By center console I mean the whole section between the seats, where I believe the transmission goes. I went for a drive tonight, nothing too hard, and then sat with the car running and chatted with my gf for about 30 minutes. Well, I put my hand in between the seat and the carpeted center console, and it was very hot. Not burning, but quite hot to the touch. Also, in recent weeks, the shifting has become slightly notchy and i've buzzed reverse a couple of times trying to get into it. Is my tranny going, or what do you think? Would an MT fluid change help things?

 

Change the fluid
Change the fluid in the shift housing
Change Shifter bushings
Inspect/replace ALL shifter Boots (install correctly)
Inspect all exhaust heat shields under the car
Inspect Exhaust system for leaks
John

 

not sure about the shifting, but as far as the heat. Make sure the boot that surounds the shifter as it comes through the floor is installed proberly. I was having a heat problem and when I installed it properly the heat went away. Also, there is a heat shield under the near the the tranny that needs to be in place.

 

Yeah, the rubber boot is either missing, or has a huge hole in it. Mine was so worn that it basically was just a rubber ring. I got a new one from the Mazda dealer for like $8, and when I installed it there was literally no rise in temperature. Open up your center console and try see if the boot is all torn.

 

Even if the tranny oil is not the problem, you will be amazed at the improvement from filling with synthetic gear oil.

 

Where abouts is the drain for the shifter box on 2nd gen N/As?

Can't find mine.

 

There is no drain. you unbolt the side plate on the shifter housing and flush it out with some brake cleaner. You will most likely find it full of sludge:which is the remains of your shifter bushings.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys! Okay, so I've got a couple of more questions:

1) I can just take off the center console to get to the shifter boot, right? Is there anything tricky I should know about before I try that?

2) I've got a bit of a hairbrained idea to change the tranny fluid. Here it goes:

a) Get a thick plastic bag big enough to hold 2.5 quarts of Redline

b) Get a thin (maybe 1cm wide) flexible plastic hose from Home Depot.

c) Duct tape the hose to the top of the bag, sealing it and making it air tight.

d) Put the car up on four jack stands.

e) Drain the old fluid.

f) Using a funnel, fill the bag/hose combo with Redline.

g) Insert hose into fill.

h) Squeeze bag gently until empty.

What do you guys think?

 

Buy a 3.99 pump at autozone that screws into a wide flange oil bottle and save the hassle,mess and aggravation

 

What should I ask for, exactly? I'll go hit Lordco today, but I can't really picture what you're talking about.

 

Heres a pic

http://www.dol.net/~stimpee/rdiff.htm

 

It's called a liquid transfer pump. It's basically a cylinder with an aperture at each end for a hose to attach to and a T-handle at one end. There's valving inside and when you pull the T-handle out, it sucks fluid in through the top hole and when you push the T-handle back in, it forces the fluid out of the bottom hole.

To use: open your quart of oil and put the end of the "in" hose in the opening. Then put the end of the "out hose" into the fill hole of the tranny (or whatever). When you start pumping the T-handle it'll empty the oil bottle and fill the tranny (or whatever). It can get messy if you're not careful, so prepare for dripping oil and slinging hoses.

 

thanks for the info on the pump, guys. it's time for me to go synthetic in the tranny and I already have redline for the clutch diff as well. might as well use it! hehe

 

BTW, which synthetic tranny oil is good but not super pricey? does mobil make mobil 1 tranny oil?

 

Get Redline MT-90 its arguably the best. (royal purple is also a contender).

 

You shouldn't let your car idle for half an hour. It's bad for the engine, bad for the catalytic converters and bad for the environment. Just shut it off next time.....

Your heat problem is probably due to a missing rubber boot around the shifter, and/or missing exhaust heat shields.

Info on changing the tranny oil: http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/transfluid.htm

 

Again, BEER BONG TIME!!!