KneeDragger85

so yesturday was the first night i took my fc out after i bought it. on the way home with it on the weekend it shifted fine, noticed when i went into reverse to back into my drive way it grinded a little bit. so after i started and warmed up the car last night i go to get in it to pull out my driveway and it was really hard to get it into 1st gear.. once i took off it shifted as normal. as i drove a few miles it got less and less hard to get into gear from a dead stop... the body and trans have 103k miles on it. i dont know if it has something to due with the cold weather, i live in new jersey and right now its been really cold for the past few days. teens and 20s lol. im hopein maybe the owner before me hasent changed the tranny fluid in a long time and thats all it needs...... any ideas. and i might just do a trans fluid change this weekend. i see it recomends 80w90. any personal prefrence on tranny fluid would help also. thanks guys!

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

It may just be the cold weather, or it could be a clutch issue. The pedal may need adjustment (travel), or there could be a hydraulic issue.

For transmission oil, I've been happy with 75W-90 NEO synthetic. You can get it from Mazdatrix: http://www.mazdatrix.com/q-supply.htm. The transmission will take 2.5 or 2.6 quarts. I can't remember exactly, but the FSM will say in the capacities section. Link: http://www.mazdatrix.com/q-supply.htm.

KneeDragger85

yeah i forgot to add, it has a centerforce clutch. and pedal pressure feels fine and grabs good... im just gonna dump the fluid and try that.

dankekong

iTrader: (2)

Hands down its just cold and old lol. Make sure ur fluid is good for the clutch and ur all set. Throw it into 5th a few times before reverse....it always lines up better that way.

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

reverse gear isn't synchronized like the others so there will be a tendency of it grinding slightly, especially if ur still moving. selecting any gear will stop the turning of the gears, allowing for smoother shifting into reverse. with the age and mileage of these cars now, the cold weather(cold oil) will tend to make it a little harder to select gears, especially 1st, when sitting still. in my case, i've found that going to 2nd then 1st makes things a little easier while the tranny oil is still cold.

KneeDragger85

thanks guys, i been doing the 5th to reverse thing. it doesnt grind any other gears, gonna dump the fluid out asap