Tranny Trouble?.. i think
 

I just recently purchased an 89 turbo II with 89,000 miles on it... One of the first thigns i noticed on the way back from the sale was the weezing type.. turboish sound coming from around the shifter.

The 'how to buy an rx7 page' says this:


" Another common problem is noise. If the bearings are worn (mostly due to old or no transmission oil) they will provide a constant whine while the car or transmission is in motion. The only cure for this is a transmission rebuild or replacement, which is expensive. Note that the transmission may last for many more miles with this condition, or it could die next week."

That scares me.

The car shifts perfect, its just the noise tahts making me worry. At first i figured it was the turbos making the noise... which it still might be. I havent owned a turbo car before this one so i wouldnt really know...

How do i identify my problem? I've read a few explanations on the board, but im pretty mechanic illiterate.

Help?

Change your gear oil, with something good, like Redline.

I've heard redline can work wonders, its probably your best bes for now.

check the oil level in your transmission, if low, then add some. you could try adding redline, or you could just get it rebuilt. just know that switching to redline fluid will not fix a transmission problem, it will just mask it for a while.
a completely stock car doesn't usually make that much turbo noise, so that's probably not it. does it make the sound when you rev teh engine in neutral with the clutch in? neutral with clutch out? only in gear with clutch out?

also, you could take it up to redline, and shift as fast as you can and see how bad it grinds:D

otherwise, I recommend taking it to a transmission shop ;)

It doesnt make the noise in neutral... havent tried it with the clutch in yet, it doesnt grind at all really... its just that crazy noise.

My dad told me the car was a 'lemon'... and i'd be spending most of my time and money struggling to keep the car running.. hes gererally always right... but please, not with this :X

Oh.. and how much does a transmission rebuild generally cost?

well, I work at a transmission shop, and the auto cars we get in normally cost about $2000-2500, depending on car, sometimes more, sometimes less. of course, that also includes pulling/installing the tranny. and also, I don't have any idea on what the normal manual transmission costs to rebuild. I assume it would be cheaper

does anything else not work on the car??
if your dad thinks its a lemon because the transmission could be having problems after 90xxx miles, then he's not thinking clearly.


my 87' toyota tercel SR5 whines like crazy, kind of what you're experiencing, but also CLUNKS like crazy when you let the clutch out with the RPM's not perfectly matched up. I haven't really bothered to find out what the problem is, but its been like this ever since I bought the car about 3 monthes ago, and I floor it everywhere(although you can't tell :D )

EDIT: if you R&R'd the transmission yourself,I assume it cost somewhere around $1000 to rebuild...

or you could buy a used tranny to install. :) that would probably be the cheapest by far.

Yeah... i've looked around and found some older transmissions for 300-400, but so far no s5 tII's

For now ill just do the redline.

I used amsoil in my eclipse and am getting ready to dump some in my tranny, although I experienced a different problem. Mine sounds like it hit something in second and third gear after 5-7K rpm.

Either way though your best bet is to use a dependable, top notch lubricant like redline, or amsoil.

be careful not to mix oils..it can be very bad..if you are under there to check and add fluid you may as well just drain the old oil and replace it all..it would be way more benificial just to spend a few more bucks on more oild than it would..to just add some to the existing stuff. mixing different brands..especially new with old...can mean different standards of oil which can coagulate..or become lumpy..not giving you optimum flow..and protection..or they could just break down in integrity all together..while there will be "fluid" in there you cant guarantee what the combination of mixtures produces when mixed..or how they will react with one another..all of the oils have different chemical makeups..so they may not and probly will not bond together as each manufacture intends them to do..could be your throw out bearing as well...what kind of noise is it...is it just whining or is it clunking and vibrations?..whining is pretty common with rx7 5 speed trannies..there are a few external bearings that can wear over time and create noise...but also there are many inside the transmission that can create a grinding sound...sounds like the car is dragging on the ground when driving...these are way more annoying and loud..and need to be fixed as opposed to just whining when the car is running in neutral...which is just a more lighthearted annoyance than an actual immediate problem to your functionality of the drive-train...hope this helps some

good luck

i plan on replacing the trans fluid in my car with redline as a safety precaution.