wstrohm

Our '94 FD has a torn gearshift insulator boot and a torn dust boot, which need to be replaced. Looking at the factory workshop manual page (attached) showing the gearshift assembly, it appears that items 7 - 10 install over the top of the gearshift. This cannot be true. The I.D. of the dust boot is too small, and the parts also cannot go over the shift ball, so they are stuck there. obviously there must be some way to remove the large-diameter tapered piece from the lower section, but the manual does not say how, nor is there any indication that the items 7 - 10 are permanently captive. I do see a very small hole in the large portion of the tapered shift lever... there seems to be metal at the bottom of the hole. I thought maybe it was a spring-loaded catch, so I tried pushing (using a small nail) on the bottom of the hole, but nothing moved.

Does anyone know how to deal with this problem? The dust boot is totally shredded and needs to be replaced.

rx7will

iTrader: (6)

Just reomve the bolts that hold #7 down and the shifter will come out along with the bushing spring and sometimes spacer. You need to luberciate #7 and it will slide over the shifter. It is a very tight fit if you install it dry. Just make sure to put in all the components before you put in #7.

wstrohm

Rx7will,

Thank you for responding. I confirmed your comments with my local dealer's parts guy. Actually to get the old dust boot (#7) off, I had to cut the rubber portion with an Exacto knife. But the metal disc did then slide up over the shift lever. i have a new one on order.

I found another problem after the dust boot was off: the #9 and #14 wave washers were broken, i.e. split. In trying to order one of each as replacements, I found that although the manual picture is correct, the parts diagram shows and lists only the #14 part. So I was without a part number for #9, which has three tangs on it for holding it onto the #10 bushing. The parts guy came through, however, with a "kit" for earlier versions of the RX-7 which contains the #8 gasket, the #9 wave washer, and the #10 bushing. I bought this kit, which is Mazda P/N 8AF1-17-481.

Again, thanks for your reply!

ShogunOfHarlem

iTrader: (1)

I just got the wave washer/bushing innerboot and the cap that goes on the bottom of the shifter from Ray at Malloy for around $40 shipped. I am in VA so I had to pay tax also, so you might want to check there for good prices on those parts.


-Bill

wstrohm

ShogunofHarlem,

Those parts cost me $56 with tax, so Malloy had better prices. The big ticket item for me was the "insulator boot" (not shown above), which was also torn and cost $54. Thanks for the input.

---- Bill

FD3S2005

iTrader: (11)

hey could that also be a reason for unsmoothness of some shifts??.. i mean i just changed my tran oil and it didnt seam to help at all...

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Yes. Broken wavesprings, busted lower bushing (the cup), and torn boots will lead to poor shifter feel.

Bill, I guess I'm too late to explain that yes that small boot will stretch over the top of the stock shifter, but to remove I had to cut it. Definitely use some pb blaster to make the new one fit on smoother. Do not throw away the plastic retainer ring on the big insulator boot since I found the new one was smaller and did not fit. The old ring was slightly bigger.

Dave

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

One other thing I did that helped the smoothness (a little) of my shifter was wet-sanding the ball pivot. Started with 400 and ended with some 800 grit. Then used heavy grease when I put it back together. Recently did the same thing on my SS. Nothing dramatic, but then it didn't cost anything or take all that much time either.

wstrohm

Dave,

Thanks for the advice on the plastic ring. Haven't thrown anything away yet. Will check the new one & switch to old if necessary.

Not planning on using PB Blaster on rubber, although I do have a can, because I don't know if it would attack the rubber. I'm going to use silicone dielectric grease on the inside of the dust boot and talcum powder on the outside (helped tremendously in extending life of my Miata shift boots). Haven't figured out what to put on the insulator boot yet... probably just talc on inside and outside. As far as lube on the shift ball, washers, bushings, and the little cap, I'm going to use Marine and Boat Trailer grease. It's Barium-based and very sticky.

