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Gearbox question

97 Miata, 82k, owned for two weeks. Okay, my question is this: When I drive in third gear, I can feel the shifter in my hand move front to rear depending on my acceleration. If I remember correctly, the shifter knob moves forward upon accleration and when I get off the accelerator it moves back, towards me. I don't feel this in any other gear. It is really quite noticable, not just a little movement. It hasn't slipped out of gear or made any nasty noises. Just wondering what this could be and if anyone else experiences this.

Thanks

John

Reply to
John
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Put your right hand back on the steering wheel. Voila, problem solved.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 14:39:54 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@hotpop.com (John) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Keeping your hand on the lever exerts force on the transmission which will keep the gears from being where they should be. In time this may produce enough wear to cause problems such as popping out of gear.

Keeping your hands on the wheel as Lanny says will ensure they're where they need to be when something jumps out in front of you.

Reply to
Dave Null Sr.

Does this apply to all vehicles? I've heard that I shouldn't rest my hand on the shift lever, so I look for this when reading manuals. The owner's manual for my 2002 WRX explicitly warns against it. I've never found anything Miata related stating this. So I'm curious.

Always a good idea.

Jim

Reply to
Jim

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 17:43:12 GMT, Jim wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nowhere.invalid:

Moving the shift lever moves the gears inside the transmission. Leaning your hand against the lever will leave a force inside the gearbox which wasn't intended to be there except when changing gears. How much wear or damage would depend upon the design of the gearbox. Think of it in a similar way to resting your foot on the clutch pedal, another no-no.

Reply to
Dave Null Sr.

The left hand will still feel the shifter move. It might be OK to move one hand to the steering wheel, but BOTH hands??

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

I am not exerting any force on the shifter. If I just rest my hand there I can feel the shifter move. Is it a potential problem?? Thanks.

Reply to
John

Probably not. You will probably experience the same thing in many other cars if you try it, I know I've felt it. The gears are not straight cut, and so when torque on the one that is longitudinally fixed is increased or decreased by the engine, it tends to move the non fixed gear (the one the gear shift moves) back or forth slightly. It's not a problem unless it's jumping out of gear.

John McClary ('94 Miata) jsgmcclary at cox dot net

Reply to
John McClary

Geez, are Miata transmissions so wimpy that I have to worry about this stuff???

Reply to
Dave

Dave,

No, actually the "problem" is that Miatas (Miatae?) give the driver a lot of feedback. You just have to know what to ignore.

Mike "Red '97" Verive snipped-for-privacy@mverive.com

Reply to
Michael Verive

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