I tried putting in the bushing repair kit for my mazda 5 speed and I obviously messed something up. I took out the metal shifter that goes into the top of the tranny, put in the new bushings, and when I went to put it all back together it wouldn't go into gear. It is stuck in neutral. I screwed with it for hours until I finally gave up. If I can't figure it out tomorow I'm gonna have it towed to my tranny guy. I just don't get it though. All I did was pull the shifter straight out. Nothing fell into the tranny either. Truck in sig. Looks like im ridin my motorcycle to work tomorow morning.

 

Were you able to figure it out? I had the same problem when I pulled my truck's shifter out. I had the tranny in first gear just as was recommended by someone here. When I reinstalled the shifter it wouldn't go into any of the gears except for reverse. I pulled it back out and decided to realign the forks to what I thought was the neutral position. Reinstalled the shifter, making sure it too was in the neutral position. I was lucky it worked out. Might want to give it a shot. BTW, I used a flat tip screw driver to move the forks, or whatever they are called. I'm referring to the tabs, tangs,or fingers that the shifter contacts to when selecting gears.

 

Having the same problem. pulled the top cover the install new rubber plugs with truck in first gear. Now shifter seems to be in neutral and truck is stuck in first gear. No idea what to do.

 

yeah i figured it out, i did the exact same thing you did. the forks were misaligned and i popped everything back into place with a screwdriver. however, now it seems to be getting stuck in first once in a while. i think im in neutral, and when i dump the clutch the truck will lurch violently and pop out of gear.

 

Did you try what I suggested above? Did you try to reinstall it with shifter in the First gear position? You may have to pull the shift lever back out and reposition it in the position you pulled it out. It was really frustrating when I was having the same problem and decided to try to place the trannny in neutral. Need to also insure that the shifter is also in the neutral position. Maybe I just got lucky, but it worked out well for me.

 

I figured it out, i had my local tranny shop rebuild to the top cover because my shift forks were worn out. I didn't realize it until he showed me what a new one looks like. Now it shifts like a brand new truck and i'm very happy about it, i did have to put the transmission into neutral and then installed it with everything in neutral.

 

Thanks for the update. That's good info to keep in mind if mine ever does what yours did. It only makes sense to have the transmission in neutral when removing the shifter and top plate. Not sure why, but it makes it a whole lot easier when it comes to putting everything back together.