tranny issues on my 94
 

I just put in a tranny in my FD because the one that came with the car locked up and would not go into gear. The tranny i bought used worked fine then fifth started to grind little by little until it was a steady grind every time i put fifth in.

All of the sudden i was driving and punched it in second then went to throw third and it didnt go in all the way and it grinded the gear. I pushed the clutch in and put third in and drive it home fine.

I washed the car to take it out later that evening. I jumped in the car and it would not go into reverse at all.

I was a little pissed but i was lets see if I move it the gear goes in later. I get to where I was going and then played around shifting gears with the ca off. The shifter became hard and it would only go into 1st and 2nd. All other gears were really rigid. I left it and when I left I was worried. When i started to drive the car the shifter loosened up and all the gears went in except reverse and 5th still had the grind.

I am not sure what the issue is. Any ideas?

The issue is the driver.

It sounds like your clutch slave cylinder isn't releasing the clutch, that's why the gears are so difficult to grab. There could also be an issue with the shifter bushings causing it hard to find the gears. When it is in gear there shouldn't be any play in the shifter and if there is you need new bushings. The test to see if the clutch is releasing, well can you jack up the rear end and just see if the tires are spinning with the clutch pushed in? Other than that, I suspected synchro's initially. That can be improved by changing the fluid but it won't fix the synchros completely of course if they are the problem. But I'm not sure if they are the problem. Synchros don't do anything at all when the car is turned off.

I agree: clutch hydraulics are where I would start with this.

Be careful driving it like this. You can do expensive damage inside the transmission without a proper clutch action.

Seems like most of your problems happened after you washed the car. Don't make that mistake again, just don't wash it ;).
Seriously, I've had most of the issues you describe at one point in time or another. Grinding from Second-to-third is classic (engine torque brace works wonders, as do poly engine mounts). I've even had the problem of not being able to get it into reverse (it was still under warranty and it took a flatbed ride to Mazda where they fixed it for free, problem with 5th-reverse). It sounds like you might have more than one issue but definitely start with the hydraulics and then work your way through the problems one at a time. BTW, does the new tranny have the right amount of fluid in it?

Yup the driver is the problem. LOL

I will start by maybe bleeding the clutch again. The clutch is def releasing when you push in the pedal. I am assuming it has the right amount of fluid. I took the 2 drain plugs and the fill plug when draining it. I plugged up the drain plugs and then filled the tranny until fluid started to come out of the fill plug.

I also added fluid inside where the shifter goes. I dont was told to remove it because this is not needed and I am not sure if it has anything to do with the issue I am having.

I think the issue has to be inside of the tranny because it is not normal for it to be super hard to get it into gear when the car is off then when you turn it on the gears work properly. I am a bit confused.

You also need to make sure the snap ring and collar for the pull clutch is 100% engaged.

What kind of gear oil are you using?

clutch snap ring is fully engaged. You can hear the clutch grab and let go when you push it in and out. I just put in syncromesh fluid. Fifth still grinds a bit but reverse will not go in. The plastic bushing on the bottom of the shifter is cracked half way around.

Try 75w90 gl4/5

rejckt do you think that will make a diff over the synchromesh fluid?

This is most likely the reason, happened on my old 8 and it would not go into gear at all or was really hard. Fixed it and shifted perfect, replace that first, a B&M replacement from rx7store is only $80 for the entire assembly.

Did you replace the clutch when you did the trans ,and did you replace the Input shaft Needle bearing,If you did and you did not install the bearing all-the way to the bottom the rubber seal for the needle bearing can drag on the Input shaft turning the shaft slowly, and preventing gear engagement,you might also have a( dry,and or dirty with small plastic pieces ) shifter pedestal,which houses the shift handle, it could also be a damaged shifter fork, try to check the clutch master and slave cyl for correct movement with out them nothing works well.......all the best ....................

Na i just replaced the tranny cause i have a stage 2 clutch that is still in pretty good condition. I just rebuilt my clutch master and the slave seems to be working fine with no leaks.

I will try replacing the shifter with the B&M one and see if that works. I am going to ask a mechanic i know if he has any spare shifter bushings so I can put it in for the time being. For some reason this doesnt seem like a clutch issue. I think it is a tranny cause when the car is off it still does the same thing. It looks like it is either the shifter or the tranny.