Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the forum and I'm from Western Australia.

I'm trying to help out a friend who has a manual Mazda 6 2003 with the 2.3l engine. I'm hoping you guys can advice me as to what's the best way to fix this issue.
Basically he can't select 1st, 2nd and reverse when the car is running. So he has to turn the car off, select the gear and then turn the car on and take off in that gear.
When the car is on, no matter how hard he pushes the gear stick it will not select the gears mentioned. 3rd, 4th and 5th are fine. I have checked the bracket under the battery and the cables are both attached and are in place.
We haven't checked the gear stick mechanism as yet, to see if the 2 cable clips are broken. We'll be doing that next, but if the clips are broken where can we get replacement clips and is it a easy job?
The other thing I was thinking of was the slave cylinder but the fact that it will go into those gears when the car is off and 3rd, 4th and 5th when on makes me think it's something else.

Thanks for any help and advice,
Jason

 

Check for leaks under the rubber boot on the slave cylinder & around the master cylinder on both sides of the firewall. Failing that, remove the centre console to expose the shifter assembly.

If you look at the diagram i've added, there is a "lock piece" on the end of the cable. If you pop that out you can adjust the length of the cable slightly. Try going longer & see how it shifts then you may need to go shorter. Have a go with that. Failing this you may need a new clutch. ( How soft does the clutch pedal feel?)

 

Thanks for the reply grim_reaper,
Ok we'll check the lock piece at the end of the cable when we remove the centre console. The clutch was replaced a few years age and the pedal feel ok but does have a little bit of movement within the pedal itself, like sideways movement not much tho. Is the adjustment of the lock piece something that has to be done from time to time. Because I don't think it's ever been done before on his car. Also I checked the clutch fluid level and it's at max, I was thinking if there was a leak the level would drop. But I will still check the master and slave as you suggested.
He also mentioned that in the mornings it's fine and will shift into all gears for the first 15 to 20 minutes of driving. But after that the shifting problem start.

 

It's not normal to require adjustment over its life. It's such a minute adjustment, I'm surprised it does anything.

Also, how long ago was the gearbox oil last changed? Oil quality can make a big difference too. I recommend Castrol VMX 75w80 or 75w85

 

I'll have to ask him, but I don't think it's been changed for a while. He does keep all receipts so if it's been done he should have it. Cheers for the advice mate, I'll add that to the list.