My 3rd keeps crunching could this mean a new gearbox or is there ways round this?

what does "crunching" mean; second, how many miles; third, any other gears; fourth, high rpms or low rpms.

Crunching as in it doesn't go in smooth I have to let the clutch back up and put it down again, mileage is 56000 and it only happens in 3rd and it's high revs.

have you checked your clutch bracket? They are weak and the welds break so we have to buy aftermaket brackets to reinforce. Second, if not that, it might be your syncros. I've had mine go out before and I would grind when shifting unless I gave a 3 second pause before putting in the next gear.

I would think it's the syncros there not that much money though are they, i'll change the clutch bracket aswell, Cheers for the help much appreciated.

well, theres a big difference in problems. If its your clutch, then there is a safety issue. Imagine your clutch snapping going 70mph down a highway. What you gonna do then???? not so good. As for syncros, no so dangerous, but if you keep shifting on bad synchros, you will f up your transmission and have to replace which will run you a couple grand. your choice.

Do you recommend doing both to be on the safe side then?

no matter what, you need to get the clutch bracket reinforcement. we all have it/need it. i've heard too many horror stories of it snapping at highway speeds and not being able to get out of gear. I would replace the bracket first, then take it for a run. If the same problem exists, then you know it was not the bracket and something with the transmission (prob syncros) but either way, your clutch bracket would be safe. have you seen the pix of the snapped clutch brackets? or do you have an AT?

The visual option is to compare the snapped clutch pedal pics to your clutch pedal bracket. Give me a min and I'll pull up the DIY for repair for ya

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=170387


Here ya go, this has the best pix and DIY on the replacement. Compare your OEM bracket to his and if it looks similar, its busted.

Listen to Ren, who is about to chim in, he knows his shat

It's a possibility that the clutch pedal is going out but then it will make it hard to shift in almost every gear.

A lot of people have synchromesh problems on this forum and there seems to be a very simple remedy for it; change your gear oil.

About 9/10 people noticed better shifting, no grindage, and smoother gear changes after they changed out to fluids. I also recommend going MT-90 by Redline.

Hope this helps.

BTW: The syncro saver is all snake oil. :)

BTW: The syncro saver is all snake oil. :)

It cannot beat 710 sauce :rofl:

I'm on my phone at the moment so can't get the pics, up how much will it cost me to get syncro and have it fitted? just spoke to a mechanic and he said he will do the bracket on the clutch for free, But told me the syncro would take about 3 days to do and would cost about £400 in labor.

What's the best oil for the job then?

A lot of time and money. They're going to have to take off the transmission from your car and pull out everything inside the transmission just to get to the synchro. I recommend doing a transmission fluid change with Redline MT-90. This should help solve the problem... hopefully.

I hope so to I've got the money if it doesn't solve it but I was saving that for my remap cheers renesis.

Just found my car is still under warranty from the garage I brought it from is it worth getting them to fix it or will the oil do the job?

Do the trans oil change, see if it helps, if you still have the same problem, you are under warranty neways, so then take it to the garage to see what they say. If its under warranty, they won't bullshit you cause they don't wanna waste time and money on a car that they are getting no profit for.

My third gear synchro was broken when this happened, pic on the forum somewhere, rebuild or replace is your only option, finding a used one will be your lowest cost option if paying out of pocket

xun4Whateverthefockyournameis how about giving it a rest already ...

^wtf :uhh: that was uncalled for

I've probably blown up more RX-8 transmissions than whatsisname has bedded women

here's the pic

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=125154&d=1219189584

swapping the oil is cheap so it won't hurt to try it first, but unless you replaced it recently and used the wrong oil I doubt it will solve the problem

please don't just go swapping parts out either, inspect your clutch bracket first, myself and plenty of other people I know have been competing in RX-8s for years and haven't ever seen this problem

My 04 started having the same problem around 18k miles. It got progressively worse, spreading to 2nd and 4th. My local dealership assured me it wasn't the syncros because they had rebuilt the transmission 2 months before I bought the car (used). I had the clutch replaced last summer. Then last month at 45k miles, I had a whole new transmission put in. Apparently, the shop that did my clutch and flywheel didn't refill the transmission when they finished the job, so it destroyed itself.

I'd go with Team's advice: check the oil first because it's cheapest. Then inspect/reinforce that pedal bracket, and see how things go.