JAMMED in Gear after wreck? Mazda Miata Manual Transmission Teardown

We like different, don't we boys?

Ok, the blue tape under the shift knob just confirms what I suspected. I owned a 2000 Evolution Orange Miata with just over 100k miles in Mississippi that I wrecked on June 11th of 2023. I purchased the car in the spring of 2021. It shifted ... ok... before the wreck, but when the tow truck was loading the car, I noticed the rear tires were not rolling and I assumed the transmission was jammed. The wreck occurred as I was driving on a two lane highway at about 45mph when another driver in a Dodge Challenger (rental) turned across my lane about 30 feet in front of me. I had no room to Dodge... the car and had to settle for standing on the brakes. No major injuries to the occupants of either car, but I was sore for over a month from the seat belt. I have been a follower of your channel for a while and hoped that somehow, my wrecked car would end up on your channel. Got my wish. Glad to hear the engine and other parts were salvageable and still live on. I miss that car.

Malice in the rotational switchey palace...

The shifter was stuck because the inertia from the wreck caused one of the shift hubs to move without the shifter being in that location. The detents between the shift shafts keep you from going into 2 gears at once. To fix this you can remove the reverse light switch and use a screwdriver to force the shaft back to the neutral position, thus aligning all the shifters again. I worked at a Mazda dealer back in the 80s and 90s. I was in the first Mazda troubleshooting contest in Arizona in 1989, I made 2nd place. Thanks for all the great videos! I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work.

Eric is out here doing what 90% of what shop teachers should do. just tear stuff apart and talk about what to look for and what might cause it. Hell this goes for pretty much everything that you physically interact with. I learned so much, in less than 30 mins its insane

Outstanding video. Old guy here I'm sitting here on the senior center bus from a Walmart run. As a kid back in the late 60's I had a old 1965 Mustang 3 on the floor and I had to rebuild the transmission. It was my first time doing anything like that. It did work after that also.

The fact that I finally get to see the inside of a manual transmission since I drive one. It really lets me know more about how I'm driving! And I'm so happy that I don't set my hand on the stick! 😂

Intro was way wicked funny. And your honest approach to business is something we don't see much anymore. Thank you. Cheers Sir.

I almost spit out my soup during your intro. almost.

You have earned a new fan, maybe your youngest fan ever... A few weeks ago, my grandson, just turned three, joined me behind my computer watching you tear down an engine. He stayed there watching for over ten minutes and then went to some other occupation. Ten days later, he joined me and immediately asked me to put on a video. I suggested a cartoon, but no. He wanted to see mechanics. I switched to a car repair channel like Rainman Ray's, but he insisted that I switch to "the channel where the man takes apart things". I opened up one of your videos and he was happy ! He stayed watching for quite a while. I think that my next gift for him will be a set of spanners... 🙂

Watching you abuse that 3/8 stubby impact was what made me finally get one for myself and my obs lsx build

I'm not much into cars, buf your videos I do like to watch. Partly because of the comedic bits here and there, but mostly because the sheer amount of knowledge you have explaining the teardowns. Also the integrity you show for your shop is a huge plus, so keep it up!

I love how humble you are man.. you deserve every bit of success that comes your way

This was a fine teardown, didn't mind that it wasn't an engine at all.

I'd call it rebuildable, but she's tired, and not worth the cost. Love doing something a little different. Keep it up!

Hey Eric, thanks for that one! Never seen a gearbox dismantled like that

I liked this, because I'm a huge manual transmission fan, but also because I've owned the RX-7 version of this transmission for 26 years, in the form of an FC. Glad to say when I've done my fluid, I saw nothing like the sludginess you found here.

Had a 90 mx5 , a known problem is a weak detent for the shift interlock dog. Had the transmission locked in 1st and reverse at the same time. Easy fix, (10 minutes under car) remove reverse switch and move reverse fork with a screwdriver. Dog then can move again. That transmission was fine for another 250k miles. I image a lot of people replaced their transmission because of this easily fixable issue.

Integrity. Eric is the definition of integrity. Entertainment is just secondary.

Love the intro & the midweek videos. A little hump day happiness to get us through till Saturday! Thanks Eric!