MX5 NB gear selection issues

Hi guys,

I am quite new here, I bought a silver 1998 NB 1.8 a couple of months ago and have completely fallen in love with it. It is an ex club car as it has window stickers and a club ID number badge.

It has recently become difficult to engage gears, normally 1st and 2nd or 5th and reverse are the hardest, sometimes it is impossible to actually engage 1st or reverse. This was evident when running the car but also with the engine off.

I read a lot on forums and watched some Youtube videos and decided I should try the shifter rebuild, I completed this yesterday using the official Mazda kit but with the Jass upgraded upper boot and 5x racing bronze shifter bush.

At first before running the car it seemed much better, the gears slid in with no effort at all, but after starting and driving the car for 10 minutes it seemed I was back to square one, gears were incredibly hard to select and it took me 4-5 tries to get reverse to engage.

Please can someone help me with what to do next? I have read many other posts online about clutch slave/master cylinder issues but I would not expect this to be the problem as it still exhibits the issue with the engine not running.

Many thanks in advance,
Matt

Obviously check the slave and master cylinder. Check the fluid level, check for wetness around the slave cylinder.

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If you pump the clutch pedal 5 or 6 times quickly in succession does this improve things? If it does there may be air in the system, worth a bleed anyway. Then have a look at any adjustment that is available.
You could check the oil level in the gearbox as well just on the off chance.
:heart:

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Thanks for the advice guys, will check them out today.

Just to confirm, if it is clutch issues, would that still cause problems with the engine not running?

Hi, nice choice of car.
May I ask, when you re-built the shifter did you change the gearbox oil?

The advice so far is to try and resolve the issue by not spending much time or money. It is always preferable to eliminate all the simple and easy stuff before indulging in a gearbox out ‘party’!
I do hope that it is a simple fix but be prepared for the worst.
:heart:

It’s worth adjusting your clutch pedal to raise the biting point and reduce or eliminate clutch drag and save having to bury the clutch pedal in the carpet.
It’s a simple job but tricky due to access.
There is an adjustable threaded rod with a locknut on it at the top of the clutch lever.
Undo the locknut and twiddle the rod until you have no play and then back it off a few mm, so you do have a little play but only just enough, then retighten the locknut while keeping the adjuster still.

Hey,

I siphoned the oil from the top of the turret (what there was in there, it was quite empty) and replaced it up to around 25mm below the top of the turret as per the guide I found.

I didn’t change the actual gearbox oil yet.

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Unless the gearbox is dry, changing oil won’t have that much of an effect on the ability to shift.

Checking the hydraulics costs nothing.

If you turn the wheels, with an assistant, you can see if the slave cylinder is actually doing anything. Its probably not a problem with this, but more likely a problem with the clutch itself, possibly the throwout bearing. The labour involved means you might as well change the clutch as well.

Thanks for all the tips on this guys, I took the car over to an MX5 specialist nearby to me and they found it was as 999to5 recommended, they adjusted the clutch pedal and it has made a huge difference! They also changed the gearbox oil and also recommended that it can be worth to rev match when downshifting if I still get any issues engaging gears on down shift.

Thanks again for your advice.

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Very welcome :slight_smile: