Stuck in 4th gear?

[HighSpeed]

I was pulling onto the interstate this morning when I shifted to 3rd then 4th. When I shifted I felt something come loose. Then when I tried to shift to 5th, nothing, it wouldn't go in or nothing. then i notice that i could shift from 4th to 3rd and it would stay in 4th gear. then i found out that I could move the shifter from 4th to 3rd with out using the clutch and it would shift only in that position, up and down in 3rd and 4th gear. So i push in the clutch and the tranny would disengage easily, but won't change from 4th gear. Does this sound like a shift fork problem? any help would be greatly appreciated


Update: Got the tranny out and apart. I broke the small ear off the 4th gear shift fork

 

[isbre]

I'm no expert with transmissions I really need to learn more I guess, but I think the syncros also can cause this problem.

One think I do know about the G25 series is that they are known to have bad syncros.

 

[HighSpeed]

Well I am not sure what exactly happened. All I know now is that even with the car off, the tranny will not shift into any other gear. I am wondering if I have a linkage issue as well?

 

[JReichle1]

You might have broken the shift fork. If the shift fork breaks in 4th gear that is where the shifter stays. You should drop the transmission and check it out.

 

[HighSpeed]

You might have broken the shift fork. If the shift fork breaks in 4th gear that is where the shifter stays. You should drop the transmission and check it out.

Ok I just messed with it, and with the car off I got the shifter to move around and shift to other gears, but when I let the clutch out it stays in 4th gear. I know this because I put it in reverse and it still wanted to move forward as I let off the clutch. IDK??????

 

[silver slotege]

Sounds like a broken fork. Just happened to me a few weeks ago. I am a protege5, but sounds exactly like the problem I have. Try this, put the car in nuetral, not engaging any gear, the let the clutch out. If it dies, its still in 4th when the shifter in neutral. If it goes in nuetral, then you may have a different problem. But I am 99% sure its a fork.

 

[HighSpeed]

Sounds like a broken fork. Just happened to me a few weeks ago. I am a protege5, but sounds exactly like the problem I have. Try this, put the car in nuetral, not engaging any gear, the let the clutch out. If it dies, its still in 4th when the shifter in neutral. If it goes in nuetral, then you may have a different problem. But I am 99% sure its a fork.

how hard is it to replace the shift fork. I would like to make sure that I am not getting in over my head, but I have built many DSM motors.....just never cracked open a tranny

 

[HighSpeed]

So I pulled the tranny last night, took about 3 hours, God I love impact tools . So tonight I will post pix of the inside once I pull the case.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Broken shift fork.

 

[HighSpeed]

So where is the best place to pic a shift fork up from. Is it easier to just order a rebuild kit and do the whole thing, and weld the diff at the same time?

Anyone on here actually do this themselves?

 

[JReichle1]

I would order the shift fork from Mazda. The rebuild kit is not needed for a standard transmission. Just crack open the diff and pull out, weld and reinstall the LSD. Or you can upgrade to an mfactory and you would never have to worry about your diff again. You will need to bust open the transmission and find the bad shift fork. Hopefully that is all you will need. You might want to replace any old seals, ie axle seals or input shaft seal. Now would also be a good time to check your clutch and flywheel. Be sure it is the shift fork before you order it. Might be a bad shift rail or something else. Good luck and let us know if you need help along the way.

 

[littlemimus]

So where is the best place to pic a shift fork up from. Is it easier to just order a rebuild kit and do the whole thing, and weld the diff at the same time?

Anyone on here actually do this themselves?

yeah i did everything myself. if you need pics let me know. just take your time and go slow. i would do a rebuild and get new seals and bearings

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I would suggest getting the transmission shop manual supplement. I've rebuilt my entire trans about 4 times now, that manual makes it a cakewalk. New shift fork can be had from Mazda, but you'll need other parts too, like the shaft nuts, etc. Not to mention that the broken piece probably took out some other stuff as well.

 

[littlemimus]

Not to mention that the broken piece probably took out some other stuff as well.

metal between the gears = eeeeeekkkk

 

[HighSpeed]

yeah i did everything myself. if you need pics let me know. just take your time and go slow. i would do a rebuild and get new seals and bearings

PIX PLEASE(naughty)

 

[littlemimus]

sure. ill post em up in a while. i also have a second transmission so i can take pics of that. cause idk if you can see things very well in the other pics.

 

[HighSpeed]

Update.

I got the tranny apart and I found that the 3-4th gear shift fork is definitely broken. The rest of the tranny looks ok but I am going to by a lower mileage tranny from DiscoSpeed. The only issue is he has a nonLSD tranny. my question is.......

What is the best way to change the Diff with out tearing all the gears off? Can the gear assembly be take out in one giant hunk? My lsd is in awesome shape although I plan on taking it to get welded on tuesday just for extra strength, any suggestions?

 

[littlemimus]

Update.



What is the best way to change the Diff with out tearing all the gears off? Can the gear assembly be take out in one giant hunk? My lsd is in awesome shape although I plan on taking it to get welded on tuesday just for extra strength, any suggestions?

idk the names of the things lol but the gears are all on that shaft and dont come off. if you pull the whole rod out that the shift selectors are attatched to you can pull both gear sets out at the same time. then u just drop the lsd in.

what you do is there is a roll pin in there holding it. you can see the punch i was using to push it out.

once you pop that out it slides up and down freely although be careful because there is a metal ball and spring holding the bottom of that part. make sure you look at it before you do it. just pull everything out at once.

 

[HighSpeed]

thanks man......

where exactly does that little spring and ball go btw. they fell out and i hve no clue where they go. i want to keep this tranny in case i want par gears later

 

[littlemimus]

on that main rod that holds the shift linkages theres that part down on the bottom that has like those bumps there should be this kinda circular thing there put the spring in and then put the pall and drop the rod down. its kinda tricky cause you have to get the ball on in the indent.