Hi again and thanks for the help with my clutch replacement!
I started to install my shift lever and have a problem.

The shift lever and the link below it are stuck together, the wedge bolt is mared up from a previous sloppy install.
so I removed the 3 torx screws and pulled everything together.

I was reinstalling just now and shifted into first gear to start the screw in the round cover plate.
I dropped my torx bit and it fell past the plate onto the top of the tray.
I pulled the shifter up and out so I could get the bit back.
When I reinstalled the shifter it will not go into gear.
It will only move side to side but will not go into any gear.
Did I mess something up?

Ps
1994 mazda b 4000 4.0 4x4 5 speed.

Thanks again!

 

Common issue
Transmission needs to be in Neutral to install the shifter

If you look down into the hole you will see the top of the 3 shift rails and each has a slot for the shifter to fit into to move that 1 shift rail forward or back into a gear
Those 3 slots need to be lined up in the middle of the hole, that is Neutral
use a screw driver or ??, to slide each to the middle, probably just one is out of line
Then you can install the shifter

Article here on replacing the bushings in the shifter, as shifter can get sloppy when they wear out: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...g-replacement/

But if you scroll down to last picture you can see 2 of the 3 shift rails lined up as they should be, but you need all 3 lined up of course, lol

 

Thank you! It worked!
I have her back on the road!¡

 

(2 months later) Thanks for sharing that obstacle and solution, I just got online to look for a way to deal with a stuck shifter wedge bolt and voila! First hit.