Shit street. Anyone who knows a thing about gearbox\'s and shifters please help.

[Invisus]

Just got my first Rex delivered today. It\'s recently had a  rebuild and new gearbox fitted (3k miles ago or so).

I noticed it\'s particularly easy to miss third and go into 5th instead if you\'re shifting fast and perhaps not so used to the car, anyway that\'s no biggie for now.

This evening I took it for a last ride and i think I\'ve stuffed it. I was doing some fairly heavy acceleration, foot flat up to about 7000rpm in third then i tried to shift quickly into 4th but instead all I managed to do was make it grind terribly, I think I was in fact trying to force it into reverse... I left everything the moment I realised it wasn\'t engaging... clutch in shifter into neutral position foot off accel etc.

I then carefully put it in forth and drove on... contemplating what an idiot i am. Sad thing is it came time to shift into 5th (just cruising leisurely from now on till home). It would not (and still won\'t) go into 5th. It just cannot find it at all. It\'s like there is no 5th.

Furthermore, reverse now only engages halfway or something... the moment I actually start to release the clutch, it just pops out. If I hold gearlever in reverse position it just grinds (only did this once.) So the car cannot reverse now, I have to get out and push it.. hehe.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th all engage tightly and work perfect and the car is drivable.

What have I done and will it cost me the world to fix it, I feel so stupid and sad for breaking my new Rex on the first day.

Have I ripped all the dog-teeth off a collar or what do you think. Will a local Mazda dealer look at an import? I live so far from any specialists.

Thanks for any comments please.

[tr8theshape]

Gearboxes are always a pain as unless you can do it yourself it costs a mint in labour.  

I reckon in the best case yours could be something like bent selectors???  Don\'t have a clue how much this is to fix but the best thing might be a second-hand or recon box.  With the cost of the gearbox being less than the labour to fix yours.  I think they have a second-hand one at Dragon.

Either way best ring a specialist and they could advise better than me.

[Paul-Tll]

Killed mine at Rotastock, got a \'good\' and newer box from Ross
was £400 + vat +Deliv. =£500
Then fitting If I remember was about £120 inc oil and VAT
There you go just over £600
On the bright side Ross (Dragon) had the box to me in 48hrs
Gef(Reworx) fitted it in a morning.
Hope thats some help.
Paul..

[MikeLMR]

only ever had fwd boxes rebuilt but they are all pretty much the same. try a local gearbox specialist and the cost may not be as much as you thought, I suppose the cost will mostly depend on how many mazda parts they will need, the rest is pretty much standard fare for a gearbox builder.

[clive]

Originally posted by Invisus
Just got my first Rex delivered today. It\'s recently had a  rebuild and new gearbox fitted (3k miles ago or so).

I noticed it\'s particularly easy to miss third and go into 5th instead if you\'re shifting fast and perhaps not so used to the car, anyway that\'s no biggie for now.

This evening I took it for a last ride and i think I\'ve stuffed it. I was doing some fairly heavy acceleration, foot flat up to about 7000rpm in third then i tried to shift quickly into 4th but instead all I managed to do was make it grind terribly, I think I was in fact trying to force it into reverse... I left everything the moment I realised it wasn\'t engaging... clutch in shifter into neutral position foot off accel etc.

I then carefully put it in forth and drove on... contemplating what an idiot i am. Sad thing is it came time to shift into 5th (just cruising leisurely from now on till home). It would not (and still won\'t) go into 5th. It just cannot find it at all. It\'s like there is no 5th.

Furthermore, reverse now only engages halfway or something... the moment I actually start to release the clutch, it just pops out. If I hold gearlever in reverse position it just grinds (only did this once.) So the car cannot reverse now, I have to get out and push it.. hehe.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th all engage tightly and work perfect and the car is drivable.

What have I done and will it cost me the world to fix it, I feel so stupid and sad for breaking my new Rex on the first day.

Have I ripped all the dog-teeth off a collar or what do you think. Will a local Mazda dealer look at an import? I live so far from any specialists.

Thanks for any comments please.

Sorry your first day has been a sad one with your car

If the box is a recent rebuild, is there a warrenty ? as it sounds like a selector has slid out of line.

With the gear change on these cars it is very easy to miss 3rd, over the years l have tried a couple of types and far and away the best for not only making the shift much quicker , more presise  and nigh on impossable to miss 3rd gear is the B&M short shift kit which replaces the whole gear change turret on the back of the box.

[mireck 12a]

fith syncro is shot, together with the Shift Select Spindle

Mazda has made modifications to these parts, to prevent failure

Partnumbers :

Shift Select Spindle : R503 17 550
5th Gear Synchronizer : W501 17 725B

Shift select spindle is easy.Syncro is more work, but problem will be fixed, and not return.

[Invisus]

Thanks for the great info, makes the mind rest a bit easier when you can imagine what\'s wrong and what could be done to fix it!

The poor thing has been sitting in the drive sulking since the incident. hehe.

I\'ve got it booked into the local mazda dealer who seem to think it won\'t be a big deal to sort out. Hopefully they\'re right.

Come thursday and I shall know anyway.

I\'m definitely going to get a short shiter cause there is far too much slop in the gearshift than I would expect from a sports car. That B&M sounds good.

cheers.