can anyone reccomend the best place to buy them. Best=price. i know mazdatrix has them..but do they have the best prices. And is it hard to replace them? thanks

 

Hey man whats up.
I believe it is one of the cheapest things you can buy at the dealership. I think it is $15.00 for the kit. that includes all shifter bushings. I havent done this job yet; but I need to. So I dont know how hard it is..but dont think it is hard at all..from what i have heard. You can d it from inside the car takes about 30 min to 1 hour. or did i hear 15 minutes....either way 1 hour is the most 15 minutes i the least.
hope that helps
later

 

Here's the Mazdatrix how-to:

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

 

On those upper and lower bushings, the dealer will generally want to sell you the kit, which in my case contained 2 of the blueish/green bushings. You want the white bushing on the bottom since its harder plastic or whatever they make it. Mazdatrix gives you the part number and a picture. Trussville Mazda out of Alabama told me its a part that usually goes in the Miata.
Also check your middle bushings, the big rubber ones. They could be bad and those are like $40 for the set depending on where you go. Finally, there is a bushing on your shifter that has the metal washer with the three holes in it that you bolt down. The rubber part of that bushing may be bad and need to be replaced, about $20. Other than the parts, its straight forward and easy, as per the Mazdatrix site.
Oh, one more "bushing". If you have the 89-91 shifter, Mazda added a bushing in the slot of the bottom ball that the 86-88 doesn't have. If your 89+ shifter doesn't have that slide in bushing in the groove of the ball you'll need to get a new one of those. Another 6 or so dollars. Mazdatrix has that on their site as well but I got it cheaper at the dealer. You can find the bushings on ebay, but watch you don't pay more than at the dealer or Mazdatrix!

 

Got mine from Mazda Competition Parts. Didn't cost much. Was easy to do. Took under an hour and made a HUGE difference in shifter feel.

Cory

 

I replaced mine today. What a difference!! The inner boot was missing, one of the springs was missing, and there was almost no lubricant in the tower. The shifter is now solid and it won't be rattling at me all the time on the freeway Only took 45 minutes. Well spent.

 

I am doing mine tomorrow. Is it really that great?

 

Sure did on mine. It rattled like crazy and now it's totally quiet. Just went for a ride on the highway - what a difference.

 

I'm in the process of doing this... I got my bushings from mazdatrix, the dealer is gay and only gave me half the kit when i specifically asked for the full kit... Heres my question: The block that the shifter ball sits in has that metal spring clipped to it, what does it do? I dont see how it would center the shifter at all.. Also, mine's broke, so i ordered a new one, but i think ill have to knock out that roll pin that holds the block to the shifter shaft that goes into the tranny to get the new one on. Oh, and is there another spring on the other side(drivers side) of the tailshaft where that other little cover plate is? Thanks!!

~Jesse


Make sure the white bushing goes on the bottom!

 

how come when I asked my mazda dealer about selling a kit of shifter bushings for RX-7's they had no idea what I was talking about???

instead they gave me a diagram of all the parts.

someone please circle the parts i need an repost the picture.

 

Just go to the Mazdatrix site and look it up. They have a great How To page on this. Shows you in nice color pictures which parts you need and how to install them.

 

You need parts #:
17-4810-8AF1 Top Bushing Set
99-1780-M505 Bottom Set

Both from www.mazdatrix.com

 

Just did mine about 2 hours ago, and it took about 15 minutes to do. Very nice feel.