04 AT stalls putting it in gear
 

Hello everyone! So, I bought an '04 Series 1 AT.

I'll wait until the laughing dies down...


OK, this car has 130,000 miles on it, but I'm going over it 'stem to stern'. I have the engine finally finished and correct. I'm almost willing to say I've got the nicest 4-port motor in the country - which ain't sayin' much. New rotor housings, milled irons, new seals, new bearings. I did good. Getting EXCELLENT compression on the motor. Then I put all four wheels up on stands and went through the gears of the transmission.

Here's the problem:

EVERY SINGLE TIME I put it into gear, either reverse OR drive, the engine seems like it wants to stall and I need to give it gas just to keep it going. I can't say how it drives, because it's still up on stands. I was able to check the fluid level in PARK, the motor runs fine there. Fluid level seems ok. Still, every time I put it in a motion gear, F or R, the engine wants to die.

I DO have an extra transmission and torque converter, and I'm thinking a swap will likely cure this, but I'm not sure and I don't want to go through all the work of removing the engine again if I'm wrong. Could this be some kind of transmission control module error, or something electronic? I'm not seeing transmission codes on my OBD reader, but it's also not the best reader. I also have a program called FORSCAN, but I'm not sure if that covers transmission problems and I think the cable I'm using to connect might be sub-par.

Can someone point me in the right direction? Oh, FYI I am in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area.

Some additional information - the ATF has been replaced. I bought a filter kit for the AT. It came with the thin gasket that goes between the valve body and the AT. I WAS VERY CAREFUL REPLACING THIS, this is not my 'first rodeo' with automatic transmissions. I know about all of those little balls and springs, and I was extremely careful when changing the gasket and filter (which is basically just a screen). The kit also included a pan gasket, which was nice.

I used DEXRON-6 in the AT, this was what was recommended.

Also, as part of the engine work, all of the coils, wires, and plugs were replaced. I'm trying to keep it all stock, so I used NGK wires and UF501 coils (standard motor products brand). As stated, the motor is werkin grate!

could be the neutral safety/inhibiter

oh and hello fellow local L.V. resident

Neutral safety/inhibitor? I thought that was only to ensure the starter doesn't crank when not in neutral/park. My engine will run, it just won't idle in gear. I must keep applying pressure on the gas pedal to keep it going. Also, it feels like the transmission is what's killing it. Like there's something keeping it from spinning freely inside.

I'm HOPING a swap will fix this, but I was also hoping it was something other than this labor-intensive job.

ALSO - I haven't seen very many RX8s. I have seen one black one on Hanover Ave in Allentown, a silver one in Nazareth, and a red one in front of as service station in Bath. Any of those yours?

.
I think I may have an idea with your problem is. A long time ago my mother had the same problem with her Caddy.
She spent a lot of money before they were able to fix it. It was the gadget (probably electronic) that locks up the torque converter.
ATs at some point (speed/ RPM) will lock up to increase MPG.
.

The first thing that comes to mind are shift solenoids. Either faulty or miswired.

Cool to see some fellow owners in LV, I'm a bit south but work in Easton. Red R3 here, havent seen any of y'all out there yet but maybe one day!

I have no idea about the AT tho, sorry. I'm not very knowledgeable in general but could it maybe be idle air control, not letting in enough air to keep her running with the increased load of the torque converter when you put it in gear? Maybe something else to check before ripping out the whole transmission

Sorry might of had my wires crossed with the neutral safety/inhibitor, I was thinking of sticks not autos. I think there is something similar on autos tho.
When you did the tranny swap did you have the battery disconnected? If so did you do the ecu reset?


There are 8s around they just hide in the winter or are still up on jack stands :hahano:
I've seen the black one in Allentown and the red one in bath. I also host a yearly meet up at the PA mini dragon shameless plug
I have a winning blue
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...3d7bc793ea.jpg

Sweet ride! Re: tranny swap, it has NOT been done yet. Trying to avoid this, but it now appears to be unavoidable. This is my VERY FIRST rotary. It took me MULTIPLE attempts at the engine rebuild before I got it right, removing and installing the engine each time.

It was a whole thing, the first time I thought I dropped a bolt down into the intake that fell through the port and into the rotor housing. Then I tried to retrieve it using a magnet on a flexible stick, and the magnet separated from the stick and stuck to the rotor. Obviously the engine came back out. IT WAS ABOUT THAT TIME that I discovered the bolt lying on top of the outside of the rotor housing, it had fallen below the fuel rail and I just couldn't see it. THEN, I tried to be slick. Since it was just the BACK rotor that I had to get to to retrieve the magnet, I only loosened the back plate (and that big-ass 300 ft-lb nut), lifted the back iron and got my magnet.

Wouldn't you know, one of those needle bearings in the front shifted? This was not discovered until I put it all back in. Yes, I should have re-checked everything, but why? All I did was pop the back iron off and reinstall! Well, now I know why.

So, engine back out again. Then, I finally get it all in and test everything, only to find I have average compression after a rebuild. Yes, I know there's a break-in period. I let the engine run for approximately 30 minutes before I even checked anything. Granted, that's not the break-in period, but I figured it was enough so the seals would settle. On that note, let me just say that MEASURING SIDE-SEAL TO CORNER-SEAL CLEARANCE IS NO JOKE!!! You CANNOT 'fudge' it or say 'close enough.'

Anyway, after multiple attempts (and some new side-seals), it's finally perfect. I am really trying to avoid pulling it out again, although I AM getting pretty good at it! :yelrotflm

I'm in a home garage, so I'm not lifting the car and separating the subframe like the manual states, I'm unbolting the trans (them top bolts are fun) and lifting the motor out. Once that's done, obviously the trans is right there, just unbolt the rear brace, separate the linkage, pull the driveshaft and swap. It looks like that's what's next.

This, of course, is all part of my core philosophy.

Why do a job only once, when you can do it twice at three times the cost?

IT RUNS! Might need a wash, tho...
 

Swapped the transmission - NOT an easy job to do in a home garage with no lift, btw. I'm going to post some videos on my youTube channel, GregSki's Garage.
It may be awhile as I need to stitch a bunch of phone videos together, but you SHOULD be able to see it run here:

hope it's going good...I'm rebuilding my 05 auto next month...plan on Brett's turbo mani,trans cooler,and mazdaedit mods