So I'm driving down the road the other day and decide to downshift from 3rd to 2nd. Upon doing so, I notice that my shifter is now no longer connected to the tranny. Free movement in every direction. Good times.

About two years ago I installed the mazdatrix short shifter, which is a copy of the mazdaspeed, if I'm not mistaken. They provide you with longer bolts to compensate for the 0.5" inch thick spacer that's used with their shifter. Apparently these bolts are not long enough and have, over time, stripped out the three mounting holes on the tranny shift tower, I suppose from excess vibration.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? I would imagine that every short shifter on the market mates to the shift tower via those three mounting holes, so is my only option to replace the tower? Would longer bolts be a bad idea? Hell, at the very least, any damage done would just further my need to replace the tower anyway.

Here's a pick of the mazdaspeed short shift kit:

 

I have not heard of this problem before Skotz. I purchased a mazdaspeed shifter in early 2000. No problems of any kind.

You could try to retap the control case. Perhaps a new/used case may be your best option. I would think longer bolts will not last.

 

if the hole is deep enough it should work fine with longer bolts. just clean up the threads and see how many are left at the bottom.

if not, and theres extra material around the holes, just drill and helicoil them.

 

I've got ~7K miles on my mazdatrix short shifter without any problems. Even the rattling has almost gone.