1987 FC GXL Transmission issue
 

hey guys, i REALLY hope this is the right place for this, and ill go ahead and say that ive searched for a week now with no avail to the source of the issue.

i bought an '87 FC GXL a few weeks ago, and when i test drove it i could find all of the gears, now i can only put it in fourth, no other gears can be found, and when i think ive found one the shifter seems to feel like its still in neutral. at a time when i can absolutely do it(going to work soon) ill crank it up and take a video to hopfully further the explanation of the cause. ive heard it could be the synchronizer, all the way to bearings and forks. any and all help is greatyly appriciated as i just want to get her on the road ASAP :(

Does the clutch pedal feel soft?

Will it go into gear with the engine not running?

no, in fact its quite stiff as it would feel normally, and the only gear i can find is fourth. when its not running i can only find fourth as well.

A possibility here is that the shifter bushings have busted and lodged in the "gear Pattern" of the shifter and it won't allow it to select gears.
This is about the easiest thing to check.
Take the Shifter surround up( put flat screwdriver under the surround and it just pops up and off).If you can get it all the way off,fine,or leave the leather boot on the shifter and push it away for the next step.
Here:..pics from Mazdatrix!
86-92 Shifter Bushings

thanks for that info man, as soon as its daylight again ill give it a shot. ill post my findings asap

after initiating the check and going back to the link, im starting to think it is safe to assume its the bushings

after wiping whatever was on here off:

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/a/img14/4058/img0104oj.th.jpg[/IMG]

more angles


http://imageshack.us/a/img52/4477/img0101tl.th.jpg



http://imageshack.us/a/img526/8168/img0100jh.th.jpg

opinions are welcome:scratch:

You need to actually remove the shifter to check out the bushings. Remove those 3 bolts.

Yep..RR is correct.
(not responsible for what you do).
Take the 3 10mm bolts out and Lift the shifter straight out.(you will love the smell of gear oil!..Manly!)
Since I am on here like 24/7, post pics and I can comment on what I see.ok?

ok so, i removed them, and right off the bat i notice 2 things, this cant be the right stuff(i thought it was fluid not grease) and that circular piece is bent

http://imageshack.us/a/img210/934/img0136fq.th.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img845/1784/img0139wx.th.jpg

obviously i couldnt see much to see if anything was broken

http://imageshack.us/a/img9/1921/img0137oh.th.jpg

so after a wee bit of cleanup

http://imageshack.us/a/img835/3349/img0140gc.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img585/1792/img0141ti.th.jpg

i couldn't really notice anything wrong, and didn't feel anything broken, but ive been wrong many times before, not to mention is that top ring supposed to be free floating on the top of the ball of the shifter?:scratch:

The "rings" are the bushings. There are two, and one is on the shifter ball section. There should also be springs on them. They can be broken or lost altogether; if so, the shifter will feel sloppy.

However, I'll bet you could remove the bushings completely and still get it to shift. I would wager that your problem is internal.

The internals there should at least have a Spit of Gear oil in that hole,just enough to lubricate the Transmissions "shifter block"( what the little ball on the bottom of the shifter sits in) Gear Oil should just cover those components...NOT Grease.
Is that what is in there?Like axle Grease?
I would check the Gear oil level next.This is getting interesting.
Try the Factory Service manual link
Foxed.ca for info on how to do that..Or try a search.

yeah im assuming its axel grease. im going to tow the car to school and drain/refill the trans and see what thatll do, after that its looking like i may have to take the trans out to find the issue.:(

You are definitely on the right track,so don't get discouraged.
The "thing" with theses cars is that people go BIG when they encounter a problem.
If it Farts the wrong way they change the engine!.it could just be a vacuum hose.So you have to be patient and check out everything you can so you don't break the bank trying to fix it.
Good luck,and let us know how you progress,ok?

You can shift without the bushings, it's just very sloppy and inconsistent. My autocross car doesn't have any bushings or springs in the gear selector. Thank god i can just use 1st and second.

thanks, i really appreciate the help so far guys, ill post updates when i can:nod:

so i put the shifter back in and bolted it back in, and now i can somewhat find the gears better than before, however i havent test driven this theory. would it be worth saving for a mazdatrix short shift?

UPDATE- i can now 1-4 but no 5th or reverse.:(

Slamming the shifter all the way right you should feel a detent (slight pop) with it resisting to pop back. If not their is a small plate with two 10mm on the left side under the trans near the shifter housing in a 45 degree angle. And also a 17mm bolt in back of the trans. Both of these have a spring. Take out the 17mm bolt carefully and you should see a spring sitting on top of the detent. Ball. Remove these and you should see your detent cylinder which the ball sits on. Now remove the small plate. The spring sits behind holding the detent cylinder remove both and clean and inspect. With these removed you should be able to find 5th a Rev but will not have the click feeling when slamming right from neutral.

Btw your going to get gear oil on you soon as that plate is removed about a few ounces. so just own up to the smell it'll eventually go away. Seal up that plate with rtv. Most likly. That gasket will be fubar

sorry for the long time away, haven't had money to tow her until now, shell be on the lift in my class later tonight, so ill finally update what the possible more likely issue could be or actually is.

alright, according to classmates, and my teacher(whos owned an FD) the box attached to the trans, shouldn't be loose, nor should it be able to be pulled up and down, 75% of them say its bushings, but the question i cant seem to have answered is what kind. i know about the ones under the shifter, but they say these are located somewhere in the trans.

http://imageshack.us/a/img521/959/img0258ud.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img24/8896/img0257zv.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img831/3749/img0256zx.th.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img835/6406/img0255hh.th.jpg

after the post last night, this is what i found the linkage from the box is broken. is there anyway at all to fix or replace this?:(

Yeah, I was going to say it appears the casting is broken on the extension housing. You fix it by removing the transmission, and then replacing the tail housing from a donor transmission. Or you just replace the whole thing.

any idea where to look for donor parts, or even a donor trans?