fyrstormer

Now, I'm certain that some of this is because I'm still getting used to the car, but the bit with 1st and 2nd feeling notchy is concerning me a little because it didn't do this when I first got the car a couple of weeks ago. The shift lever isn't moving as smoothly as it used to. Honestly, what it feels like is metal that isn't being re-lubricated and is slowly shedding the lubrication that was already on it.

However, because I've never owned a stick before, and only driven one a couple of times before this, I have no idea if this sort of changing feel is to be expected as the transmission breaks in. It only had 290 miles on it when I got it, and before that it sat in a showroom most of the summer. What do you suppose are the chances there's anything really worth being concerned about here?

fyrstormer

I should clarify, 2nd feels worse than 1st, but only when moving. If I play with the shift lever when the car is stopped they all feel just fine.

adamwzl

iTrader: (3)

What year do you have?

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

you need another transmission.

fyrstormer

It's an '09, it's only been on the road two weeks. How about some reasonable replies?

LPCOKIE

the first and second gear are normal and does that the most when cold. you can miss third and fourth. your bad but you will learn. the grinding in fifth and six is not normal. i had the synchronizers replaced in mine at 6000miles. to the dealer with you

lucifuge

Is it a GT?

nate340

god damn you want a reasonable reply or the truth? i love it when people come on and admit that they know nothing and when people give them advice they basically say **** you, you dont no anything i want better advice.

If its grinding gears and your left foot is to the floor you need new sycros and since mazda dealers dont usally rebuild trans they just throw in new trannys . If you don’t like the advice call the dealer.

it is possible that some how the tranny fluid has leaked out, but since you've already did the damage id want a new tranny.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

^ amazing.

adamwzl

iTrader: (3)

1st. you didnt state the year of your vehicle as the 09+ transmission has been changed to a different gear ratio and different manufacture from the previous years.

2nd. you did not post in the correct section of the forum your should have posted in the "Tech Garage" section of this forum and not the General RX8 discussion.

3. Don't be a douche when your asking for help or you will get douche replies in return with no actually advice.

Now thats out of the way. Possible issue.

1. Your not good on stick and need more practice. Try and granny in every gear. If you keep missing 3rd and 4th you should practice in a parking lot more before you drive on public roads as its a safety hazard to the people around you and yourself. As you obviously dont know how to drive a manual transmission correctly yet. Also don't try to speed shift either as your just starting out. Chances are your speed shifting 5th-6th gear and not giving it a little more time for the syncros to line up.


2. The transmission fluid probably needs a change as its sat still for a very long time.

3. Just take it to the dealer if you keep noticing the grinding problem. I believe since the damage is already done to your trans, learn how to drive stick properly then take it to the dealer with the concern Because right now they probably feel you were trying to race the car etc.. If they take the car out on a test drive but notice no problem at all then its the opperators fault and deny any problem.

So make sure you can drive well before going against the dealer. They are not easy people to deal with when it comes to major repairs.


Good luck.

fyrstormer

Wow, okay. I'm not THAT bad at driving stick, I'm not sitting there fumbling with the shifter at every stoplight, it's just not engaging as smoothly as I'd like. Even just two weeks of creeping through a quarter-mile of rush hour traffic trying to get through a 4-way stop, multiple times per day, and also driving 80mph on a highway with toll booths and traffic backups, is a great way to learn quickly.

I think you're right about shifting too fast on 5th and 6th -- I think what's happening there is, because the change in RPMs isn't as dramatic as it is in lower gears, I'm sometimes slacking off and starting to re-engage the clutch before the synchronizer is locked in place properly.

On further reflection, I think at least part of what's happening in 1st and 2nd is my shifting style is changing, as I noticed I was no longer cupping the right side of the shift **** with my hand like I did when I first got the car, so I think part of the increased resistance I'm feeling is due to the shift lever bumping against the edge of the horizontal shift gate on its way into 2nd gear.

3rd and 4th I guess I just need more practice with.

Sorry about not mentioning my car was an '09 right off the bat; on NoPistons.com they have the vehicle make/model/year listed right under the username and I just noticed now that RX8Club doesn't have the same feature. I don't know who to ask about that, but it would be a good addition I think.

How are the transmission internals different on the '09s? I thought only the final drive ratio was different.

fyrstormer

You're right nate, I don't know much about the car yet, but try to see it from my perspective. I post that the transmission doesn't feel the way I'd like it to feel, and the first suggestion jumps straight to the worst-case scenario -- replace the entire transmission in my brand-new car. Where I come from, there's usually some questions asked first, to try to establish the severity of the problem (or even the existence of the problem outside of the OP's imagination), before saying "you're fucked, lose a turn and go back to Start." So yes, I thought it was unreasonable -- certainly not impossible, but not very likely either, certainly not on a car with <500mi on the clock. I mean no disrespect to anyone who's trying to be helpful, but knee-jerk reactions aren't helpful.

