twiztedstudiez

I have a 94 with I6 and 5 speed. Running great for the most part and still drives fine, but I'm having an odd issue with shifting that I'd like to get fixed before it messes anything up.

The issue started one day while driving and going to shift up into a gear when I lost pretty much all pressure (for lack of better words) on the gear shift. It seems really slack and sometimes hard to find gears. Nothing like it used to be (gears were tight and easy to find). There's enough play in the gear shift now that I can actually punch my dash if I'm not careful when shifting. There's no grinding or anything just a lot of play in the shift and gears are hard to find. Any ideas what it might be?

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

Could be the forks, but I would say shifter bushings more likely. If you can almost punch the dash, the shifter bolt may be loose.

twiztedstudiez

I'm a noob when it comes to all of this but can do some research into it. All of this can be accessed in the gearbox by pulling back the carpet I'm assuming? I don't know much but willing to tear things apart to learn since it's not my daily anymore.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

Shifter bolt and bushings you can check by pulling up the boot. To change the bushings it would be easier to pull back the carpet and remove the plate. You can check and change the forks through the floor also without the plate.

twiztedstudiez

Thank you very much! Pictures are nice. I'll get to looking around and see what I can do. I have a buddy that has changed the forks on other vehicles so I'll probably have him help me if that's the case.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

I have lots of pictures.



Probably not as useful though. You can see the shifter bolt, and the bushing plate.

twiztedstudiez

Haha nice. I'll probably end up doing more work to the truck over time just to learn from and have something to do. I managed to find a few videos on Youtube for replacing the bushings on Youtube for the M5OD and other Mazda trans.

Probably the most clear and easy one I found:
-- Not the exact model but same exact process from the looks of it. Finding the replacements will be the fun part.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

Same thing. Yea you might have a broken pin too.

twiztedstudiez

Yep actually noticed that the parts listed in the video description are for the M5OD so I'll probably just order it through that company. Pretty cheap and easy looking to replace so can't go wrong before jumping in and trying to replace $60+ forks.

southernyankey1

Easy fix...it'll be like a new truck again. Don't forget to leave the shifter in neutral before you remove it...But if you do, just grab a flat head screwdriver and realign the selector in the trans.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...m=360646875569


That's where i got mine. You can get hex fasteners from lowe's and throw away the silly torx security bolts that are stock. Metric thread, about 3.00. I had a hell of a time getting the last one off when i did mine...hence the Lowe's upgrade!