Hey guys,
I can break the engine down and play with it, but one thing i don't know too much about is a transmission. While i just have a slow 86 n/a with auto trans, is there a way to make it quicker? I know the pains of putting a manual in and really don't wanna do that, so how can i make my A/T faster?

thanks

z

 

I think that a Auto-manual swap will be well worth it, but if you really really are set in staying auto, I think that getting lower diff. gears will be the wat to go. Maybe some 5.12's Or maybe a 4.33 would be a little less extreme, but I dont know if you going to see a majot difference with that or not. The stock auto diff. gearing is 3.909 I believe.

 

Dont stick with auto. They are very slow(minivans used to beat me in my 91 haha) Get a 5 speed its not much of a pain to do.

Nick

 

Bolt in a TII motor?

Brad

 

If you can rebuild an engine but dont want to mess with the transmission swap something is wrong.

 

The automatic transmission was a serious afterthought on Mazda's part - they had to offer an auto to increase sales volume. There are such thing as decent automatic transmissions (which I still wouldn't touch with a stick - manual is the ONLY way) but the RX-7's ain't one of them.

The biggest problem with the auto is it's not super hardy - I think every auto RX-7 I've seen either had the tranny starting to die, or it was dead. A buddy of mine had the tranny on his girlfriend's '90 GXL rebuilt to the tune of $2000! IMHO, the autos are just time bombs - I wouldn't even consider buying an automatic RX-7 even as a beater car.

Dale

Dale

 

Change the torque converter stall speed and modify the valve body to provide quicker more positive shifts. Talk to someone that modifies automatic transmissions for drag race cars.


Rob

 

i see the topic of the swap is up again.

i need some advise with mine, id appreciate everyone's help.
first, im aware of the differences in the crossmembers. i tried to buy an adaptor from hypntz7, but he seems to have dissappeared off the face of the earth. if anyone could get him to check his messages id appreciate it. anyway i was wondering if, in worstcase scenario, i could use my current crossmember and(dont laugh) JB weld it to the proper point to mount the 5spd(i dont have the means to do a true weld, and this would only be temporary).
second, how hard was it to remove that monster flywheel nut? what did you all use besides a breaker bar?
thanks for your help.

p.s.---- the auto tranny sucks, mines starting to die too.

 

besides the transmission, what else do you have to do to the car for the a/t to manual swap? i think the ecu, but what else?

z

 

the flywheel nut was hard for me to get off. You will need a piece of metal to keep the thing from turning with the breaker bar. I think it would also be wise to have a cheater bar handy too. I can't remember what size the nut is, but I would STRONGLY suggest you either buy/borrow someone's 3/4 bar to do it with. I broke my dad's 1/2 doing it. Have fun.

 

no one ever told me that i needed an ecu. but then again i have a 90, so all i need to do is unplug the EAT, the transmission computer.

but youll need a tranny, shifter parts, pedal set, 5spd driveshaft, clutch parts, your year flywheel, clutch master and release cylinder with lines.

i think thats all of it, go to rotary ressurection(spelling?) for a complete list of parts and procedures.

hope that helps....

 

thanks for the input. i cant wait to workon it.

 

You can get a BOMB-PROOF auto tranny from Level10 in PA. I think they run about 4grand though! Just do the swap to 5-speed.

 

Oh yea, I forgot to mention this. I didn't actually use a 3/4. I used a pipe wrench on a 3/4 socket. It would have been a lot easier with a 3/4 drive though.