Hey Guys, I'm new to the boards... I've had my '93 MX3 SOHC 1.6 with an automatic (yes, I know, the automatics are carbage) for about a year, then the transmission decided to 'go' like this... and anyone who has input is welcome to respond. I was driving from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Orlando, about a 180 mile drive. The shop is in Orlando. Here's the chain of events:
April 16th... While driving north, upon exiting the highway, my car started venting fluid out the fill tube, stops shifting properly or staying in gear.
April 17th... Transmission is flushed in a weak attempt to rescue it from death. There was lots of metal in the pan. this works for exactly 100 miles. Then, it starts slipping between 1-2, banging between 2-3, and not shifting at all between 3-4, and lots of fluid all over the place.
April 18th... Car is brought to a shop for repair. Transmission rebuilt. External cooler added. After the rebuild, they have to take it apart and do it again, because a 'piston' (a metal ring about 5" in diameter with a gasket around it) had a hairline crack in it, all the way around. They replace that, put it together, I pay, and then...
(Please note that at this point, I'm not paying anything else, since the work is under warranty. They've taken care of everything, including the tows.)
April 25th... They send me on my merry way. I make it exactly 57 miles, before the transmission starts falling out of 4th and starts hemorrhaging burnt fluid out the fill tube again. The car is towed back to the shop.
April 27th - 29th, new valve body is ordered and installed, the general consensus being that there was warping that occurred when it overheated.
April 29th - Once again driving home. At approx. 100 miles, same issue - slipping from 4th, vomiting burnt fluid. After letting it sit for a while, it's cool enough that it makes it home without overheating. At the advice of the shop up in Orlando, on May 30th the car is taken to an AAMCO down in Lauderdale to have the cooler that they installed replaced with a bigger, better unit.
May 4th - I get the car back from AAMCO. I drive exactly 111.2 miles (55.6 north, u-turn, 55.6 south) to make sure this thing doesn't blow up again. It doesn't. I'm happy. Life is good.
Friday, May 8th - While driving to Melbourne, FL, with exactly 111.2 miles on the trip (the irony is obvious), I pull over to the side of the road after slipping out of 4th gear and spewing fluid (overheating) again. I pull over, let it cool off, and once again make it to my destination. The car is towed back to the shop.
Today, May 13th - The shop was about ready to replace the transmission case, but decided against it after some research. Nobody is happy about this... the car's been in their shop for a month, it's costing them $ and labor, it's costing me a car and time and $. They're not telling me to shove it, they're standing by their work, and taking care of me. There's just no telling at this point what the problem is. The owner, manager, and a bunch of techs were brainstorming today trying to figure out exactly what could be causing a problem like this. They decided it's something like the ECU, the wiring harness, a temp sensor, or maybe something electronic. They're re-running every possible test under the sun. The shop has only maybe 4 complaints in 6 years with FL's DoA, all resolved, and the tow driver I was talking to has only ever had to take 1 car back to their shop since he worked for them, about 10 years. They're no fly by night operation, which is the only reason I'm keeping my cool about this whole situation.
If anyone has any ideas, feedback, input, comments, questions, or anything at all, feel free to respond. I just thought I'd share my ordeal with some fellow MX-3 owners, in hopes maybe someone has shared in a similar, if not quite as exhausting, ordeal.
-dan s-
Transmission From Heck
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DanInPompano
- Junior Member
- Posts: 10
- Joined: May 14th, 2009, 1:11 am
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Re: Transmission From Heck
Evening Dan, Its a good thing you have a decent warrantly with your transmission.
Its a pretty complex electronic system that drives the transmission The Mazda
service / tech mannual is over 158 pages.
Download the FN4A-EL 1623-10-98E if you feel like some light reading.
Sorry I can't offer any advice, but Id certainly be looking at the loom
side of things.
Its a pretty complex electronic system that drives the transmission The Mazda
service / tech mannual is over 158 pages.
Download the FN4A-EL 1623-10-98E if you feel like some light reading.
Sorry I can't offer any advice, but Id certainly be looking at the loom
side of things.