Hyoriu

Anyone try Amsoil MTF for the car?

Artemis

Hi guys, I dont come here very often, too busy usually and you guys are so far ahead of me in techy stuff I feel a bit intimidated. However, last week when I drove my RX8 (its a 2003 model) I was surprised to see it didnt go into 6th gear - its as if 6th gear just doesnt exist. It wont go in no matter what I do (obviously I dont try to force it), at speed, at rest, engine on, engine off, warm or cool. Just wont go. Other gears are fine. But really annoying when i try to cruise at 110KPH on the highway (the speed limit in Oz), as it will keep itself there but at about 4200 revs. Kinda annoying. Car is due in to Mazda HQ in Sydney next week - their reply "we have never heard of this happening before"
Other gears are fine.
Hmmm.......... your opinions would be truly appreciated

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

My '04 transmission finally died this past weekend. 37k miles. Will shift into every gear when the car is stopped, but won't shift into 3rd or 4th when rolling. When driving in 1st now has an occasional clunk while motoring along. Has been grinding gears when shifting into 3rd and 4th for about 18 months. No fancy oil, light modifications to car (CAI, exhaust, lightened flywheel), no FI. AFE short shifter and clutch-bracket reinforcement. Clutch seems to work fine.

Some HPDE track days, but no clutch-dump-starts. Heel-toe downshifts always at HDPEs.

I haven't pulled the tranny yet, I'm guessing I balled up the synchros in 3rd or 4th, and have bent the 3-4 shift fork.

Anybody know whether the "extended" warranty Mazda gave us early owners covers the tranny, or only the engine? I'm guessing this one is on my dime.

Thoughts on rebuilding vs. buying new? Is this just going to happen again in a couple of years? Anyone know a shop to trust a rebuild to in SE Michigan?

Tai-Stik

I think we have enough data here to prove the transmission in many of these cars are defective. Any motivated volunteers to start a shared google doc which we can use escalate to a vehicle recall? I think it's about time.

Hyoriu

dangg, so many transmission issues. I'm sure that Mazda should cover it under warranty if it's a manufacture design problem right?

4idarmy

Hey fellas, I'm a new owner of an '04 8, I absolutely adore the car. However I've noticed a bit of an issue with shifting. When I attempt to go to 1 2 or 3rd it gives me resistance and whines a little bit as I push through it into gear, this is only while rolling of driving, when stopped the gears shift with no issue. It is not hard to push it into gear and once it's in gear it drives perfectly fine. Also sometimes 4th gear will grind a bit if I attempt to shift into it with the rpm's high. All of these problems happened within a short span of a few days. Any thoughts on my issue? My dealer has given me a 30 day warranty, I'd like to know if I need something replaced or if I'm just low on tranny fluid or something trivial such as that.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

4idarmy- Welcome to the club.
1st... you might want to change out the tranny fluid since you may not know when it was last swapped.
Redline MT-90 is a popular one to use.

2nd... the "whining" sound you hear are the synchos spinning-up as you go into gear.
Its perfectly normal and more noticeable if you have a short shifter.
This would also explain why you don't hear it while the car is stationary.

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

This is the same problem I had before my transmission died. It started about 18 months before the tranny died, and became progressively worse. The grinding going into fourth is because the synchro is worn and cannot speed 4th gear up before you push the shifter home. Eventually it becomes so hard to shift that you bend one of the shift forks.

It sounds like your case is in a relatively early stage. As a previous posted suggested, changing tranny fluid might help. Make sure you are pushing the clutch all the way down when shifting and are not just partially disengaging it. Driving style apparently has a lot to do with how quickly the disease progresses. Shifting at high RPMs and moving quickly between gears (such as might happen when autocrossing, drag racing or at HPDEs) is harder on the synchros (as they have to do their work faster) and speeds up the degradation. Most likely the existing damage was done by the previous owner and not you.

Good luck getting the dealer to do anything about it. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but they are unlikely to want to fix anything that isn't obviously broken. You may drive your car for 10 years before your transmission eventually fails, or you may drive it for 6 months before it does.

The RX-8 is a wonderful car. I'm sorry you are having this problem and hope it is something simple like a fluid change.