Parts are supposed to be in this morning. Hope this helps my wife's shifting, which she says has recently been getting harder. No crunching involved, so I guessed this was the problem... I'll post back on any improvement.

wstrohm

Received all parts but one this morning. And therein lies a most puzzling problem.

The parts stackup as shown in the Factory manual, and attached to my original post in this thread, is 100% correct. However, the online parts manual, and also the Mazda dealer's parts manual, is both drawn wrong and missing two parts. The parts manual leaves out two important items: the lower wave washer (item #14 in the workshop manual) and the lower plastic bushing (item #13). Those items rest in the change control case on a circular flange below the locating pin in the case. And the parts are shown nowhere. Consequently the Mazda parts people have no part numbers for those parts.

One might think that an upper wave washer, for which there is a P/N and availability, could be used in place of the lower one, but such is not the case. The upper washer has three tangs on it; its I.D. is 30 mm, and O.D. is 37 mm. The lower washer has no tangs, and its I.D. is 32.5 mm, and O.D. is 39.5 mm.

I can re-use my old lower bushing (#13), but my lower wave washer (#14) is split.

I am waiting on the parts guy to call me back a 2nd time... so far Mazda has not been able to identify (or find) a lower wave washer.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, Ray at Malloy is familiar with the discrepancy between the parts fiches, the FSM, and the actual assembly. If you can't find anyone who can get those parts, Ray can.

I filled the shifter housing with gear oil. Definitely grease it but don't forget the oil.

Dave

FD3S2005

iTrader: (11)

thanks ill look at that 2morrow after work

wstrohm

Little to report here. Still missing the lower wave washer because of lack of part number. It occurred to me that maybe the lower washer and lower bushing, which sit on a flange in the Change Control Case, were part of that assembly, which is Mazda P/N R504-17-470A. Parts guy checked for me, but the only dealer that has that part is on the East coast. What i really want to know is whether that lower wave washer is normally a split washer, in which case I can just re-use the one I have. If not, I still may have to re-use my "broken" one, since I am not about to pay the price of a Change Control Case just to get a washer!

I presume Malloy Mazda is online, so I will try to contact Ray and see if he can help me.

Thanks, Dave!

---- Bill

wstrohm

Called Malloy... Ray was out, but Tracy was in. She found a part number for the lower wave washer: 999-72-0800. Also she had a different part number for the upper washer: 999-52-0822. So I called the local parts guy and his computer says both numbers are good, and are "washers." Of course, like every other RX-7 part I have ever bought, it is a special order item, and cannot be ordered until Monday, so car will be down until Tuesday, but at least MAYBE the right part will finally be in my grubby hands.

I have no idea why this part was not identified in the parts manual, and no idea how a dealer in VA was able to finally get a part number for that item.

wstrohm

As of May 1, Mazda officially increased their minimum turnaround time for special orders from one day to two days. So I'm still waiting for that wave washer, which should be in tomorrow (Wednesday). In the meantime, I have a question: How high up should the oil level be in the change control case? There is a spec of 80 - 95 cubic centimeters (or milliliters), but measured from where? When I removed the gearshift, the only oil was in the little cup that the small end of the gearshift lever plugs into. Everything above that was dry, and looked as if it never had any oil. However, there was some dark oil on the gearshift ball. So although I have the spec on quantity, I would rather know how high the oil level should be. I have gone ahead and filled the change control casing with 75W-90 up to just below the circular flange on which the lower wave washer and lower bushing sit. I figure that putting the gearshift in will raise the level about to the midpoint of the ball. Is that about right, or too much/too little?

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

The lack of gear oil probably explains alot.
Try to get as much of what's left of the old grease out as possible. Half way up the ball-pivot is probably enough, but IIRC I covered it nearly completely. I added it slow and sat the shifter in place a couple of times so I wouldn't over-fill. And using the marine grease sounds like a good idea.

wstrohm

Jim,

Thanks for your reply. I will copy your procedure. And I did get the ball and other parts quite clean. I have a new nylon cap over the small ball at the bottom, and a new upper wave washer & hopefully new lower washer if it's in today. Also have a new upper bushing, which is slightly different from the original. The "old" one has a rather long cutout to clear the casing pin, where the new one has a semicircular cutout like the lower bushing.

