i joined the blown trans crew today!
 

wow does my luck suck lately!...im driving home from work....car is all warmed up and less than a mile from home i hear grinding coming from first gear....im stuck in moderate traffic so i wasnt moving too fast.....then i take it out of gear at the light....no noise....i try to put it back in first and nothing....the shifter is stiff as hell!...kinda felt like i was hitting a wall when i tried to move it into first....it finally goes in and the clutch is engaged so i took off real slow...i hear grinding while im driving!!.....so i thought ok maybe its just first and i put it into 2nd at about 10 or 15 mph and the grinding starts getting louder....so im thinking oh crap maybe 3rd will work?....i take it up to 20 and put it into 3rd.....grinding again....kinda sounded like i was dragging a chain under the car.....so i take it out of gear cuz of traffic and im coming up to stopped cars.....took 4 attempts to jam it back into first and it finally went in....i know it aint the clutch cuz one it was grabbing and i felt no slippage at all......and on top of that when you have a blown clutch it will go in gear but not grab.....mine just wont go in gear period.....so i finally made it home in serious limp mode and waited for mazda roadside...it only took 2 1/2 hours for them to get there....when the tow truck driver got there he had me take off my lip before he even attempted to pull it up (he didnt want to chance it and neither did i......and he tried to put it into gear and confirmed my thoughts that it isnt the clutch.....its something much worse!.....im so upset now!!!....why!!!.....

Maybe because of the picture posted below?? :)
I don't think the tranny can take many high rpm 1st to 2nd shifts. I can already feel some notchyness in my shifting (turbo'd and drag race often). I may try switching out the trans/diff oil again (it's been 10k since last change).
Also, there's an improved shiftfork and other pieces for the transmission that Mazda was replacing, search. I know it's not a service bulletin yet.
How many miles you got on your car?

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Walked into that one Chris...... :)

Seriously.......sorry to here of your dramas. Hope you get it sorted quickly, mate.

F*************k.... I've been expieriencing similar problems where all the rearward gears (2,4,6,R) are sometimes EXTREMELY hard to shift into and once they're in they're difficult to get out of for several minutes. Also, I've been getting some unexplained grinding while shifting into all gears, though it seems more frequent at higher rpm shifts.

Let me know what they say, Chris, because I'm probably on the way to a similar, if not, the same problem. I, however, don't race! What the hell? If there's a severe design problem with the trans (I.E. not able to handle the high rpm shifts the engine was designed for) I'm going to start fighting Mazda for my money. I've already had other minor problems that Mazda has been unable to remedy (such as loud door rattles and an oil light that comes on for no reason). I really love my RX-8, but I'm starting to wonder if my dream is a bit tainted. Perhaps you can't pay thousands less for a car that's as much fun to drive as a Porsche... :(

Please, Mazda, say it ain't so... fix my car...

i blame NJ for your tranny, cuz i can feel mine notchin as well

that picture was a year ago and also one of maybe 5 total 1/4 mile passes i have had in the cars life.....i have accelerated on to the highway (as im sure you have too) on numerous occasions......im sure if there were problems with the trans it would have shown signs before no?...i also have 11k miles on the car.....and i dont bang the gears.....and just for arguements sake that run was done at 15.4 so you know it wasnt pushed that hard

Sorry to hear that man but now is the perfect time to throw in a flywheel and clutch. hit me up if you decide too as i can give you the counter weight and stainless steel clutch line.makes a nice difference.

REALLY sorry to hear that man. I hope I'm not headed down the same path :(

the stock clutch is just not good. I have had a tranny rebuild, and a whole new tranny put in. The presure plates backing out caused all of my problems. it would grind all the time. Now i have a new 2005 tranny, with the exedy stage 1 racing clutch. Never had a grind or any problems since. it has been about 8,000 miles.


I also shift at 9500 rpms in 1st 2nd and take her up to 80 on the highway everyday, and i aslo auto x.

thea weakest part of the tranny is the stock clutch it just cant hold the power nor rpms.

taking it to the dealer is probably a mistake, they tear it down and then refuse to warranty it, leavig you with little option but to pay through the nose to repair it

if that's the case contact me, I can probably help you find a used one for a lot less than they'd want to repair/replace it, you could just ship it in and have them install it

I replaced my own last year ... my 2nd gear blew out after one of the first few times it had been pushed hard. The used relacement has taken 20 times the beating without a whimper. It's really just a hit or miss thing ...

they are already are saying cuz my car looks like a racecar it may have been abused so now i may have to pay for the tear down.....im gettin grief!

Tell them it's not a race car, it's a show car and you'd most certianly never risk it at a track!

Call Mazda North America and explain it to them nicely. If they are assuming you are racing your car JUST beacuse it looks like a racecar, I'd have a real shit fit. Sounds like racial profiling to me :icon_bs:

LOL, do a search ...

chris you should of done what i did put in a used one i bought it from mazmart for 1400 and the things been perfect. saved me all that drama

i aint payin shit......and if they charge me ill buy a new trans for sure at mazmart.....and then im gonna be one popular guy in the classified section with stuff for sale!

Damn, that sucks Chris! And 11k only?! Dumb dealership to think, just cuz it has aftermarket parts, its a race car. So if you add mazdaspeed stuff, would that make it a race car too?

Like smrx8 said, buy a used one should all crap really fail (seems like his 2nd gear grinding has finally been resovled :)) Seriously tho, wouldn't want you to be a popular person in the ads section!!!

Al

This is exactly what I've been wondering... I always wondered why to clutch pedal was so light on the 8, especially for a high performance sports car that's designed to Rev high. I tried the clutch on a Pontiac GTO before I went with the 8, and I felt like I needed both feet to depress that one.
I guess the light weight and feel of the clutch pedal on the RX8 might be convenient, but can't handle the stress the engine was designed to produce. Sounds right?

Racial profiling? I thought Chrism was caucasian? Do white RX-8 owners always abuse thier cars? lol

ok the verdict finally came in......the dcgm came in.....saw my car.....and now it is getting done completely under warantee.....i do not lose the warantee if something else happens....so i am good to go!.......only sucky part is that its gonna be a tear down and rebuild so im out of an 8 for 2-3 weeks!....but the loaner is approved and my 8 is getting handled .....see sometimes knowledge works for you in regards to the magnussen moss act and warantee repair......the little guy won today!

glad to hear it, hold on to that dealer :)

oh i am.....i have referred a few people over there already.....

Which dealer is it? Maybe I'll bring my 8 to them since every other dealership doesn't seem to be able to "identify the problem".

trannt problems are the worst for our cars.

Thats great Chrism! Make sure you get the details of what went wrong and why it happened.

Al