92 GS Auto Tranny Problem

[idontknow]

hi i have a 92 gs with an auto tranny and just today the car has started acting up. wen in drive it goes through all gears normally until it hits overdrive. at that point the car rpms start sticking and the car decelerates very slowly. the only way to prevent this from happening is to activate the hold right before switching to overdrive. so i figured the simple fix until i figured out the problem would be to drive in S into order to prevent the car from going into overdrive...but that doesnt seem to work to well because wen going to 3rd from 2nd the car revs the rmps until it redlines around 7-8thousand rpms. so does anybody have any idea wtf is going on because i am personally in a stump?

[Ryan]

The auto tranny sucks. Thats all I have to say.

How tech savvy are you? Manual swaps aren't too hard.

[idontknow]

i do understand the basics when it comes to engines, but trannys just arent my thing. the good thing is that my father works in the the automotive industry, so he would be able to help me with the swap. plus im sure he knows guys that work on trannys. so do have any ideas where i can pick one up? im willing to order one new if they have them, but im sure i will probably have to search for one in a junk yard or something.

[Ryan]

Yeah, tell us where you're from, and maybe someone can help you better. If you're close, lots of guys are parting out. Guys also know where the nice scrap yards are. Search on this website http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/search.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and you can find writeups.

[idontknow]

ya im in houston tx. but i will defiantly look around forum and see what i can find

[Newfie_dan]

the auto trannies on these cars are not that bad, its the cooling at fault. The factory trans cooler is total crap and the fluid overheats causing higher clutch pack/seal wear and hence failure. If the factory cooler is replaced and a good fluid and filter change on the auto trans it lasts much longer. One of my friends has a auto mx3 v6 that has almost 280,000kms on the original trans. I swapped the cooler for him when he got it at 169,000kms. I caught it in time before the clutch packs started to wear out. We put a better cooler on there and do fluid/filter changes every 50,000kms. Never had a problem since. He can't and won't drive a 5 spd so don't ask lol. Anyhow, try a fluid and filter change see if that fixes your problem. FYI the atf/filters require regular changing just like engine oil, and its most often overlooked as regular maintenance but almost all people who own a car with an automatic in it.

[idontknow]

i thought i would give yall guys an update. i checked the fluid level and everything seemed fine, so i decided to drive it around in order to get some rpms at certain speeds...n well everything is running fine again. it is the strangest thing, the car only acts up on excessive acceleration, other than that everything is normal. so i have decided to take the plunge and order a manual transmission along with a klze. im just going to make the change all at once. my only question is what transmission should i go with? i have seen quite of few post about goin with the 626 tranny vs the mx3's

[Newfie_dan]

depends on what you want. the 626/mx6 trans has taller gears and better highway driveability and the mx3 trans has shorter gears and faster acceleration. Me personally once I go klze I will be using a 626/mx6 tranny for the better highway gears.

[mazda915]

I have an 92 gs also bro and when I burly bought my mx3 the tranny was acting up also the hold button would stay on and start flashing and it was acting the same way that you said bro . Then a week later my tranny messed up and slipped gears and so I had to put a new tranny so just giving you the heads up u might start to need to replace ur tranny . Sorry for the bad news =( .

[idontknow]

thanks mazda915, i am fortunate enough to have another car so has of now i am no longer driving the mx3. it has just become my new project car n should be ordering the new engine and tranny this week. and Newfie_dan i think i will be going with the 626/mx6 tranny because i do, do quite a bit of highway driving, only like 50-75 miles a day