Loose Shifter

[lrchuckg]

I'm brand new to the group...looking for step by step instructions on getting play out of my shifter.

[firebush357]

There are two different ways to do it. You can search on the Forum for the Shoulder Bolt options or you can replace all of the Shift Link Bushings with oem parts.

[1990new]

Welcome to the forum....The most helpful car forum on the planet. We know the search function is not the most user friendly, but with patience you will find everything you ever wanted to know about Fetivas and Aspires and some other Mazda based autos.

Scroll down to the Drivetrain section of the Festiva Store link to find these parts after you click on the link.

You need one of these Shift Stabilizer Bar Bushing


$5.00


and four of these to fix your problem.
Shifter bushing

$1.50

Regular

This bushing is for the shift rod and stabilizer bar on a Festiva and also the Aspire. There are a total of 4 on the vehicle: 2 at the transmission on the shift rod, and 2 at the shifter.

After you get the bushings it's just a matter of crawling under the car and replacing them.
The big rubber one goes in the arm up front where it attaches to the transmission. Be careful not to let the nut drow down into the transmission support when you are removing it. Pull the center metal shaft out before you try to remove the bushing from the arm and then put the new bushing into the arm before you inser the center metal shaft back into the rubber bushing.

[bravekozak]

Or, if you want some crisp shifts, you can replace the plastic bushings with bronzoil bushings. Nice.