Anyone heard of a 5th gear transmission nut coming loose?????

G

gertie508

Member
:
Mazda, Protege 5
I have an standard 02 P5 an recently been having problems with my 5th gear. What would happen is when I am on the highway in 5th gear, the shifter is in position but the car would slip out of gear it would only happen in 5th gear no other gears. It has only happened a few times so far but I finally took it to my mechanic who then called his transmission guy and the outcome is that inside my transmission the 5th gear nut came loose and I would either have to rebuild the tranny or replace it. Has anyone heard of this happening and in your opinions what would you do, rebuild or replace? I am in MA, anyone around here that has a tranny for sale???
Thanks so much for your opinions!!!
 
No trouble at all going in to 5th, even when it "slips" out I can easily shift it back in and then it drives fine again.
 
Symptom of a worn clutch as well...

Make them show you the 'loose nut'. (i remain skeptical from what i know about manny trannys...)
 
In order for them to show me, they will have to take the tranny apart ($700 min) or they said I can just replace the tranny. The tranny guy said this also happens to subarus. But my whole dilemma is do I pay for them to open it up and fix it or do I just say heck with it and replace it? I have 145,000 miles on the car so far and do plan on keeping my P5 at least for another year or so.
 
Tomorrow I do plan on going to another tranny place, but I do trust my mechanic, he's been fixing all of my cars for over ten years now and if it doesn't need to be fixed he will tell me don't fix it. I've just never heard of a 5th gear nut???
 
ok, after 2 more second opinions I came to the conclusion that I am now going to replace the tranny instead of trying to fix it. No one can give me an answer without opening up the tranny and looking at it. :( So instead of paying a low price of $500 to open up a can of worms and not guarantee it can even be fixed. I found a used for $550 with only 34,000 miles on it and a 90 day warranty!!! Thank you everyone for all the help!!
 
good going. sounds like the right plan.

hey did you learn what other models/years of Mazdas (or Fords) fit the P5? Or are our trannys unique?
 
i did some looking thru the factory manual and parts index and there is NO nut holding the gears in it C-clips and press fit i would say check the seals for the shafts and the oil level in the case before you replace it. most of the time when the shafts are removed the seals are damaged
 
Is that something that can be done without taking apart the tranny? I am not mechanically inclined (the most I can do is change HIDs and other simple fixes!) My whole issue around here is that none wants to look inside it without charging me at least $500. So I figure for that price I found a replacement that will last a bit longer than the one I have now with 144,000 miles on it.
Really nothing about a 5th gear nut???? The guy said it usually happens alot with the subarus and he's only heard it happening to a few mazdas???? That is really weird.
 
Must of the time if it is hard going reverse or 5th it is the oil level in the trans seeing as those are the gears that are the smallest and farthest back in the trans. To check if the seals are leaking jack up the car and look to see if there is oil coming out around the shafts on either side. If not check the oil level in the trans by removing the nut that is on the upper, if I remember correctly back side of the trans. If you stick your finger in and you don't feel oil right near the edge the hole it is low and you need to and some. The oil is 90 weight gear oil. If I could get the pic of the trans breakdown to post I would show there are no bolts on the gears. If mechanic truly believes there are bolts he is nuts those bolts would be huge failure point for the stresses the trans is put under.
 
There is a link in the stickys' at the top of the page for parts breakdowns and service manuals
 
if you're only going to keep it another year or so and the problem 'has only happened a few times', then why fix it? just pop it back in as long as its infrequent.
 
Thanks, I'll print out your suggestions and have my mechanic do those things. Its not that I'm having problems going into gear, its only when it is in 5th gear and I'm doing 65-75 down the highway and then it starts to grind. Or on a few occasions now it will just rev while I'm stepping on the gas. From most of my research and opinions from mechanics my transmission is not wanting to stay in gear. Lately it has been happening more and more and I was told to leave the car out of 5th until I fix it.
 
gertie508 said:
Thanks, I'll print out your suggestions and have my mechanic do those things. Its not that I'm having problems going into gear, its only when it is in 5th gear and I'm doing 65-75 down the highway and then it starts to grind. Or on a few occasions now it will just rev while I'm stepping on the gas. From most of my research and opinions from mechanics my transmission is not wanting to stay in gear. Lately it has been happening more and more and I was told to leave the car out of 5th until I fix it.
Click to expand...

Ask the guy what nut he's talking about specifically. There's a locknut at the end of the primary shaft which holds reverse and 5th gear together, maybe that's what's coming loose? I don't know if that would explain your symptoms though, I don't really have a good idea of how the transmission works.

However, if that is the nut in question the good news it that you don't need to remove the transaxle from the car to replace it. If you undo the transaxle motor mount and lower the engine a bit you can get the cap that houses the 5th gear assembly off (a 30min job versus a several hour job). See the diagram on page 3 of the link proivded by bschatz2, the cap is #1 and the nut is #2.
 
hey this reminds me of another issue. Can you remove the 5th gear on both shafts by pulling the end cap?

I remember seeing Mazda trannys with taller 5th gear (euro and/or diesel). IF we can get the gears it would be a neat mod.
 
in every trans i have worked on there is NEVER a bolt or nut that holds one gear to the shaft if that lock nut on the end came loose you would hear all the gears grinding or slipping do to the do to them no longer being in alignment it will not effect only one gear
 
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