Artemis

Hi Tai Stik and everyone. I do agree that there are too many posts concerning transmission issues with the RX8. I cannot believe we are all such crap drivers that we are the cause of these problems. I have been driving for 50 years and learned to drive on geared cars, preferring to drive them in fact. I have a driving record without blemish - touch wood no driver errors have caused me to have accidents etc. Not one speeding fine ever.
after my post about the car suddenly being found not to go into 6th gear I took it to the Mazda dealership in sydney - where it has always had maintenance etc - so have not had it to anything other than Mazda for its prescribed health checks. I have addressed these on a time-basis, not mileage, as I havent driven it far enough to do this. It iS a lovely car, no doubt about that, a joy to drive, but I am really disappointed in Mazda for allowing this to continue. It just cost me over $5000 to have a whole lot of work done on it in order to get it back into driving condition again. I had to have the entire gear box removed, with all synchroniser on all gears replaced, all needle roller bearings, thrust washers, clutch assembly replaced, new gear box oil, hub, clutch costs on invoice, and a bunch of other little things I am not sure about. It was seen that 6th gear was stuck on the shaft - they had to heat it up to get it off. They asked whether we had ever driven it to get it really hot - absolutely NOT. I also know well how to change gears with sensitivity and of course without crunching but do notice that, as its due date for next service comes up, that the gears do get a bit "harder" feeling - ie not the lovely soft slippery feel you get from unworn synchro.
All I can say is that i am really sad because the car has given me so much joy - I dont drive it much around the city as I dont like the traffic jams we have here (Sydney Australia) and believe I have given it a really good life. My son also drives it - he is harder on it than I am but I dont see that he is fiercely tough on it, he gets the revs up higher but I have never seen him crunch gears when I have been in teh car when he is driving. it should cope with this in any case, it is a CAR after all, designed for some small variation in driver preferences, surely.
really sad anyhow,
cos I still love the car. Going to take it out for a nice drive up to the mountains tomorrow, it loves that trip! Will see how it feels now.

Cvzrx8

Adjust the clutch pedal it helped me on the tranny I put in, it wouldn't go into reverse unless I had a push going reverse n hard to put in first adjusted the pedal n it goes in now. Do you know if you need clutch?

Tai-Stik

Could the latest recall SSP82 perhaps resolve shift issues?

"On certain 2004-2009 RX-8 vehicles, it is possible that the clutch pedal bracket may have a crack, causing an abnormal noise. lf the clutch pedal continues to be operated with this condition, the clutch pedal bracket may break, changing the disengagement point of the clutch and possibly preventing the shifting of gears. lf your RX-8 experiences this symptom, please make an appointment with a Mazda dealer to have the vehicle inspected. lf the clutch aM/or shifting problem is due to the broken clutch pedal bracket, your dealer will replace the clutch pedal assembly free of charge, during the terms of this warranty extension program"

Munchy

iTrader: (2)

Not sure what to call this so it's hard to search for on the forums...

I don't think I have any grinding problems other than the common 1st into 2nd sticking when the transmission is cold (I also knock, not grind, but knock into 3rd gear sometimes when it's cold, but that could just be my shifting)

The problem seems to be when I'm in 4th or 6th gear, but mainly 6th, on the highway, I can hear a grinding sound, sort of like when your brake pads are finished and the metal on metal grinding you hear when the wheels are spinning (or like if I took a piece of metal and dragged it on the ground when the car is moving).

My friend asked if 2nd, 4th, and 6th were on an independent shaft and that it could be the bearing for said shaft... Dunno really what he meant by that.

Anyone else know what it could be?

So my problems are:
-1st into 2nd when it's cold takes some force to get it in (doesn't grind unless I force it in the wrong way)
-2nd into 3rd makes a knock sound when it goes into gear but that may just be me being to forceful on the shifter
-I wouldn't say going into 5th and 6th is like butter, but there definitely is no sounds when I go into those gears
-All in all, I don't hear any sounds going into and gears, only a grinding sound when I'm already in 4th or 6th gear and driving

For your knowledge, I put in Redline MT-90 at the start of this season (April) and plan on flushing and doing so again next Spring, and I'm running a short shifter so noise levels are little higher from the center console.

Thanks in advance!

raevN1

Hey ,

From my experience it's more probably the bearing, or the presure plate.
I had a similar issue after i burned my clutch, i've put an aftermarket one, which the pressure plate was not fitting properly, and damaged my flywheel etc.
You should have a look at the bearing, if it's the bearing, i don't believe it's worthit to change just the bearing, my advise is to change the full clutch kit, so you won't pay the labour twice :}

OR ! It might be the syncro :} which here in Cyprus costs sh*t load of money. if it's over 1,500 the syncros, just get a 2nd hand gear box :-/

marie:)

my transmission is having a problem with shifting. as i'm driving the car will catch gear and release i guess and then not accelorate it can hear the engine reving up but the car is acting as like if it were in neutral... any tips/ideas to what i can do?

fire_wing95

I have read through this entire thread (mind you it took a couple of hours), and I just can't believe all the tranny problems other people have... with that in mind, I'm a little relieved but also very enraged that a problem of this magnitude hasn't really been fully addressed by mazda. Thankfully I've had a very good Mazda service rep that actually tries to help out and relieve alot of costs on me.

