Ok guys, I need you all to talk me out of a lot of potential headache.

I already have the transmission out, the pilot bearing is shot, the needles decided to weld themselves to the input shaft. I dremeled the high spots down and then hit it with some fine emery cloth. It's not perfectly smooth but it should work. What do you all think?


Now considering the unknown condition of the trans, would it be a wise decision to break this thing down and check out the internals? And at that point, would I be better off buying a rebuild kit and replacing the bearings, seals and synchros? I've never rebuilt a transmission, but it seems as long as I stay organized I should be ok. The workshop manual is only 16 pages...can't be that hard, right? Famous last words...lol

 

Were you able to drive car before you took it apart?
When you drained oil from trans to remove it what did it look like,any shrapnel or chunks of metal on magnetic drain plug?
Able to shift through all gears?

Obtain a new pilot bearing and slide it on input shaft of trans,how does it turn,smooth?

Hardest part is going to be removing remains of bearing shell from eccentric shaft. You'll have 1 maybe 2 chances to remove it with the correct puller...or you'll have to cut it out with a dremel and carbide bit. Lot of finesse used here very easy to cut thru bearing shell and into eccentric shaft. Really need to be careful,have seen eccentric shafts damaged beyond use leading to need for engine replacement.

 

I only drove the car short distances, up and down my neighborhood street maybe 3 times before the clutch literally disintegrated (which has me extremely paranoid about the trans). The few shifts I did do felt decent, nothing stood out.

The fluid was dark red/brown. Smelled normal, not burned or anything. Not much on the drain plug, just fine filings.

The pilot bearing from the OEM Exedy kit fit well with minimal play in the up/down and left/right directions.

I have a gentle hand with a Dremel, usually. I hope I can pull it with the generic puller tool from the auto parts store

 

Been here,seen this play out many times. Like posted before you have 1 MAYBE 2 chances with the correct tool. 0 chances with everything else.
If trans was quiet,likely serviceable.

 

Great! I guess I should pony up for the proper tool then. Does anyone on the forum rent the tool out?

 

You could try posting a thread in SE regional forum with your request,there are a lot of rotary owners in that area.

 

if you're going to pull it apart, just replace the synchros and bearings. organization is key with the transmission. it has a lot of parts and they all need to go back in the correct places.

you also need to rent/buy/steal the puller set. the Mazda set has a set of really long extensions, which you could make if you needed.