shifting problems, transmission? need help!
 

i think i have some transmission problems with my 93 fd. shifting from first to second is hard and has a hard time getting in the gear and sometimes grinds. shifting into thrid fourth and fifth gear are pretty good compared to second. also when slowing down like 3 mph the first gear locks up so i have to drive it on 2nd. has anybody had this problem.

i was also reading through forums about my problem and would the problem be solved if i replace the clutch hose, clutch master/slave cylinder, and the throwout/pilot bearing?

Well, my tranny requires a great deal of force to shift all gears & now started grinding with fast shifts.

Since my tranny was new a couple of years ago, I tried all of those - without success. New clutch, pressure plate, throw-out, pilot, clutch hose, flywheel, master, slave, fluid.

The typical reason for hard shifting is a malfunctionng clutch but I just gave up & bought a rebuilt tranny.

Rough shifting can be caused by the bushings and wave springs in the stock shifter breaking down - that's an easy and inexpensive fix. I would do this first, and consider a low miles JDM tranny if the shifter is working smoothly

The 1st-2nd shift is often rough on 93s and early 94s - Mazda changed the 2nd clutch hub and synchro design in 94. Those updated parts are over $200, and the labor of getting them installed is equal to a full rebuild.

I don't understand what you mean about the 1st gear problem. Are you talking about shifting into 1st on a roll? If so, you shouldn't be doing that much - you should either be in 2nd or coasting in neutral (such as crawling in traffic).

Dave

^^agreed

sometimes when im rolling at like 3-5mph, i try to put it to first to get going quick but i feel myself get blocked by 1st..i would have to clutch out, then clutch back in and it will go in with force but no grind but i just go into second cause its much smoother..

i understand what he means by 1st to 2nd shifts..my 1st to 2nd is really choppy..it doesnt grind but you can def feel it through the shifter..it feels like you are pushing metal balls out of the way when shifting into 2nd lol...but its not that bad, usually does that during the first 20 min into the drive, then its normal after that..all my other gears are fine though, no grinds..

Dave, I changed shifter to a B&M and then a different stock shifter and then a different short shifter. New bushings on the end as well. The problem ain't there, at least in my case. And I have changed fluids, neo, redline, back to factory stuff. No place left to go except a new tranny.

tcb100, perhaps the bushings and bearings in your housings are messed up or jammed from debris. Or synchros are going bad (rebuild time). If you pull the tranny and separate the extension housing, you should be able to see it, and swapping in a good extension housing is relatively easy/cheap.

If the shift rods and select rod move freely, then a newer tranny is in order - JDM is probably cheaper than a rebuild. I just happened to find today that if you want to do a rebuild yourself it's $375 for bearings, synchros, and gaskets from www.gttransmissions.com. This is much cheaper than Mazda, but I don't know how the parts compare to Mazda's.

Dave

FD trannies don't like shifting into 1st when rolling. Come to a complete stop and it will go right in.

Dave, clarify just a bit. I don't know squat about transmissions.

Sitting still, my transmission feels great, smooth, click, click.

Once moving however, my shifting is a one-two process with a serious "notch" between each gear. 1-n-2, 2-n-3. Practically stoppage between gears & you really have to muscle it. I used to powershift (probably the cause of the problem) at the dragstrip but it is not possible with my current transmission. My RPMS jump way up before I can even get it into the next gear.

Throwing a fast shift (not a powershift) from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th really grinds like hell.

This was a new Mazda tranny two years ago. If I have 5,000 miles on it I would be surprised. It does have maybe 30-40 runs at the dragstrip & one ugly missed shift from 2 to 3, but other than that, the damn thing has not had a lot of use.

If you can rake the gears smoothly when still, the shift rods and select rod are probably fine.

I'm betting all your brass (synchros) are damaged, and maybe some clutch sleeves. Since the FD tranny is known for being a little notchy, I expect it won't handle clutchless shifting well at all. Plus, the consequences of a bad clutchless shift are synchro damage, I consider powershifting to be a bad idea. I know the tranny internals, but I'm not a drag racer, so maybe it's not as abusive as it seems to me.

I will say this: if powershifting is important to your racing, then a dog-face box may be in order.

Dave

Well what I call "powershifting" is not lifting my foot off the accelerator. Powershifting is important to me, but not at the price of a dog-box. Of course at the rate I'm going it might prove to be cost-effective.

Sorry, I got mixed up with that - I sometimes hear 'powershifting', 'speedshifting', and the definitions were never clear to me.

The thing that concerns me is in a powershift, is the clutch disengagement window is so small, that any synchro hesitation or mis-timing will put some hard abuse on the synchro, clutch sleeves, and drive gear. I would speed shift (aka granny shifting very quickly) and see about spending the money I didn't lose in transmissions on better tires :o)

Like I said before, I'm not a drag racer, so maybe powershifting really is practical - but perhaps your times will come down more in the long run if you pace the shifting a little more and focus on other things (?). IMVHO.

Dave

thanks alot guys for the help im currently bleeding out my clutch and putting in redline 75w-90 in it. also my mechanic said its normal for fd's to be like this and just stick it through until it totally breaks and get a rebuild