Hey Guys,
I just skimmed through the other aluminum shifter bushing thread for Planet Miata and saw that people were having fitment issues with these bushings. I personally purchased these bushings from Mazdaspeed Motorsports Developement and I just wanted to share a couple of things that I found with mine.
I ordered two of these, one for my turbo NA and one for my NB. I decided to change the one on my NA first as it is older and probably more worn.
I used some high temp grease to press the shifter ball into the bushing. I did this by putting the bushing flat on my work bench and put my weight onto the shifter pressing it in. Once the bushing was in, I noticed that it did not want to move at all. It seemed that the bushing didn't fit (way too tight), just like others had experienced. I put it into the turret and noticed that it was extremely hard to shift and that the shifter would not spring back into its neutral position when you let go of it.
I took the shifter out and used a rag and pliers to move the bushing around. While doing so, I actually put cut marks and nicks into it with the pliers even though the rag was around it (as it required that much force to move around the shifter ball). So I automatically assumed that I received a bad one.
I installed the second bushing in the same manor and had experienced the same tight symptoms. However, this time I just installed the shifter anyways. While the shifter was installed, I kept shifting through the gears. After about 5 minutes of shifting with the car off, the bushing seemed to move a little easier, however it still wouldn't spring back into it's neutral position and would stick when I let go of the shifter. I drove the car around for a little while hoping that the heat would expand the aluminum and allow it to "break in" more. Please note that while doing this it was very difficult to shift properly into the correct gears. After about 2 hours of driving, the bushing seemed to have worn in and the shifter would move more freely and spring back into it's neutral position.
The shifter is definately much more tight while in gear and has less play. However, I still don't know if I like the feel. I almost think that replacing the bushing with a new plastic one would have been the way to go.
Anyways, I just wanted to share this with you guys to let you know that the Mazda Comp bushings will work after you break them in for a little while.
Also, FWIW. Aside from the fact that I chewed up the first bushing and used the second one I had in my NA, instead of my NB. I will not be buying another one of these to put into my NB. The plastic bushing is still in good shape at 59k and when the time comes I will probably just purchase another plastic bushing.
Cheers
I just skimmed through the other aluminum shifter bushing thread for Planet Miata and saw that people were having fitment issues with these bushings. I personally purchased these bushings from Mazdaspeed Motorsports Developement and I just wanted to share a couple of things that I found with mine.
I ordered two of these, one for my turbo NA and one for my NB. I decided to change the one on my NA first as it is older and probably more worn.
I used some high temp grease to press the shifter ball into the bushing. I did this by putting the bushing flat on my work bench and put my weight onto the shifter pressing it in. Once the bushing was in, I noticed that it did not want to move at all. It seemed that the bushing didn't fit (way too tight), just like others had experienced. I put it into the turret and noticed that it was extremely hard to shift and that the shifter would not spring back into its neutral position when you let go of it.
I took the shifter out and used a rag and pliers to move the bushing around. While doing so, I actually put cut marks and nicks into it with the pliers even though the rag was around it (as it required that much force to move around the shifter ball). So I automatically assumed that I received a bad one.
I installed the second bushing in the same manor and had experienced the same tight symptoms. However, this time I just installed the shifter anyways. While the shifter was installed, I kept shifting through the gears. After about 5 minutes of shifting with the car off, the bushing seemed to move a little easier, however it still wouldn't spring back into it's neutral position and would stick when I let go of the shifter. I drove the car around for a little while hoping that the heat would expand the aluminum and allow it to "break in" more. Please note that while doing this it was very difficult to shift properly into the correct gears. After about 2 hours of driving, the bushing seemed to have worn in and the shifter would move more freely and spring back into it's neutral position.
The shifter is definately much more tight while in gear and has less play. However, I still don't know if I like the feel. I almost think that replacing the bushing with a new plastic one would have been the way to go.
Anyways, I just wanted to share this with you guys to let you know that the Mazda Comp bushings will work after you break them in for a little while.
Also, FWIW. Aside from the fact that I chewed up the first bushing and used the second one I had in my NA, instead of my NB. I will not be buying another one of these to put into my NB. The plastic bushing is still in good shape at 59k and when the time comes I will probably just purchase another plastic bushing.
Cheers