My 04 rx8 is acting up, ill give you a little info on the car then ill fill you in on the problem.

04 Rx8
50k miles
Racing beat intake
Racing beat cat back exhaust
racing beat catless mid pipe
racing beat header
Koni Shocks
ZexSmart wet nitro kit 75 shot, not been sprayed yet (im scared of damage)

Ok so heres the problem, i went to the drag strip yesterday, Kansas City International Raceway, i joined the test and tune group and had run 8 or so runs with no problems at all, after that i noticed my shift **** was shaking a little bit when it idled. Not thinking anything of it i kept racing. By the way my friend took his mazdaspeed3 and broke his motor mounts first run lol. Anyway i kept racing, did 5 or 6 more races with no problems, then on my last race, i noticed a LOT of wheel hop, finished the race with my best time of the night, running a 14.78 at 99 mph, when i got to the turn point, i heard a very bad noise...grinding. Now when i shift into first and try to take off, even verrry slowly, it throws out of gear, second gear makes a grinding sound when im driving and when i decelerate, it gets louder. The rest of the gears sound alright but still have a slight humming noise. revers doesnt go anywhere at all, just sits and spins while i listen to the buzzing/grinding sound. CAN ANYONE HELP ME AT ALL? parts, prices, hints on the DIY repair?

Thanks guys,
Casanova

 

If you changed the transmission fluid you would most likely find metal shavings.

Hit up Paul from Mazmart. Just post in his vendor forum. It's cheaper to buy a known good low mileage used transmission than it is to repair one. Also he has '09 transmissions for sale too which are better than the previous years.

Honestly I'm not sure if our transmissions can handle too much abuse at the strip. Especially when you have sticky tires.

 

Are you noticing any clutch slipping at all?

From the sound of it its either your syncros for 1st and 2nd gears are toasted and/or your clutch is busted.

Clutch replacement is a DIY type of thing, it takes a weekend and if you replace with stock parts would cost around $500-$700 depending on the damage.

Syncro replacement takes some speialized tools and new bearings and seals and other goodies. The repair for this is out of reach for most people, so you would have to take it somewhere. It might cost between $1000- and $2000 depending on the damage and the shop.

 

Thanks you guys, so much, my first thought was that maybe i broke the transmission mount, but after further thought, didnt think that would affect the car any farther than maybe the engine shaking a little more than usual. My other friend was saying the same thing about the synchros, he said that he thinks 1st and Reverse share a synchro and maybe that was the problem. Anyone selling a good usd, tranny? i could prolly come up with a loan to cover the cost, then bolt it on with the help of some friends, Jerry Perez Jr is one of my buddies, his dad owns Rotary haven on the East Coast so he knows alot about the car. You said synchors are hard to replace and require a professional? would a regular shot know what to do with the car since alot of people dont know much about rotarys? Thanks again fellas

Casanova

 

The transmission can be rebuilt by anyone that knows about transmissions, there's really nothing thats super special rotary about it. The thing is that if the parts are incorrectly aligned they will make noise when you are driving or the gears might wear themselves completely out, so its best to let someone who knows what they are doing repair it.

 

Alright, thanks, guess its time to make a trip to AAMCO transmissions tomorrow, ill keep you guys updated. BTW, heres a rundown of my track slip, considering im poor and the parts i put on my car, hows it doin?

R/T -.102
60' -2.169
330 -6.101
1/8 -9.475
MPH -75.11
1000 -12.096
/4 -14.797
MPH -99.7

Casanova

 

so, from all the replies ive gotten from several people, it seems as if my synchros are bad, which means i prolly fucked up a few gears, 1st 2nd and maybe 3rd.....to get all the synchros replaced and get those three gears replaced, how much would you aproximate the cost? im thinking ill take it to AAMCO transmissions for the rebuild. help please lol

 

or you can buy a new transmission from Endless Rotaries

check link ---> https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-sale-wanted-44/fs-renesis-6mt-transmission-5000mi-173402/

 

The cost to open the tranny + replacements of whatever parts you need will probably cost more than 1000 bucks.

so I suggest you take the hit and buy a brand new 09 Transmission for around 2K and use it.

04-08 Aisin made Transmission is ok for regular daily driver, but garbage for any track/autoX event.

 

i have one, you are where?

beers

 

don't even bother trying to rebuild it, find a replacement

 

listen to the bagged one ^^