shift linkage issue ?

[SgtRauksauff]

Just got back from the j/y-the Escort shift linkage won't work(damn). The long shaft is the same, but the part on the front that bolts onto the tranny is different and hits another component. I ended up grinding off the pin and installed new bushings and bolted it together using a shifter bolt I got @ the j/y, just like Ferdi said. Plenty of clearance.

Actually, that WILL work from an escort. Just flip the center bolt in the motormount so the head is on the side towards the transmission, instead of the nut. Problem solved. You have to do the same thing in an Escort when keeping the same linkage but changing from the 1.9L Ford engine/tranny to the 1.8L Mazda setup. Or, just get a linkage from an Escort GT instead, that one is the same as the Protege. The G-box used on the 1.8 is a little wider than the one used on the 1.9 (f-box, maybe?) and tolerances are a little tighter.

--sarge