Shifter Problem
 

Hello
Yesterday i went for a drive with a couple of friends and arrived at a stop sign. After putting the shifter in first i realized it wasn't all the way in so i pulled the shifter out and put it back in first. As i put it in first it made a god awefull grinding sound then sounded as if something snapped. Instead of the shifter being where it normally is it fell to the left and just about hit my hand brake. the thing is that the car still drives as if nothing happened. It still goes into first with ease but if you try to you can make it go further left after in gear. it only does this in first and all other gears are fine. What would cause this?

Bobby

You should pull it apart and see if the bushings are still intact. If not then replace the shifter bushings. This is a common problem on FC's. There is also a spring that makes the shifter stay int the middle of the shift pattern. Mazdatrix.com has a great how to on fixing the bushings

how do i drain the oil the shifter sits in?

you migth be able to take out hte speedo cable and drain it. You shouldnt need to drain it.

Go to your local napa (anybody) and buy a simple $5 oil pump. Have you taken apart your shifter? There should only be a little bit of oil in there. You could almost sop it up with a rag. Most likely your bushings have fallen apart and will need to removed from there.

Ok. well then the last person to take the shifter apart was dumb because it was right full of oil