92 GS Auto Tranny finished. Need Tips on Replacement.

[93Colttsi]

I just bought a 92 GS MX-3 with the auto tranny. Car has 250 000 km's on it. This is my first mazda i have owned... but i have done t-belts and water pumps replacments on them before (V6 models) and also helped a buddy swap in a KLZE into his Mx6 so i have a bit of experience working on mazda cars at least.

Anyways, The tranny is finished... wont harldy shift or move the car forward at all... anyways i need to get the car running again.

I was thinking of putting in a readily availible KLDE out of a Probe GT or MX-6 but if i swap in another 1.8L v6 mx3 auto transmission the tranny will blow up again im sure in no time.

Question is, will the automatic V6 tranny from the MX-6 or Probe fit into the MX3?

I know the 5-speeds are direct swaps... wondering about the auto's.

I know most people will say do a 5-speed swap, but the car has to stay a automatic car. No 5-speed swaps will be done.

Whats my best bet? just swap in another automatic 1.8L V6 tranny and keep the stock 1.8L V6 in there and hope for the best? I dont really care to get any extra power anyways. I just want the car driveable and reliable again. The 1.8L V6 is probably good for gas mileage anyways instead of swapping in a big 2.5L KLDE or ZE.



And one more thing. For swapping the tranny (or replacing it), How hard is it to remove the automatic tranny out of a MX3?? Can i just take the axles out and linkages, etc and drop the tranny out the bottom of the car?? is it fairly easy to remove and put back intogether? I have done quite a bit of tranny replacements on other cars... but never on a MX3. I know some automatics are so bit you have to remove the whole bottom subframe to allow for clearance to remove the auto trans. On some cars it easier to remove the whole engine/trans as a unit and do the replacement once its out of the enginebay.

So pretty much just wondering how hard of a job it is to replace a V6 auto trans in my 92 MX3?

Thanks guys

[Ryan]

I don't think a lot of people have done it.... At least, I don't know anyone who has.

I do know the bolt patterns are identical, so it will physically fit. The trouble, like always, will be in the electronics.

Best advice I can give is to look over both transmissions and see if the have the same number and style of plugs. I also wonder if the transmission control module needs to be changed... its very likely.

If you do mange to get it swapped, it'd be nice to hear how it went.

Ryan

[93Colttsi]

yeah i dont think im feeling that adventurous yet lol.

I think ill take the easy way ouy and just put a working k8 auto tranny back in there and hope it holds up!

[Newfie_dan]

Swap out the tranny cooler for a better aftermarket one and add an inline filter you will get wayy more life out of the tranny than that crap factory cooler. It was the single biggest mistake for the auto transmissions and if fixed it nearly doubles the life of the clutch packs.

[93Colttsi]

sounds good, ill remember that.


the stock one is just like a cooler built into the radiator?

[Newfie_dan]

stock 1 is a tube that runs in front of the rad, just follow the 2 rubber lines off the transmission you can't miss them they head right to the rad area.

[93Colttsi]

so so now. Are ALL the mx3 auto k8 trannys the same fron 92-95?

I found one from a 94... need to know if it will fit my car.

[Newfie_dan]

yes they are the same.

[93Colttsi]

okay cool, im going to pick up the tranny this weekend. Ill let you guys know how the replacement goes.

[Nd4SpdSe]

FieroMx3 tried on his, the KL auto trans was apparently too large to fit.

[93Colttsi]

Well pulled the auto tranny out of the 94 k8 mx3. Was pretty strait forward.

Hopefully all the electrical connections etc are the exact same.

[93Colttsi]

There ended up being abunch of connectors and sensors that were pretty much the same.. but the connectors were different. I had to swap the sensors from the bad 92 tranny onto the 94 tranny to make everything work propperly.

[93Colttsi]

Besides swapping a few sensors over from the other tranny it was a strait forward swap. Everything else blolted up and worked perfect.

thanks

[Nd4SpdSe]

Make sure to add an additional tranny cooler