1989 GXL 5spd 100k

So today I got into my car and started driving, about 10 minutes down the road my i take off from a light and when i shift from 1-2 it feels like there is gum in my trans. there is no grinding and in goes in with no problem except for the gum felling and it being hard to pull it into gear, any ideas?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

so i pulled off the shifter to take a look and make sure there was gear oil in my trans. there was oil but it was light grey with a hint of green (almost like anti freeze green?) this has me a bit worried. im not sure what would make my gear oil this color but i know it isn't right.

 

Here is a bit more info, when I first got my car the people I bought it from listed that the transmission had just had its oil changed. After buying it the trans shifted smooth, no grinding, no problems getting into gear etc.

About a month ago I started getting the second gear grind when the trans was cold but it would fade away as the trans would heat up. Now this is where I am, shifting from 1st-2nd is hard but no grinding (even when cold) it’s just very hard to pull strait down, it does this at all times, car off, car on, clutch in, clutch out, and only from 1st to 2nd. It feels like there is something in the holding it back.

I’ve been doing a lot of searching (before, during, and still as I’m writing this) and it seems redline mt-90 has helped a lot of people with trans problems (mostly grinding 2nd) so I’m going to change that out and see if it helps.

If anyone can give their 2c worth that would be a great help. Thank you.

 

Yeah redline trans oil really helps. My transmission in my fc when to feeling sluggish to smooth. It needs a rebuild, first gear kicks out of place and 5th gear grinds at high rpms.

 

Where did you pick up your redline MT-90 at? I’ve looked online at Kragen and Auto Zone and the only redline product that it comes up with water wetter. I'm still going to check the stores near my house, but just curious where you got yours. Thanks again.

 

You have to ask them to order it for you. They can. Pulling the shifter to check for oil is not going to do anything as the transmission does not get oil from that area. The oil in the shifter is only to lube the shifter. To check for oil in the transmission you need to check the fill plug on the transmission itself.

Once you use that redline, it should cure most of your problems. Make sure your shifter bushings are all there since you already have that out and that they don't look worn.

 

thanks for the heads up, I did realize this (the fact that you can't judge the oil by what’s in the shifter housing) today as I was researching what my problem maybe, also I can't see what my shifter bushings look like because like I said earlier in the thread, the housing is full of light grey/green oil, full to the top. I’ll take a picture of what I am talking about and post it up when I get home later. Thanks again everyone.

 

+1 for new bushings and synthetic gear lube. Besides Redline, there are others like NEO (which is available from Mazdatrix) that also work well. The gray/green sludge in your extension housing (shifter location) is probably whale oil from Japan. My S5 J-spec transmission was full of the stuff when I got it. That stuff really reeks too. I drained it out and replaced it with some fresh NEO 75W-90.

 

So it doesn't seem as bad as I thought it was, the more I search and read, the more it seems that its the bushings and it could use the appropiate oil.

here is a link to someone talking about exactly what mine feels like:
https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...76&postcount=9

the post talks about the shift path in 1st and 2nd having an angle which is what mine is doing. below is an example. I can pull the shifter down and bypass the angle but its very hard and there is alot of force that i am working against(i do not do this while shifting i just follow the angle to avoid making things worse).

\_|_|
/..|..|

ignore the periods.

 

Yeah that sounds like bad bushings. You should replace the upper top and bottom shifter bushings along with the bushing that goes in the ball of the shifter. If you feel like doing more work you can replace the lower shifter bushing which holds the small shifter ball, but would be easier to do that with the transmission out.

 

You do not have to replace the entire "lower shifter bushing block". mmr-direct.com sells a Delrin replacement bushing for $12 I'm going to get that along with the other two bushings from mazdatrix, might be a few days before I do though.

 

...........................

 

Not to be a downer, but I had a very similar problem and it turned out that the 1st/2nd gear shift fork was fractured. It eventually broke in two and I had to replace it.

I hope your problem is just a bushing and some oil.