Im new to Mazda, ive had this 88 NA RX7 for about a month, would appreciate some input. it has a little over 100,000 miles on the original motor and transmission, the past week its been getting harder and harder to put into gear when it first strarts up. it shifts smoothly when the motor is off and when its been running for about 15-20 minutes. I want to identify the issue before it gets any worse. Is this a common problem? might it just need a tranny oil change?

 

I wouldn't say going into gear when cold is a common problem. Typically 2nd gear syncros are a weak point, but that doesn't sound like your issue. I agree a fluid swap is a great place to start. Bleeding the slave cylinder with new fluid is also a good maintnence item to do.

I assume that the clutch isn't slipping under heavy load (like WOT up a hill)? This may seem silly, but if you're in the north, as it gets colder it will be stiffer when cold, but it should still go into gear fairly easily.

 

Thanks. After some more troubleshooting this morning im pretty sure its the slave cylinder, dont think temperature has as much to do with it as i thought. Ill change the fluids and see how it goes

 

well good thing the slave cylinder is easy to troubleshoot. Take the boot off and if you get any fluid coming out, it's time to replace/rebuild.