tpg1188

Long story short. got car with 61K. Clutch went in 70 miles. Clutch replaced. 1,500 miles later left rear axel sheared off at wheel. Axel replaced, trans replaced with savaged trans with approx 20k on it. So i had the new trans and the car made it 7,000 miles before taking another downward spiral. Smooth shift at 4k from 1st to 2nd and the car fluttered slightly. The car began to issue a sound like static in every gear. 1st and reverse began to attempt to throw out and would grind from a stop. In 2nd the shifter would suck back toward you when pressing the accelerator, and attempt to move toward neutral while letting off the pedal.

Took the car to the mazda dealer from whence it came and a service tech hopped in it, tested every gear without taking for a test drive- he just sat there and felt the gears letting the car rock slightly- and then proclaimed without a doubt, the main drive line in the tranny is shot, and there is no way it is the clutch.

Replaced the clutch... lo and behold! 95% of the problems are gone. The springs on the clutch disc were so shot , they shook like a tamborine. That was the static sound i hear. Before replaceing the clutch, i took the trans to an expert who has 40 years exp working on transmissions and rebuiliding them. He said 2 things. 1). NO SERVIVCE TECH is qualified to make as boastful a claim as that, transmissions are tricky, and 2). there is no shaft play with my transmission.

The clutch is in, grabs nice and is smooth. YET... 1st gear and reverse still act up. 1st is strange, and i had to do this before replacing the clutch. At a stop i have to move the shifter from neutral to 1st, back to neutral and up to first again in order to actually feel it engage. Reverse is just a bitch all together.

I've tried everything except replacing the bottom shifter bushing, which i have just ordered. I figure the bushing may be worn and not letting the gear selector move fully.

Any ideas?

Arca_ex

iTrader: (10)

Jesus... what are you doing to this car that you're shearing axles off and blowing up clutches and trannys like no tomorrow?

tpg1188

the car had 5 previous owners, 1 who put 30k on it in less than a year. Yea... im not the one who was squeezing it for the first 61K.