When i launch the car at about 3,000 RPM then nail the throttle, I usually shift at about 8,000-8,500. But when i try to pull the shifter out of first it doesn't really want to. But it just requires some extra force to get it to come loose and then into neutral. But when i move it into second, it stops and i must wait for the RPMs to drop to about 6,000 or i can double clutch it to slow the engine down enough for the shifter to go into the second gate, but double clutching takes longer. Is this a common problem? Or is it mechanical? Or is it just driver skill?

 

Search...
a couple of tips: Clutch pedal, weak transmission.

 

Double clutching is for Model T's, not RX-8's

 

Double clutching is meant for non synchro transmissions.

 

mine did that when i first got my rx8....i just changed the tanny fluid and it made a big difference on how it shifted then , since my transmission fluid was only half filled when i first got it and it seemed like it was never changed lol

 

Double clutching is for the idiots...lol

 

Check the motor mounts... If you are getting too much engine movement, it can cause exactly what you are describing.

 

Well, I did get the tranny fluid changed and the dealership put in a friction modifier. Same type as stock though for the weight and all that. But it didn't do anything at all. So possibly just a bad transmission or a bad synchronizer?

 

Should I just take it into the dealership since I don't have a lift?

 

I've never heard od a dealer using a friction modifier. Nothing they do or don't surprises me anymore.

It's really hard to say. Often people who may not be mechanically savvy don't describe the problem accurately enough for an internet analysis to be of any help. Maybe the transmission is bad. Maybe the clutch itself is worn out. Maybe the vlutch hydraulic system has a bad component or needs to be bled. Maybe the clutch pedal adjustment mechanisms need to be reset. Maybe there is a problem with the shifter mechanism. Maybe it is the driver, like sitting back too far and not pushing the clutch in fully, etc.

Not to give you sensory overload, but just a demonstration on some of the possibilities and the difficulty in properly diagnosing the situation in an internet forum discussion. If you were in the DFW area I could offer to look at it for you. Watching you drive it then driving it myself would provide so much more accurate feedback and possible assessment.

I hate to tell you to take it to the dealer since they should have already been able to do this, yet apparently didn't or haven't. I'm not very fond of dealerships, Mazda in particular.

 

When you took it to the dealer to have the trans oil replaced the techs had to of driven it, did they mention anything to you? If it was still having problems being taken out of first then I would think they would have at least said so. That leads me to believe it drove fine for them.


Ask some friends and family if they know of a good mechanic or transmission shop, and go there. Just do not go to a random one you see on the street. Either that or go to a Mazda dealer, but I agree with Team and I really do not like any dealerships. Since its not a problem with the engine any place should be able to diagnose and hopefully fix it.

 

oddly enough, i live in denton

 

it only happens when i am going ***** out and going to redline in first, i doubt they did that.

 

turns out it was in fact a collapsed motor mount.

 

Winner winner chicken dinner! ;-)

Glad to hear that it wasn't something more serious.

 

How would a collapsed motor mount effect shifting. Please excuse my ignorance.

 

If the engine/transmission moves too much, it can cause alignment issues with the shifter. Which is why the symptom only occured under the most extreme load. "Double clutching" only helped because it gave the engine an extra second to settle back into place.

I ran into the same issue back in my hot rod drag racing days... Until I installed solid motor mounts.