For about a year now it has been difficult to shift into 1st gear. It all started when I installed the staged II sSTS with a weighted shift knob. I noticed that there seemed to be more play in the knob while in gear. But with just that installed I didn't have a problem going into 1st like I do now.
Shortly after I took the car to the dealer for the clutch tsb. I had 47k miles on the car while warranty ended at 50k. They did the clutch tsb even with these many miles and the short shifter. So I got the car back. I spent a while trying to get used to the new clutch while not really paying attention to the shift knob. But after a while I noticed that it was very difficult to go into 1st gear. Especially in the cold or when the car isn't warmed up. I tried adjusting the cable like shown in the picturre below.
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Seemed to get some of the "slack" out of the cable and for a more tighter feel. This felt great for a day or 2. After that I was getting completely locked out of 1st gear. So I set it back to where it was originally. So after time it's getting worse. I now have to put the knob all the way to the left then go forward. Its like hitting a wall. While holding pressure on that I have to jiggle it left to right while pushing forward to get it to slide into 1st.
Once it's time to shift into 2nd the shifter doesn't go straight back in a straight line like it used to. It's almost diagonal towards where it rests in nuetral. Then back over to the left to get in second. Even then it is like it is hitting a snag and there is a clunk in the shifter itself and it's pretty loud because I can hear it coming from the tranny. Going into 3rd feels like it has a slight kick back every time. going to 4th is flawless and so is 5th. But 6th has always seem odd since you have to hold to the right and kind of shake it a little to go back.
I don't know a whole lot about manuals as far as mechanics. But could this just be a simple linkage issue? I have checked all the linkage and it seems fine with the exception that mazda didn't put the clips back on near the tranny to hold the cables out of the way. But they are stiff enough to where I can't move them by hand. i just used wire ties to hold them in case. I didn't see an improvement by doing so btw.
I honestly don't think the tranny is the problem. There is no winning in any gear and clutch is smoothly engaged once the next gear is found. Should i just replace the linkage cables. Possibility mazda had bent these while installing the clutch?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have posted this in another forum a while back and got no help. I have searched many internet forums in regards to manual transmissions and haven't found a clear answer.
Thanks,
-Qwik6
Shortly after I took the car to the dealer for the clutch tsb. I had 47k miles on the car while warranty ended at 50k. They did the clutch tsb even with these many miles and the short shifter. So I got the car back. I spent a while trying to get used to the new clutch while not really paying attention to the shift knob. But after a while I noticed that it was very difficult to go into 1st gear. Especially in the cold or when the car isn't warmed up. I tried adjusting the cable like shown in the picturre below.
Seemed to get some of the "slack" out of the cable and for a more tighter feel. This felt great for a day or 2. After that I was getting completely locked out of 1st gear. So I set it back to where it was originally. So after time it's getting worse. I now have to put the knob all the way to the left then go forward. Its like hitting a wall. While holding pressure on that I have to jiggle it left to right while pushing forward to get it to slide into 1st.
Once it's time to shift into 2nd the shifter doesn't go straight back in a straight line like it used to. It's almost diagonal towards where it rests in nuetral. Then back over to the left to get in second. Even then it is like it is hitting a snag and there is a clunk in the shifter itself and it's pretty loud because I can hear it coming from the tranny. Going into 3rd feels like it has a slight kick back every time. going to 4th is flawless and so is 5th. But 6th has always seem odd since you have to hold to the right and kind of shake it a little to go back.
I don't know a whole lot about manuals as far as mechanics. But could this just be a simple linkage issue? I have checked all the linkage and it seems fine with the exception that mazda didn't put the clips back on near the tranny to hold the cables out of the way. But they are stiff enough to where I can't move them by hand. i just used wire ties to hold them in case. I didn't see an improvement by doing so btw.
I honestly don't think the tranny is the problem. There is no winning in any gear and clutch is smoothly engaged once the next gear is found. Should i just replace the linkage cables. Possibility mazda had bent these while installing the clutch?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have posted this in another forum a while back and got no help. I have searched many internet forums in regards to manual transmissions and haven't found a clear answer.
Thanks,
-Qwik6
But it is interested that they replace the whole setup. We need pics to see what the differecne is. It doesn't sound ike it would be cheap to replace the whole setup along with the shift cables.
