the help! i apriciate it

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

the lower bushing is just that, it rests on the area in your sixth picture, the ledge just beneath the lil point yoru shifter groove resides in. The old bushing material needs to be removed and teh new one installed in the same location, and be sure to line up the lil grooved section with the pointer thingy(its teh **** that i cant remember the name of.) The top bushing just slides right off and shouldnt be put back on until that plate is removed and teh new is installed, which is done by just carefully sliding the shifter back in form beneath, going slow so you dont rip the new rubber it comes with. The new mazda plate section should have a new gasket already sealed to its underside so all you should have to do is put in the spring that it is supplied with, then teh bushing, then the lower bushing, drain or refill the shifter linkage with fresh gear oil and reassemble using the new parts. From the looks of things your shifter was in much better shape than my own....I had no bushings and no rubber boots, plus my plate was totally fried, so i had so much play it was nuts, though i shifted mad quik yo

((Sorry if i sound confusing....im just remembering what i had done as I type...though congrats on understanding thus far ))

LittleCon

ok cool, i can do that

anyone know where to drain the linkage oil?

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

As far as I know, im uncertain...
But on a side note. My local mazda dealer charged about 30 bucks for that one plate alone, and another 5ish for each bushing. The rubber boots though are not cheap as ive heard.

LittleCon

also, i just placed and order for new bushings

LittleCon

im thinking i can just make a temperary boot out of some plastic or something

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

I dunno bout that man, the heat generated in that area was enough to melt the elastic banding I used to use to keep one of the old fake leather shifter boots in place on my stick....if you get new ones now it wont feel like a suana in the car later...but im sure if you an use a thick enough plastic it might work. just remember that it will be seeing road heat, transmission heat, and exhaust heat

LittleCon

ah very true.

what exactly do i need the boots for? i've always thought it was just to keep dirt and crap out

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

The boots are there to keep dirt, water, ice, general road grime, and other misc. stuff from ending up inside the engine bay, as well as the great amount of heat that will billow up form teh shift boot during normal driving. Try it out once ona nice day when you get the bushings and such installed, take her for a spin and let yoru hand rest on teh shifter when shes at idle....that **** becomes yoru worse enemy.

RN's X-7

ok the plate that holds the shifter the one with the rubber that attaches to the shifter, in his pic it is torn mine is also. Is this a problem and if it is how can it be fixed without buying a new shifter.

LittleCon

..... sh*t





lol

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

Yes it will be a problem, as it will allow hot gear oil to spill up into your other rubber boots, deteriorating them faster as well as allowing your shifter to slide up and down with mroe play than it should ruining bushings faster. The only fix is to go out and order a new play form mazda, unless there is another maker im not aware of. The rubber bit will need to be removed from teh shifter before the new plate can be attached, then just slide the shifter in threads first from beneath the plate, do so slowly and carefully so you do not rip the new rubber.

LittleCon

yea im gonna have to get boots

you said they were pricey? like how much?

inflatablepets

LittleCon, Those rubber shift boots were like $60+ IIRC. I have a write-up for an inexpensive replacement.

As far as the shifter centering spring, it cannot be replaced without removing the transmission. I know, someone's going to chime in and say it's possible to replace without dropping the transmission but I don't see how. You have to remove the tail section and drive a roll pin out. If you don't have the shifter in the proper position when driving the pin out, you'll ruin the extension housing.

As far as the shifter bushings themselves, there are two of them to replace, One sits above the pivot and the other below.

LittleCon

that was the most helpful repsonce yet. Short sweet and to the point.


now, wheres this write-up?

inflatablepets

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/shifter-boot-write-up-530087/
RX-7 Owners Club - Shifter boot write-up

Sorry.

LittleCon

beautiful

i dont know where i'd be without you guys

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

Driving a Dodge Neon.

lupin

iTrader: (3)

sorry to jack thread but would it be worth it to go for the mazdatrix short shifter?

LittleCon

i dunno, i was wondering that too

lxk199

I just bought a new boot/plate and all new bushings and springs from my Mazda dealer, and it ended up being $48 for everything w/ tax. The plate/boot was $28, the top bushing is $10, the lower bushing (took a long time for them to find in their system) was $5, then the springs and shims ended up another $5 or so. I was looking for a new shifter because my boot was ripped, but I just ponied up for the boot and bushings, and it makes the car shift like brand new. Be sure to read all the info on the Mazdatrix shifter on their site, because 1 in 3 cars will rattle with the new short shifter. Everything will work fine, but there will be an annoying rattle. My 87 TII did it, and my GXL did it when I had the shifter in for a couple of days just to try it out again.

Edit: to take the old gear oil out of the shift tower, just take a turkey baster or something like it, and suck the oil out when you have the shifter out, then pour new oil in. I use 80w-90 in there - it gives nice solid shift feel.