Check the ball and spring to see if there is a broken spring. Its the ones that are held in by a sleeved bolt. That helps with the return..

IIRC, the lower ball on an s5 shifter is small and uses a nylon bushing in the extension arm cup.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/g-...92BotBushB.jpg

http://www.mazdatrix.com/g4.htm

S4 shifters have a larger lower ball and uses no bushing. Is there play where the lower ball and cup interact?

It could be that when moving over to 1-2, there isn't much force on the spring as there is play between the lower ball and the cup.

When you move over to 5-6, the tension is on the coil spring, and you still get rebound..

Thats a good thought. I never thought about that. I wish I had an original S4 shifter to compare the two.

I've got everything back together right now with the S5 shifter, and I hit the shifter bushings with a little silicone spray and with the slightest amount of effort it springs back back from the 1/2 gate. Good enough for me for right now.

So did you check the spring tension on the side spring and ball ?

You mean that spring brings the shifter back from the 5/R gate? Yes it works fine. I don't have a problem with the RH gate, just the LH gate.

Also did you put gear fluid in ? Just asking because it was not mentioned. If not, only fill it halfway .