911SC

Get someone who knows how to drive a manual try it out and see what they think.

fyrstormer

Yeah, I just gotta find one. My entire family drives automatics, though my dad has driven stick before, a long time ago. Never a sports car though, usually just old heaps like a Plymouth Cricket and a 1953 Fiat 500. I'm not sure I can trust anyone else with it, seeing how I still owe $20,000 on it. Even the guy who sold it to me couldn't keep from chirping the tires when he was getting it off the service lift.

maxxdamigz

iTrader: (1)

Maybe the clutch isn't fully disengaging. Poorly bled line, broken clutch pedal bracket (is this still an issue?), bad clutch. I guess that would be better than a bad trans but if you're grinding gears for a week, your trans is probably shot or filled with shavings that will eventually ruin the trans. After 56k miles, 23k of that turbo, I can still shift my car from gear to gear using 1 finger. It shouldn't be too rough at all. Then again, is 09 a new trans?

adamwzl

iTrader: (3)

09 Is a new trans and this is the first issue I've herd of it ever having. Its more a durable trans at that also.

3rd and 4th are the easiest gears imho to get in and out of. If your having trouble still try going from 2nd to N and just push straight up and it should fall into 3rd. Once you practice that you can then do it in all one motion. Just remember that the gears are very close together so you really dont have to put any force on them at all.

If 1st and 2nd are really a big issue to engage in you can try double clutching. Also try by taking it slow from 1st and pull slightly to the left and down to get into 2nd.

The clutch could be and issue to so make sure its properly pressed all the way down when exiting and entering a gear. Just give it another 2 weeks and practice a bit but carefully and if it still has a problem take it to a dealer.

fyrstormer

I don't think the clutch is a problem; I caught a whiff of burning-kevlar smell from time to time the first couple of days I drove the car (I learned about that smell from the kevlar disc brake pads on my mountain bike), but that's gone away as I've learned how to engage it better. In any event, the clutch engagement point is much higher than I would expect it to be if there were an easily-compressible air bubble in the hydraulic line. It fully disengages well before the pedal hits the floor.

It's not grinding like an old Alfa Romeo, and I think I've confirmed at least in 5th and 6th that it really was me letting off the clutch while still finishing the shift. I was extra-extra-careful in disengaging the clutch fully (by my own estimation) and applied very light force to the shift lever while getting lunch today, and I tried to pay attention to the rumbling sensation in the shift lever as the synchronizers did their thing; they took longer to fully synchronize than I expected, and 3rd still had a bit of a jolt as it engaged (or maybe I just got impatient), but all the other gears were fine.

My driving style is such that I tend to rev high in 1st and 2nd and then skip straight to 4th and sometimes skip to 6th from there. I guess that probably isn't compatible with the high speed of this engine. I need to remind myself what I told someone else here earlier this week: as speed doubles, inertia quadruples, so the rotational speed of the parts in this car's transmission have to bleed off a lot more energy when synchronizing. The engine speed in this car when I'm driving calmly is the same as the engine speed in my 1.8t when I'm pushing it hard.

So, let's say I just want to shift it faster than it wants to shift. Is there any way at all for me to make that happen safely? Thicker gear oil, perhaps?

fyrstormer

Adam, what you say about engaging 2nd gear jives with what I said earlier about how I used to pull left on the shifter but then I stopped for some reason, so I'm going to call that mystery solved.

shallowater

On a side note, are we really supposed to depress the clutch all the way in when shifting in a 8? or even to do double clutch?

on my previous passat, when the RPM is right, i usually just press the clutch halfway really quick when shifting, sometimes i barely push the clutch in when shifting...

is our tranny really THAT fragile?

maxxdamigz

iTrader: (1)

For normal driving, the only time I double clutch is when I'm down shifting into first while moving. I usually push the clutch to the floor, but given my height, my legs naturally want to push the clutch to the floor. This may not be necessary and I probably baby the trans more than is necessary.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

where do you live? get someone on the forums to give it a test drive.

they'll really know if something is amiss.

Socket7

The only way to find out if they're that fragile is to abuse it by not using the clutch and seeing how long it lasts.

I vote you try it on your car first. I'd rather fully disengage the clutch and avoid a possible 2000 dollar repair. It's not like you're going to get home from work any faster by being lazy with your clutch work.

shallowater

abuse? what abuse?

you call the following abuse? come on...

DarkLord7854

Mine was sold with 6th constantly grinding whenever I tried to shift into it, no matter how nicely I shifted. There's been a few other people with this issue, I believe they created a recall or bulletin about it though my memory is a bit foggy about this.

Take it to the dealership and have them look at it, I had to call MazdaUSA quite a lot but eventually they ended up giving me a brand new transmission and surprise surprise, it stopped grinding.

shallowater

do you have the service record that shows the part number for the new transmission they swapped in? wonder if mazda has a new transmission that is not so weak now ....