So I finally got my 7 back from the dead, and I drove it down to FL from PA (I know not the smartest thing to do with a freshly rebuilt tranny and a car that had been sitting for almost 6 months). I got a new transmission put in along with a new clutch and flywheel, and I also did a full tune up on the car (new belts, hoses, plugs, wires, flushed and replaced fluids, etc).

The situation:
The car ran perfectly all the way from Pittsburgh till about 100 miles out of Ft. Lauderdale when I noticed that the center concole had gotten extreamly hot. I pulled over at a rest stop because I was afraid I was going to start a fire and I noticed that it was kind of tough to get the car into each gear.

Anyhow, I was trying to be as gentle on the car as I possibly could (basically I got behind trucks the whole way down to save on gas and be a little easier on the engine) because I had just gotten it back and the last thing I need is to loose the car again and not have any way to get to class.

I should also note that the temp gauge never went beyond half way and when I opened the hood the engine was not spitting any coolant (so I don't think I was having a problem with the engine overheating). And also, the oil level was full.

So my question is could this be my transmission overheating? And if so, what could I do to keep it from continuing? I have driven it since (as I was instructed to do by the guy who rebuilt the tranny) and after about 10-20 miles the console begins to warm up again.

Thanks,
Ryan

P.S. sorry for the long post....I just want to give as much info as possible so I can figure out what is wrong. And I want to find out as soon as possible so the guy who fixed it will still honor his waranty.

 

My tranny in my 87 NA also gets extremely hot. It's good for about 10-15 minutes of driving. Then the shifter starts to heat up. After a while, it gets to the point that the metal part of the shifter is so hot, that the **** begins to get quite warm.

I plan on doing an fluid change on it here soon, just haven't gotten around to it. Picked up the oil today tho and the car is on a jack waiting for me til tomorrow.

 

Are your heat shields in place?

 

mine did the same thing after about a half hour of driving, i also got scared. I pulled over, jacked the car up to see what was up and touched the tranny, it was cold. I think it was just the exauhst, the CAT. is also right in that area.

 

Yeah, take your car for a drive a night and let it heat up like your saying, then pull over and look under the passenger side to see if the cat is glowing. Before mine went out it did that, and made the inside of the car around the passenger side very hot.

 

I thought it might be the exhaust heating up at first also, but I touched everything under there after it had sat for about 45 min and the entire system was cool (I have an Apexi N1 with a Bonez high flow cat). By the time I get out of class it should be dark, so I'll take a look underneth when I get home and check the cat.

Thanks

 

Check the fluid level. Make sure it has the correct fluid.

And, make sure you have all the tranny boots intact, See pictures here:
http://mazdatrix.com/faq/shiftbsh.htm
http://mazdatrix.com/faq/ssinstal.htm

 

you have to check it while it is hot, letting it sit for 45 minutes isn't going to tell you anything. in fact it most likely was the exhaust as it cools down a LOT faster than the 4qts of gear oil in the transmission.