Replacing Miata Shift Boots
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Step 1: Begin by removing the cover over the center console. It is held in place with 5 philips screws; 1 on each side at the front, 2 inside the center console glove box, and 1 under the cup holder (or ash tray, or whatever accessory tray you have). Now unscrew your shift knob. Lift the console body straight up slightly, tilt the front high enough for the outer shift boot to clear the shifter lever. This should expose any electrical connectors that need to be unpligged. Unplug these connectors (my car had two), then move the console forward to clear the gas cap and remote trunk release levers at the rear. Lay the colsole aside. |
  
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Step 2: These pictures shows the removed console and the damaged outer (insulator) shift boot. Remove the 4 10mm bolts holding this boot in place and pull the boot off over the top of the shift lever. This exposes the top of the transmission and the rubber dust boot that seals the transmission where the shift lever enters. This boot was also very damaged as shown. Remove 3 more 10mm bolts to free the shift lever and its dust boot and lift these straight up and out. |
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Step 3: This picture shows the view down into the top of the transmission. The mechanism was reasonably clean given the boot condition, but to be safe, I filled this cavity about 1/4 above the square metal connector where the bottom of the shift knob connects with high quality 80w-90 gear oil. I held the shift lever in place by hand and worked the lever through the gears to work the oil in well. Then I drained the oil and discarded it. The oil was somewhat darker from old oil and contamination, so I repeated this process twice more until the oil I extracted was clean. Then I refilled the cavity with clean oil again. NOTE: You can drain the oil quite easily using a hypodermic syringe and either a long needle, or I used about 6 inches of plastic tubing that fit the end of the syringe. |
 
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Step 4: If you plan to replace the inner (dust) boot, cut the old rubber free; the base flange should slide off the top. The first picture shows the shift lever with the old boot cut free. Both the old and new boots are shown in the background. Now this is the part everyone (including me) does not believe when you do this the first time. That new boot, yes the little one with the little hole in it, slides down over the shifter lever (from where you unscrewed the knob). It works. You can wet it first, or as some Miata owners do, just spit on it. I just sprayed the shift lever and the inside of the new boot with a bit of WD-40 and it slid right on. Piece-o-cake. The second picture shows the installed inner (dust) boot after sliding it over the shifter lever from the knob end. |
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Step 5: My old dust boot showed no sign of any gasket sealer ever being used, but the manual recommeds using a sealer, so I applied a small amount to the bolt flange. Now place the shift lever back into the top of the transmission. Watch as you do this; if you have overfilled the cavity you may want to draw some out or just place a rag around it. Everything should fit easily with no forcing, so if you have trouble, you don't have things properly lined up. The bottom of the shifter lever has a plastic guide that fits into a square receiver in the cavity. The front of the shifer lever's "pivot ball" has a slot that rides against a matching alignment pin. And there is a plastic guide bushing on top of the ball (under the new dust boot flange) that fits tightly into the hole on the transmission top. When these things are all lined up, it will slide in easily. The reassembled shifter lever and new boot are pictured. |
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Step 6: The large boot should slide easily over the shift lever (especially if its still got WD-40 on it). Snug down the 4 bolts and you are almost done. |
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Step 7: This picture also shows the "blanket" pieces that came out; not shown earlier. Slide the console back in place, reconnecting the electrical connectors. Replace the 5 philips screws and screw you shift knob back on. NOTE: If you don't know if you need to replace your shift boots, find out. Removing 5 screws takes no time at all. Thats enough to lift up the console and get a look at the outer boot. If it is damaged, order two new ones and just replace them both. Cheap insurance. |
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Outer boot for my car was Part NA01-64-481B
List Price $20.95 ($15.06 from
Trussville Mazda) Dust boot for my car was Part M513-17-480A List Price $21.70 ($15.60 from Trussville Mazda) Total $36.11 including Alabama Sales Tax and Shipping |
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