Continuing from my old post, I still have my shifter problem. I bought the bushings for my shifter, buuuut to no avail. I still have that sloppy shifter affect.

So, my new question issssss...the shifter, when pushed to the left (pretend you're shifting to 1st or 2nd) does not spring back into place when I let go of it. However, when I push it to the right (as if im shifting into 5th and reverse) is does spring back into place. Whats the deal? Shift linkage? how much does it cost to fix this. It isn't my bushings...I changed them already...let me know if you know what the source of this problem could be. Thanks.

 

Broken return spring

 

yea mines got the same problem the 1st 2nd side is borke, 5th reverse works good. are there any ill affects on the tranny for this broken spring?

 

The spring on the left is the 5/R return spring.

The spring in the rear is the 1/2 return spring.

 

cluch pin

 

as was said before, broken return spring. there are 2 springs that return the shifter to the center, one is for when you push the shifter to the left (1st/2nd), on is for when you push it to the right (5th/reverse). the 1st/2nd spring is a much bigger pain to replace than the 5th/reverse.

i replaced mine with the tranny out. you have to remove all the pieces relating to the shifter: there's an inspection plate, a spring and steel ball, and some other things. there is also a roll pin which holds a cube, which is where the ball of the shift lever sits. you have to punch that pin out. make sure you do that correctly, it can point at a bad angle, which will make it very hard to remove.

with that pin removed, you have to remove the extension housing of the tranny, because the 1st/2nd return spring you are after fits around the shift rod. this will all make sense once you see it. check the fsm for more details. anyway its going to be a relatively large job. if you're going to go through all that trouble, you might as well replace your clutch, tranny mounts, etc, if you haven't already

 

Mazdatrix sells the spring. Enter this part number 17-465B-M501 here: http://www.mazdatrix.com/cartinput.htm

 

damnit i got the same prob, and was trying to figure it out