Car won't shift.
 

The other day I'm driving on the freeway in 6th gear, I put it in neutral for a second to hit my brakes as some fuckhead missed his exit, I go to put it in fifth and the shifter won't go in. Come to find out the only gear I do have is 3rd, the shifter won't move left or right either, just neutral or 3rd.

I have 120k miles and a Cobb STS (30k on it, love it), I replaced the shifter pivot seal around 50k miles ago. All the linkages and cables are good, well I can't say that for certain, my buddy (or should I say used to be) was all sorts of fucked up was like "what do you mean it won't go into gear" I walk into my house, back into my garage and he's ripping on my shifter trying to get it in gear, enough to BEND my cobb sts, so thats a new issue, but an easy fix except for $, its a story in and of itself but not here, almost ended in murder. Hopefully my cables aren't stretched to shit.

The only thing I can really think of that I can see is possibly the gear selector on the linkage got stripped or stuck, I have no clue what to do or think of doing and it's over my head in what to really look for. I start a new job next week, which is my last week of school before finals and I'm thinking of just going to the mazda dealership monday and bringing lube, I feel like my trans needs to be torn apart to find the problem. If you guys can help me trouble shoot this in anyway I'd be forever thankful. After hours of searching no one had anything similar my issue, all the threads I found were of people just having the cables pop off the linkage.

Happy Thanksgiving folks!

You might want to double check out your transmission motor mount to see if it's in good shape. It's a JBR one so I doubt it is the issue... hopefully its something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to fix.

If you replaced the pivot seal, you removed the roll pin from the shaft.
Do you remember having any issues with that roll pin? Did it go back in completely undamaged?

Yeah it seemed perfectly fine, I was really careful and don't think I did anything wrong, if I did I'm pretty sure it would have acted up sooner. It really wasn't that difficult to take apart so I'm going to do it again tonight just to check it out just to see if anything doesn't look how it should.

I'm going to check the trans mount but it has 45k on it and I'm pretty diligent on keeping an eye on things. It didn't cross my mind because it's something so simple but I'm definitely going to do that, thanks!

Pull the linkages off the the transmission and try changing gears with the selector ON the transmission. I mean, it won't be very easy because the leverage isn't there, but if it goes from gear to gear, then you may not have to tear it apart. Just my $.02

Good idea! Will add to my to do list tonight, thanks!

Very good idea.

I love lamp.

Lamp loves you!

Probably isn't an issue, but back in '93 I drove a Mazda 626, and it refused to go into gear. I took it to a transmission shop and they just drained/refilled the tranny oil about 3 or 4 times. Lots of metal shavings just gunked it all up.

Thats worth trying before I take it to the stealership if all else fails, was planning on doing my trans fluid in 5k miles but it could be that. Not going to lie, the car has had a very rough 120k miles, diligently maintained, but it's been driven the way a mazdaspeed should.

Well I drove my 626 like a Mazdaspeed back then; I was only 20 or so. Maybe just get some cheaper alternative fiorst, see if it helps, and then bring it in. Also try to shift at the transmission to eliminate the linkage as a possibility.

@Big_Burd; Ever figure anything out with ur tranny?

I kind of have, but nothing to really nail it down.. I'm really leaning towards and hoping it's one of my cables. When I popped the cables off the linkage I wasn't able to change the gears from just the selector of the trans. I think I wasn't doing it right or just wasn't able to muscle it hopefully.

My parents are going to Barcelona for two weeks so I'm going to be using their garage and have a way to get around. I think the culprit is the cable which moves when you go left and right on the shifter, the one that's on the far left attached to the plate, not the shifter itself. That cable seems like its binded up or caught on something.

I ordered a new cobb sts (old one got bent from my buddy yanking on it) and new cables (figured if he could bend a cobb sts the cables are probably not in the best shape). Hopefully that does the trick because I can't afford a new trans. I'm about to get a tacoma and the ms3 with 120k was about to get retired from dd, and then this happens lol.

Well if it is the cables and you need a buddy I'd be down to help out if I'm in town.

Sweet man that would be awesome.. I just got done with the bulk of my school work for the semester so tomorrow is getting devoted to the mazda. I have a friend who went to UTI, I actually think you met him at the car show, and he swears that it's my gear selector.. I think its the cables, but hopefully I will know tomorrow.

Awe, yea if I remember correctly it's Josh? Nice, well good luck with it man. Hopefully nothing expensive.

It was Dillon who you met lol, he went to UTI but when it comes to my car it's 100% foreign to him, half the stuff he does I end up going back and redoing. I'm hoping it's my gear selector though or cables, if my whole trans is shot, fuck it, the only thing left that can go on my car is a blown motor and I'd love to rebuild lol.

BTW I'm signing up to go to NAU in August and I'm going up there soon to talk to an adviser and see some friends but you should definitely join us for a drunken good ol' time. I will let you know.

Lol, I'm usually down. I'll be sure to show you the ropes in August. Just hit me up.