I have no idea where all that original oil could have gone, unless it ALL somehow splashed out the top of the change control casing after the dust boot split. But there is no stain on top of the housing... ??

ShogunOfHarlem

iTrader: (1)

Mine was basically empty also. It just proves that people don't maintain vehicles like they should. I filled mine up with 90/80 gear oil and after putting in the parts it shifts a lot better. Even with a bad 2nd/3rd gear synchro it shifted a lot smoother. Makes me want to drain the tranny and put in synthetic oil. Maybe my shifter won't grind at all shifting into 3rd. I re-used the wave washer and bushing that were in the case they were still in good shape.

-Bill

wstrohm

Shogun,

In my case, being the original owner, I think it proved that the Mazda factory didn't fill the change control case with oil. It seems to me that oil shouldn't just disappear from a sealed case. There were several other things on the car that were screwed up when new. For instance, the first time we had it emissions-tested, it was a gross polluter. A couple of the vacuum control lines were interchanged, and there was a pinched wire under the extension manifold.

Incidentally, I am now done with the job. It turned out that the part number for the lower wave washer given to me by Tracy at Malloy Mazda was wrong. It was a washer, but only about 1/2" in diameter. Wrong part... However, the good news for me was that the lower wave washer is supposed to be split, unlike the upper one (which on my car was broken). So I re-used the original one. I found out about the washer being split from a guy at my local dealer who knew somebody who had a change control case handy, and the part, along with the lower bushing, is included with the case. Please be careful NOT to lose that washer (or the bushing), because the case costs $85, and you can't get the washer without the case. Somehow paying $85 for a washer just doesn't float my boat!

Anyway, the acid test will be when wifey drives her car to our nephew's Little league game today. I'm sure I'll hear if it isn't any better than it was...

ShogunOfHarlem

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear you got it all back together! Like I said I re-used mine since they looked to be in good repair. Glad I didn't have to fork out $85 for a plastic bushing and a tin washer. My shifter is a lot tighter now with the new inner boot and outter boot. I am sure you will feel some improvement. Did you replace the "groove bushing" also? The plastic piece that guided the shifter onto the key? Mine was completely destroyed and is probably why my synchros went bad so early as there was a lot of play in the shifter.


-Bill

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I'll have to look more closely next time I have an extension housing apart, but the oil in there will slowly leak out thru the shift rod opening and into the rest of the tranny.

Filling it is the smart thing to do, but the oil will definitely seep out and eventually be gone. I suspect Mazda does it to make sure the assembly starts well lubed whenever it's worked on.

Dave

wstrohm

Shogun,

"Did you replace the "groove bushing" also? The plastic piece that guided the shifter onto the key? Mine was completely destroyed..." No, it was in very good shape.

Dave,

If it is known that the oil will eventually leak out of the change control case, why does Mazda not include refilling it as a maintenance item? I change the transmission oil at regular intervals as recommended. I would also have refilled the change control case if I knew... this is the first time I've been in there in 88+ Kmiles!

Wifey says it now "feels like new."

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I think grease alone will work fine. The plastic parts are designed to work with almost no lubrication. I suspect most of the problems occur when the wave springs break and the parts can move around.

I put some oil in my shifter last fall, I should check to see what (if any) is still in there.

Dave

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Mmmm. I changed transmission fluid over a year ago. When I did, I syphoned all the old fluid from the housing, greased the pivots and refilled with fluid. A couple of months ago, I installed a Pettit SS but the level still seemed to be where I'd filled it.

ShogunOfHarlem

iTrader: (1)

When I got the shifter parts from Ray he told me to use 90/80 gear oil. I didnt know you could use solid grease in there.