odelay3

iTrader: (3)

I have a 93 with 130xxx miles on the original 5 speed tranny. In "normal" driving it works just fine with just a slight grind going into second - it's intermittent and really not much of a grind at all; more "notchy" than a grind maybe? Either way I've had other people drive the car and not even mention it so it's fairly minuscule. It's not butter though. Other gears will have the same symptom from time to time but mostly it happens in 2nd.

At higher RPMs - 5500ish+ it's really interesting when shifting as in you have to pay extreme attention as to which gear it's going in. 1st to 2nd is okay but going to 3rd you have to make sure it isn't going to 5th and from 3rd you have to make sure it hits 4th and not 2nd.

I know the synchro issues these transmissions have, esp. the 5th. My question is whether this is a synchro or fork issue? I've seen where people had issues with forks but did not know exactly what the symptom for that was.

I'm contemplating taking it out and dissecting/fixing it vs. purchasing a JDM tranny with 40-50k miles. I guess my goal here is to attempt to figure out what parts I would be replacing and therefore comparing that cost with that of a new to me tranny.

Thanks for any help, I searched but could not find anyone with the "higher RPM" shifting issues...

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Coincidentally I had my transmission rebuilt over the winter. Car has ~ 120k on it. Never seen track, only occasional autocross and always adult driven. The only other possible variable was that I ran a short shifter for ~ 20k.
The impetus for the rebuild was a noisy input shaft but when they tore it down, worn forks and synchros near minimum spec were found. Buying a used transmission wasn't seriously considered for a number of reasons, so I had it gone through....new forks, bearings, all new synchros etc.... ~$1200 total. I R & R'd the transmission myself. At least half that was parts. According to my shop, everything had to be sourced from MAZDA instead of their normal suppliers...and MAZDA likes their stuff. I got them hooked up with Ray at Malloy. You could probably do it for half w/o labor, but transmission work is beyond my small brain.

Looking back I had some of the issues you describe. I think they came on so gradually I never noticed until they were gone. Really happy so far with the result.

evo_koa

iTrader: (2)

SGTblue, who rebuilt your transmission?

odelay3

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the input

Anyone have any opinion on the transmission offered by Pettit racing?

Similar price point plus shipping...

evo_koa

iTrader: (2)

pettit rebuilt my motor and my turbos, i highly recomend them, top quality work

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

I have that ocasional ISSUE , I had 5th gear synchro replaced just recently , apperantly I should of mentioned the whole first to second notchyness .

if I warm up the transmission it does not do it anymore . only happens when cold . I'm gonna guess the first to second gear synchros are a bit worn.


if I double clutch it will go in fine .

As for the 2nd to 5th issue I've done it before , but it was more of a I got to excited and passed thirds gate .. NO??

I have a short shifter so getting the gears is a bit more difficult . But except for those couple of times its always gone in fine .

Maybe Its just practice?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I rebuilt my transmission once and also swapped in a very low mileage one at another point.

All of them have the double-cone 2nd synchro, and they all shifted the same - they will slip in seamlessly when I make the 1-2 shift briskly and when I make 1-2 slowly (pausing at neutral for a split second). When I make 1-2 at the normal street driving pace, it's clunky. I don't know enough about transmission design to explain, but I personally suspect they had to make some compromises in the 2nd synchro gate design and it seems they chose a design that shifted best when driving hard. If all of this resembles your experience, a rebuild may not won't fix this, in my experience.

Mazda did not use this transmission much - only Turbo II and FD - so while you can get an aftermarket bearing/seal rebuild kit, the synchros, shifter forks, etc can only come from Mazda. A good low mileage transmission is often the better bargain, although past operating life is always an unknown.

Getting to 2nd synchro requires a full/complete teardown. The real limiting issues with this transmission are the input shaft bearings, shift forks, and 5th synchro in my experience. If you just have these items done without pulling apart the main box the labor will be much less intensive.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

A local shop to me that specializes in transmissions and differentials.

odelay3

iTrader: (3)

Well if the second gear clunk is somewhat normal I'll just wait until something "tears up" to do anything with the transmission. I drove it all day yesterday with no problems - of course i didn't drive like a lunatic either; no WOT high rev shifts at all.

Thanks again for the input, always appreciated.

beckrx

iTrader: (18)

My Pettit rebuilt tranny was a remarkable improvement over my stock tranny. The shifting is fluid and smooth. It makes for a significantly improved driving experience. I also run Amsoil synthetic tranny oil 75w-90 GL-4.

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

Worn motor mounts and diff mounts, cracked power plant frame etc... can significantly alter the difficulty of finding gears in this trans which isn't easy to begin with

Be sure you keep those parts in good shape or you may damage your trans and be very methodical in your shifting it's not a forgiving trans at all, as in clutch all the way in and smooth rhythmic click click and release clutch.

I have a good used 94 trans with 64k miles. 500 plus shipping.

odelay3

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Fritz I'll check those items out and definitely keep you in mind if I purchase one.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Also, JDM transmissions go for a good price nowadays - $400 or so typically. I have one in my car, HUGE difference, the car shifts and feels so much better.

It's just not cost effective to rebuild a high mileage transmission.

Fixing the 5th gear synchro isn't too bad to do at home, beyond that get a new trans.

Dale

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

That depends IMO. If you buy from a well known, reliable seller like Flynn, yes.
But otherwise you don't know what your really buying...how many miles, how was it treated or maintained. And regardless you have shipping costs. Bad enough if the buyer labors to R & R the transmission themselves, only to find out what they put back in wasn't any better than what they pulled out. Even worse if they have to pay a shop to do it for them. Besides, personally I didn't want the JDM short 5th.
And in my case, I already had some professional labor into my transmission for a tear down. So, for me, it made sense to just have it gone through rather than buy used. I also got a bit of warranty.
Not sure where, maybe it was Ray @ Malloy, but IIRC the figure for new was ~ $2500.