2nd Gear Grind
 

Sometimes when I put it in second it grinds. I have the clutch completely pushed in, to the floor, and moving from first to second makes a short grind noise. Not like missing a shift, something like the synchros grind for a split second. This isn't an all-the-time deal, only about 3 or 4 times a week. I thought it was my transmission fluid, so I changed it with Royal Purple Manual Transmission Fluid yesterday. Guess what? Smootherish shifts, took some of the notchy away, but still kinda grinds.

Asking your opinion on the matter. I called Mazmart to see if they had any used trannys, and they didn't... weird!

http://i9.tinypic.com/4pxls93.jpg

Mine did that a little bit (2002 P5). I changed out the stock trans fluid with Amsoil pure synthetic and it has not done that since. Maybe I caught mine sooner than you did? I also noticed smoother shifts when I switched to the SLS front engine mount. Btw, are you using a short shifter? I have a B&M with kartboy shift bushings.

Everything is stock on the car, the only mods I have done is

2" lowering springs
MSP muffler
CAI
1040 Watt Audio System

Rice, I know. The springs blew out my shocks, so when I get the money (aka, when I don't feel like spending bucks on my RX7) I am going to get Tokico HP Blues + Springs.

I have had a few problems with the tranny since I bought it back in 04. The PO must have dogged it. Mine see's redline maybe once every few weeks, with common shifts between 3.5 to 4k rpm.

Sounds like the synchro's failing--a somewhat common problem for Proteges. There's a TSB for 3rd gear problems. However awkward, double-clutching should prevent it from grinding.

Is this something that would be covered by a factory defect? Something like this sort happened to my father's Miata, and the dealership fixed it free of charge.

Kind of weird how it is for 3rd gear and not second :)

If your car's still under warranty it should be covered. Otherwise not.

70,ooo miles with a swapped gauge cluster. :(

I am thinking of a transmission rebuild kit to fix this problem. When the RX7 gets running (which should be soon, about 2 weeks) I will try to find out how much a rebuild kit will be from Mazda for it. Anyone happen to have any ideas on how much it should cost? This will be for the full kit... I know it is only the second gear causing problems, but if I have a rebuild on my hands, might as rebuild everything and not just replace the synchros.

Another question, does anyone know how much harder it is to rebuild a FWD transmission than a RWD transmission? I have rebuilt about 4 or 5 RWD trannies and no FWD transmissions. Any help would be great!

El Bumpo.