When my 8 is at operating temp, I can't shift from 1 to 2nd gear above 5k rpm due to grinding and resistance. I've done testing to where I try to force the shifter into 2nd gear at 6k rpm and as the RPM's start to come down past 5k rpm, the shifter will then allow me to put the car in 2nd gear. I have also shifted slowly and paid attention to pushing the clutch all the way down. I realize that there are posts about grinding of 2nd gear but only when it's cold. This is happening when I'm at operating temp and been trying for hours. I am also unable to downshift to 2nd gear from 3rd or from 4th until my speed comes down to around 30mph (tested). This makes me believe it's an issue with 2nd gear alone. I've recently had my clutch, input shaft, and throwout bearings replaced. This repair was done because the pin had exploded and apparently there was some melted metal also taken out no doubt from the bearings. I've read that it might be either the synchos or motor mount out of alignment but I'm not sure what the motor mount is? Is it the component that mounts the transmission to the flywheel? The Mazda rep said the something about the transmission input shaft was off alignment by 0.002. but there's no mazda spec on it. so he said it was fine.

I'll be updating the poll in the other thread but wanted to see if anyone had a solution for my problem. I'm driving my 8 as of right now with no problems due to the fact that I'm shifting from 1-2 under 5k rpm. Note: Shifting of any of the other gears I have no problems with. My manufacture date is 05/03 with about 105k mi. Also has a brand new engine that was installed recently. Any help would be appreciated. I'll post some more info in a couple of days when I take the car in.

gaberad

I've just had the gearbox/synchro's fixed (2005 RX8), and in the 2003 Workshop Manual (the html one) it has this part when putting the shifter back together (specifically, the red outlined part about putting 290-320 ml of oil to near the top of the rod):



But in the transmissions.pdf from http://isomerica.net/~fluffy/Ren/RX8%20FSM/ it doesn't make any mention of that part, only applying the grease:



Anyone know which is 'correct'?

Grammar Nazi

*synchros—no apostrophe needed; not possessive nor a contraction.

gaberad

Yeah, anyway, it looks the one was for the 5 speed (former) and one was for the 6 speed (later).

tripwire

My 2004, 6-speed, RX8, with 79,000 miles has flooded - again. No problem, Mazda towed it for free and cleaned it up for free.

I "mentioned" that the 2nd and 3rd gears were sticking, they "mentioned" that I need to either rebuild the 2nd & 3rd syncros/gears and replace the clutch, OR replace the transmission and the clutch.

I'm so demoralized. I have only 80k on the car, I baby it, I drive fast from time to time, but I'm not a beast with the clutch.

Does this sound right? I know nothing about this stuff. I'm highly technical!

Should I get a second opinion?

There goes Christmas. They are quoting $1,800 for the "rebuild" and they couldn't quote a replacement transmission - I assume they will need an accountant for that one.

Ugh! I'm so frustrated. I love this car. I just don't understand replacing/rebuilding the tranny after 6 years and 80k miles.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all.

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

I was quoted $900-1000 by a non-Mazda shop to pull my transmission and take it apart to find what was broken/wrong. Parts needed to repair it were in addition to this. So your $1800 is not unreasonable (depending on the damage level) especially considering it is a dealership, but second opinions will always make you feel better (or at least you will not feel you were ripped off).

If you look around, used transmissions (not rebuilt) for the RX-8 are in the $1200-2000 range (plus shipping and installation), so you are probably better off getting your existing one rebuilt unless it is a total basket case.

Be glad yours lasted 80k miles. Mine only went 36k, though admittedly with some track time on it.

toQDuj

I have read on the gearbox oil change pages that changing the gearbox oil for Redline MT-90 may alleviate some gearbox problems w.r.t. synchros. I have not tried it yet myself, but I am gathering the tools and oil (not as easy in Japan as I understand ****-all of the Japanese websites), and I hope my upshifting into second gear will be much improved.

Sometimes when I shift into second, I put light pressure on the gear lever, but must rev up before it "slots in". When the engine is warm, the problem seems to disappear. Also sometimes it has some "notchiness" feeling when shifting into gear. Still 2.5 years warranty left from the used car shop, so let's hope they also would rebuild the gearbox when it does show more reproducible problems.

I will let you guys know if the oil change alleviates this.

Artemis

This is really tiresome and I am tempted to send the entire thread to Mazda in Sydney as it cost me in excess ot $4000 to fix the gearbox etc etc.
As so many have said, Mazda has two messages:
"this has never happened before"
and
"we dont really know what caused it, you must have done something wrong (rough!!!!) with your own car."
Hey I am a woman, I dont race, I dont under or over stress the car, I take it in for the required services, I love the car too, attend to anything it needs. Give me a break!!!!

fastuning

Someone have a complete teardown diagram of the transnmision? i need to know all of the reference of the internal parts of the tranny to ask price in my dealer.

Thanks

Draft 5200

I just bought an '07 with 33k miles. I am having problems with reverse. It does not want to go into reverse and even after it does when I start backing up the clutch or tranny, not sure which, starts clicking. When shifting back into 1st from reverse there seems to be a pop and then no problems. I am not having any problems with any other gears.

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

I don't know where I got it from, but I have a parts diagram for the RX-8 at:

http://www.gerhardstein.net/rx8/04rx8.pdf

It's for a 2004 and is dated 2003, but should get you started. The PDF has bookmarks, so you can jump to the transmission section directly.