1. When one of the guys at a Miata shop drove my car months ago, he knew by the sound that the shift boot seal was torn - that's the smaller and lower of the two boots under the decorative leather boot. As far as I know, a torn seal doesn't cause any likely problems in shifting or transmission performance since it's under a second boot, but it can certainly stand being replaced.
the upper boot lies in the passenger footwell;
the lower boot ("shift boot seal") is still in place, at the bottom of the shift lever.
2. At the bottom of the shift lever is a bushing. It's been somewhat common on Miatae for that bushing to come off and rest at the bottom of the turret in which the shift lever stands. When it comes off, the shifting feels notchy: finding the next gear doesn't have a real smooth feel. I had read about this on the Mazda-speed forum, and about a solution as well. While my Miata transmission shifts better than any stick I've owned, and while the actual shifting of the lever also feels better than any of those others, I could feel that notchiness.
the white bushing that had fallen off, now back in place.
So last week I used a great how-to on the forum to guide me through removing the console etc., and upper shift boot, and confirmed that the lower boot seal was indeed torn. I ordered a new shift boot seal from Jason at Montgomery Mazda in Charlotte NC (half the price quoted by my nearest Mazda dealer). Today it arrived, and I went to Lowes and bought a 3/8" washer. Removed the shift lever, and sure enough, that bushing I mentioned above was just resting in the bottom of the turret rather than on the shift lever. Put it back in place, and removed the old shift boot seal and put the new one on. The 3/8 washer is to keep the bushing from falling off again: placing it in the bottom of the turret, under the bushing, does the job.
Put it all back together, and SWEET!! -the notchiness is gone, and the shifting is better than ever. I love this car. Cost for the boot seal, shipping, and washer: $30.73.
The car is still under warranty, but I wanted to do this myself. First, I'm sure they wouldn't put the washer in there even if I asked them to, and second I just don't want dealers touching my car if I don't know enough about them to trust them...and I haven't had occasion yet to have to get acquainted with any Mazda service guys. Well, not here anyway. The service manager in Joliet IL was great with my MX-6 some years ago...but that's a few states away.
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