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I just bought a 94 1.6 litre mx-3 today I was driving home . it was shifting fine but with quite a bit of slop in the shifter. Anyways I was at a stop i put it into 1st and let of the clutch and it felt as though it was in like 3rd i tried to reset and put it into 1 again same roughness asthough it was in third tried shifting into second worse then i put it in neutral and the whole shifter went limp i can move it around in a 360 circle Any ideas? do I need to buy a new trany? did my $560 sweet deaal car turn into a $1500+++++++ problem project. any ideas? I live in burnaby BC Canada if any one can refer a quality mazda mechanic nearby would be greatly appreciated.

Your shift linkage needs to be looked at. Its either the shifter end or
the transmission end. One bolt should fix you right up.

Check part numbers 6,7 and 25, 26 first.

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/showimg.php ... J1-054.gif

Thanks so much for your reply . im getting it towed here now and im gonna look first thing in the morning im really hoping its a cheap fix as you said

Do I have to drop the exhaust to get at the bolts?

Narp

Narp means no right?

Narp = No.
Go watch hot fuzz.

hahaha im downloading it now, one more question do i need to get under car to access those bolts or can i do it through the centre console?

Go under.

It sounds like your linkage dropped. not a super hard fix. Most guys do some sort of unique solution. Just look under and see whats up. Try searching "shifter linkage drop" and see what happens.

Ryan wrote:Go under.

It sounds like your linkage dropped. not a super hard fix. Most guys do some sort of unique solution. Just look under and see whats up. Try searching "shifter linkage drop" and see what happens.

I just fixed my dropped shifter the other day. easy fix. i used:

-about 1 foot of plumber's tape (be sure to wrap it around the static linkage only)
-two self-tapping screws.
-Gaps and Cracks insulation expanding foam around the shifter to keep it steady

works very well

About a week ago I started having transmission problems. straight up wouldn't go into first gear when I first start the car up and its having trouble even getting to 2nd third and 4th. When ever I accelerate from a stop about 2500 rpms I hear a clunk in the tranny. But the biggest problem, is that just today I started noticing when I sit at a stop light or something, if I have the clutch in and I am in first, the car shakes. I was thinking, oh probably a fried clutch, but it really only just recently started happening, I haven't had any previous problems with clutch slipping or anything. But its bad and I feel like eventually I won't even be able to get in gear without my car stalling. Any help about it?

About a week ago I started having transmission problems. straight up wouldn't go into first gear when I first start the car up and its having trouble even getting to 2nd third and 4th.

That's a symptom of the clutch failing to disengage.

The rest of it would lead me to believe that something's messed up in there. You should pull the tranny and look at the clutch fork and other parts in there.

jonegomes wrote:About a week ago I started having transmission problems. straight up wouldn't go into first gear when I first start the car up and its having trouble even getting to 2nd third and 4th. When ever I accelerate from a stop about 2500 rpms I hear a clunk in the tranny. But the biggest problem, is that just today I started noticing when I sit at a stop light or something, if I have the clutch in and I am in first, the car shakes. I was thinking, oh probably a fried clutch, but it really only just recently started happening, I haven't had any previous problems with clutch slipping or anything. But its bad and I feel like eventually I won't even be able to get in gear without my car stalling. Any help about it?

More details about the car? is it RS or GS? I would check the shift linkage first, if not maybe your release bearing is on its way out.

release bearing on the way out should be noisy with the clutch pedal depressed and if its noisy with it released then its the pilot bearing thats on the way out. Last shifter linkage issue I had was fixed by removing the linkage from shifter and tranny and replacing the worn out plastic/rubber bushings with some jb weld mixed and filled the holes at both ends where the bolt goes into it then drilled out to size for the proper replacement bolt, coated the bolts with anitseize and way to go, shifter is nice and solid now with no slop. Just make sure you drill dead on center I did it with a drill press.

The guy whose car shakes when the clutch is disengaged is about to experience catastrophic clutch failure. I saw a guy at Mazda who.. well wait, it was a lady, who rode her Protege untill the clutch failed, she had to buy a new transmission as well, because the TOB partially seized onto the input shaft and wore it so badly the tranny was FUBAR.