So i've been having this problem for a while, but it was a little more pronounced today than usual. Any time I shift into 3rd gear above 6k rpm there's a little bit of a grind. It's never rejected a shift. At first I thought I was just driving sloppy, but even slowing down the shift and making sure the clutch is all the way to the floor it still happens. No other gears have this problem. I searched it and found that motor mounts going bad could be the culprit. Do you guys have any other suggestions before I spend money to fix it?

As always,
Thanks everybody!

 

Likely a bad synchro, you can try changing the fluid and see if it helps but it is doubtful if your trans has high mileage. And rebuilding an RX-8 transmission doesn't really make sense financially. You can get the improved S2 (09-11 RX-8) 6 speed for pretty cheap.

 

It is high mileage, and I did just the fluid changed recently with my last oil change.

 

Yeah if you changed the fluid already then it is a bad synchro. You should be able to get a used low mileage S2 6 speed for $1,000.00-$1200.00. Mine has 9,000 miles on it and I paid $1200.00, I just installed it.

 

Sweet deal man. I'm not much of a transmission guy, but since it isn't with every shift, just the fast ones, is this a manageable issue that gives me time to fix? Am I going to screw anything else up on the car by driving on it for a while if I watch how I shift into that gear?

 

Yeah there is no rush, I know guys who drove that way with multiple synchros failings for years. Check the for sale forum here as well, there is a S2 transmission for sale right now. Swapping the transmission is about a 5 out 10 in terms of difficulty I would say, not real hard.

 

Sounds good,
Thanks for the knowledge. I'll be driving with a little more piece of mind now for sure.

 

There's been allot of discussion over the years. It depends upon which type of fluid you used. I believe Royal Purple was no good. Also the chemical content makes a difference. I'm sure a search will reveal the threads.