Was out tonight and raced an 03 Cobra.. Going from second to...well....5th killed my 5th gear syncro ( assuming ).. Anyhow now when i shift into 5th gear it grinds. ive done a fair share of searching but i cant come up with any usefull info on replacing that bad syncro. Those of you that have had the same problem.... what did you do to fix it? Also before 5th gear started grinding, shifting from 1st to second was a little "clunky" but since the 5 gear problem everything shifts like a hot knife through butter. Anyway, i guess what im asking is, where can i get the parts i need to fix this, and also what can i expect as far as labor charges to have a shop install them. Thanks gents.

 

After doing more researching i found this link

http://www.rx7.org/public/3RD.html

and listed in this link was some TSB info. i was just wondering if mazda had a recall or if they have a fix for it??


20. 5th gear shifting noise / grinding


EDIT:

NOOOOOOO... just answered my own question... Damnit.


20. 5th GEAR SHIFTING NOISE / GRINDING

Service bulletin # 001/94 Cat. J, issued 1/7/94, revised 1/27/94
Applies to vehicles with a Vin of JM1FD332*P0100001 through 210508

If grinding occurs when shifting to 5th gear, a 5th gear
synchronizer ring, damaged by mis-shifting, may be the cause. To
correct this concern, the shift select spindle has been modified
to increase the accuracy of the shift pattern.
(Note from DZ: they raised the spring force from 6.7 kg to 8.9 kg
on the shift select spindle)

Replace shift select spindle with part# R503 17 550 and replace
5th gear synchronizer with part# W501 17 725B. Inspect related
parts for damage and replace as necessary. Applies to all
vehicles under normal warranty.


in lame terms... they mean.. **** next time learn to shift.. now pay us to put these btter parts in your car. Cracka *** cracka. :T

 

No Way will it be covered. Best thing to do is get a full rebuild. Bearings shift forks gears that are damaged and syncros. Also DO NOT FORGET THE SHIFTER BUSHING. The Stock plastic bushing fails and can cause premature syncro failure. Even if it isnt the cause replace this 9 dollar part when you do your tranny rebuild. Also the Stock FD syncros are prone to damage because they are lighter then the 2nd Gen turbo syncros. Although they do help you to shift slightly faster when racing the also break easier due to less mass. You can replace them with TII Syncros. They are stronger and are Direct replacement. Have your shafts checked for trueness. Also replace the fluid with some Neo or Redline or Amzoil ( My personal favorite). If you have any questions PM me. If you race in Competitions you can get a Factory Discount. 2 events a year and you need proof. www.mazdamotorsports.com This is the place to get the absolute lowest prices for the parts you need. I have an account. And the prices are basically what the dealer pays for them before they mark them up.

The stock driveline likes to twist by design to transfer torque. Might be time to add an engine torque brace or trans brace to limit the movement. Otherwise at high boost and rpms the whole driveline twists making it difficult to find the right gear and because the trans it pitched over.
I know of a guy in MD that can rebuild it well. My trans is going there. He has done a dozen FD trannies and has 20+ years expenience and is good at what he does. So far no comebacks on the FD trannies.

 

sweet. whos this guy that does the rebuilds? whats he charging for a rebuild..

 

damn. where can i find an online place to order tranny parts. i dont have any credentials to qualify for the above listed website ( dont have any timeslips or race event shiznit ). and im trying to find an online place to order R503 17 550 and pn W501 17 725B.

 

I can't remember who posted this (perhaps ejmack1), but here's a copy & paste:

I am FAR from an expert, but I can give you some tips, if i can remember them.

get a shop maual, or print the transmission chapter out of one online. It will pretty much guide you through step by step

have an assortment of pullers available. you need one with a long set of jaws, and one with a shallow set of hooks. it's kinda hard to describe the shallow ones, but they need to fit between a bearing and 5th gear(?). mine ended up not working, so I made new jaws.

you'll need a really long socket. I honestly don't remember the size, sorry. just be prepared to make your own, because unless you have the mazda Special Service Tool(SST), good luck finding one that will work.

order a new shift select spindle, new lock nuts in addition to synchros. you may need a new 5th gear hub assembly too.

DO NOT USE HEAT TO PULL OFF ANY DIFFICULT BEARINGS OR GEARS.

Take your time.

if you don't have a transmission jack, have a helper available. you can bench press it into and out of position. don't hurt yourself though. i'm not a very big guy and it wasn't too hard to do. i would guess that it weighs 100lbs or so. kinda awkward.

honestly, getting it out of the car was pretty easy. took me 3-4 hours to get it out, but less than 2 hours to put it back in and get on the road.

If i were to do it again, I would check around my local transmission shops and see what they charge just to replace the synchros (not to remove/install in the car) if it were less than a few hundred, i would take it in and have a pro do it.

let me know if there is anything else that i can help you with.

 

I can buy any parts you need. Its best to wait until its out and apart to see whats needed. Dont half *** this project or it will cost more later.

 

yea i agree. i know absolutly null about transmission so i think im going to take it to a tranny shop to have it rebuilt. :T sucks. atleast the car is still driveable and i dont have to get this dont asap. I just lost my job :T

 

I didn't know anything about trannies either, but I just, seriously, just 30 min ago got my car back together after doing the 5th synchro job as well as a plethora of other stuff. The tranny now feels awesome going into 5th. I didn't find it to be too hard to do the actual work in the tranny though. Just follow the write-up and FSM closely and stay very organized and you should be fine. Oh, I had to replace a couple of bearings while I was in there so you might want to anticipate that.

 

yea i just dont have the resources to do the job myself. maybe someone local to me wants to make a some cash and do the job for me (assuming u have don it before ).

also ron,
how much did the parts u needed run? what all did you replace. the tranny feels strong and smooth except for the 5th gear grandage. :T GOD I HATE MY CAR!!!... but damnit i love it to death to!!!! :curse:

 

i have something somewhat similar...maybe. i was coasting on the freeway tonight, and going into 5th from neutral, it went in with a bit of grinding. it wasn't super loud, just right when it goes into gear it grinded. i thought i screwed up so i tried it 2 more times and it did it again those times as well. i was scared. i came off the freeway and drove local and it shifted ok, especially when i just went 1-2-3-4-5. it seems to happen when i'm coasting at 60+ mph and then going into 5th from neutral. (is that just a bad thing to do?) my friend said i probably just didn't push in the clutch far enough. any thoughts?

 

First thought that came to mind.. dont hi-jack my thread

Second thought... maybe its when your cruising at a certain speed and the tranny is at a certain rpm the syncro's dont mesh correctly?? best way to see if its a syncro prob is go back int he inny.. does it still do it? yes? welcome to my world.

 

oops. sorry, didnt' mean to hijack your thread

thanks for the info

 

RX7Wishing,

When shifting from 4th to 5th, try letting the RPMs drop 1 or 2k before going into 5th (4th - neutral - wait - 5th). That usually cuts down on the grindage quite a bit, and has allowed me to be lazy about fixing it for awhile now.

 

what you can do is change your trans fluid to gm synchro mesh. i know its GM but alot of Nsx ppl using it and finding great results + did it to my nsx and supra works great.

 

Damn, I think mine is gone too... Went to the dragstrip Saturday night and missed 3rd gear. On the way home, went from 4th to 5th and got the grinding noise.

 

Or you can just double clutch until you can afford the $/time to replace the 5th gear synchro!