Slow Death

Help!
On cold start-ups (which is every morning), the tranmission sounds like a cement mixer (or even a home blender) churning a couple of kilo's of nuts and bolts. The car comes close to stalling. It's only after I let it run a bit that I can actually drive away - and the noise lessens, but is still there.

The problem's been there for the last three weeks or so - and I ignored it. Not by choise. I use the car every day and had to organise a replacement before I could put it in the garage.

The mechanic's are cluless about what the problem might be.

The dealers aren't a) permitted to sell RX8's here and as a result b) don't have access to Mazda's databanks on the car.

Has anyone had this problem before? What was the cause of it? How was it remedied?


My car's a 2003 model (238BHP) which I bought with 3000 K's on the clock. I've just done 15000 K's in it. Till now, it has proved to be an awesome car, practical, fast and fun. I must admit I've been running it a bit hard...

ANY help at all regarding the problem will be greatly appreciated.