Currently in the process of swapping my NA drivetrain for T2. Figured while the T2 trans is out of the car, I might as well replace the return spring. Well that's easier said than done. Any write ups on this are so old that there are no longer pictures, and the one video I could find had limited info. Nonetheless, I went for it. I've gotten the metal piece that the shifter sits in off and the old return spring. I know you're supposed to keep it in neutral when you do this. I'm afraid it may have dropped into a gear. I really do not want to take the tail shaft off and reset the selector fork. Can anyone tell me if this looks right?

 

I just watched a video about his very thing before I posted my thread. He did split the case, however, he did an explantion after the fact. Just please beware, watch all of the video before attempting anything, he made a few mistakes along the way but corrected himself later. I hope this helps.

 

That is the video that I am referencing. After watching it through a few times, I am still unable to tell if I am in fact in neutral or not. After thinking I am in neutral, the rod will pivot up, but gets stuck with the hole facing sideways, and does not for further down. With the cup for the shifter being in place, that would prevent me from rocking it side to side, which leads me to believe I'm in gear. However, I'm unsure

 

I recently rebuilt the transmission in my S4 T2 and forgot to replace the return spring until everything was nearly complete. Like you, I also didn't want to take the housing back off to expose the interface between the shift forks and the rod. I was also worried that I was going to have the rod fall out, get twisted, etc and not be able to return it to the proper position. However, I found that it really wasn't a big deal to get the rod back into the correct orientation. I'm pretty sure that, in order to get the "block" off the rod, I had to shift it into 4th gear anyway (gear shift centered and pulled back to move the rod forward).

You should be able to rotate the rod and move it back and forth by hand pretty easily until you get it engaged with the forks again. If I remember correctly, the rod would seem to rotate to the point where the forks were completely disengaged and it would just fall forward until it hit the face of the internal housing. However, after some blind maneuvering it seemed that I was able to rotate and move the rod back to where it felt like it should be. As a reference point, I just lined up the hole in the rod with where I estimated it would be in neutral (directly under the hole for the shifter and perpendicular with the shifter in neutral (straight up and down).

Here is what I ended up doing to double check that I had things correct before I put the pin back in:

1) Get the rod lined up where you think it should be (by feel and by observation [see points above])
2) Reinstall the "block" to the rod loosely
3) Insert the pin punch tool you used in place of the pin (I used sharpie to mark the shank of the pinch punch tool for the length of the pin itself [so I didn't put it in too deep])
4) Carefully move shifter through the gears

If you don't have the rod aligned properly then the forks won't engage and it won't shift into gear.

Once I was confident that had the rod back where it needed to be, I punched the pin back in place. Hopefully this helps.

 

Update:


So long story short, I ended up removing the tail housing. Turns out it popped into 5th gear and got stuck. I put it back in neutral, installed the new return spring, yada yada yada, assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Got everything back together per the FSM, and even with the new return spring, the shifter does not return to center from 1/2. Only from 5/R. Any idea what I could be doing wrong here? I'm positive the spring is in there correctly. Could this have something to do with the check ball?

 

I think that the block is on backwards. I could completely see the spring through the rectangular opening when I did mine. Hope that helps.

 

My mistake. The picture threw me off. I don't know if it helps but here is a picture of mine from a different angle. The spring returns the shifter to center.

 

Im 99% certain my spring is on the same way as yours. I'll pull the inspection cover off and take another picture tomorrow

 

This may sound like a really dumb question.... but are you saying that it doesn't return to center with or without the shift rod inserted into the socket on the block? I have reread your posts about 3 times now and I can't figure that out. I didn't realize that I had forgotten to replace mine until I actually put the rod in and moved it through the gates. The block won't return to center from 1/2 by itself, but it will return from 5/r by itself.

 

Fully assembled. Roll pin back in place, spring on the rod and wrapped around the block, shifter in.

Video:

 

Thanks for the video. That's really strange. Don't want to assume anything, but it appears that you have a short throw shifter. Only a guess but could it possibly have a different diameter than stock down where the spring touches it? Maybe it's slightly narrower and the spring isn't able to flex enough to effectively move it over. That's purely speculation based on the info you have provided so far. I'm sorry for being out of ideas. To answer your original question, I think that you installed everything correctly. Maybe you got a bad replacement spring?

 

It's a mazdatrix short throw, and the spring is from Atkins. Both reputable, and neither mention one conflicting with the other. I can't imagine that would be the cause, but you never know

In the below video, it looks like he is also using the mazdatrix short throw and it is working for him. Wonder if it's the way the spring is wrapped around the block? I'm at a loss


Example:

 

My spring is from Atkins as well. I was also looking though the mazdatrix listing for the s4 short shifter and didn't see anything mentioned either.

My last suggestion would be to take the access cover off and move the shifter through the gears. Hopefully you will be able to see if the spring is flexing like it should or if there is something getting hung up somewhere. I ended up reinstalling my access cover like 3 times so I know what a pain it is to scrape off gasket compound only to then have to reapply it later.

 

Yeah that's my next move. I'll remove the cover tomorrow and toy around with it, and update here. I appreciate the feedback so far

 

As promised I've returned with pictures and more video. I'm baffled. No idea what could be wrong:

 

Does the block/rod rotate freely with the shifter in place?

 

Sorry. I meant to ask if it moves freely WITHOUT the shifter in place.

 

Yes it does.

 

Still at a loss here. Not sure whether to place the blame on the Mazdatrix shifter (maybe it's too short, and the spring isn't strong enough to push it back), the Atkins spring (maybe they sold me a bum spring?), or myself (maybe I somehow have this spring in there wrong). Any thoughts on this are appreciated

 

When I rebuilt my latest transmission, I simultaneously installed a new cup bushing in that block, and replaced the shifter with a Cs unit. I think I was running into a similar problem, and found i didn't press the cup in far enough, and the shifter (wasn't bolted in at the time) couldn't push the block all the way over.

Is it possible the shifter isn't pushed in all the way?

 

What does it look like from the top? https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...-trans-871351/

 

I had the shifter all the way in and bolted down with the 3 bolts. I will try installing it again and pushing down on the shifter to see if it will seat further into the cup

 

Here is what it looks like from the top.

 

Double checked, and shifter is definitely all the way in.

You mentioned a "cup bushing". What do you mean by that?

 

A couple more pictures in case there's any doubt. Transmission is definitely an S4, shifter is for an S4. I did some reading, and S4 transmissions did not use a "cup" bushing, only S5's did. Also a close up of the way the spring sits on the block, and the inside of the cup on the block. Any advice is appreciated


Trans case. Less ribs=S4

Inside cup

Spring sitting on block. Note how it wraps around the square piece on the side