Is this transmission doomed to fail over and over?.. please help

[Mcmazda]

I bought a softly driven P5 in august with 180k on it. The syncro on fifth was worn out and but it was a really good deal ($2600) and I figured i was good enough with matching my rpms to make it work. However the transmission soon developed the problem of falling out of fifth. As in I would be going at highway speed and all of a sudden my car would be screaming cause it would not be in gear. Not that big of a deal cause I would just have to put it back in. At the start of december the bearing in the differential went (I think) it was making a horrible scraping sound from side of transmission. I had it replace with a transmission with 108k. As soon as I drove this transmission I realized that if 3rd gear had two much stress on it (letting out clutch quick) it would spit right out of the transmission.

Is this a common failure with these cars or am I just extremely unlucky. also will other mazda transmissions fit in a 2002 P5. It is a lot easier to find a mazda3 transmission with lower k for cheaper.

 

[drgnzadiel101]

im on my 3rd tranny. last time the mechanic took out my clutch and asked if i ever pushed the car. i said no cuz i dont. he said he believed me cuz it looked like i replaced it a month ago and it was actually a year and a half. im a granny driver. so yea i believe these are just crappy transmissions lol


i know 3rd gear syncros is a common problem though. dunno about 5th

 

[Mcmazda]

what have you kept puttin in. more used P5 transmissions from like a scrapyard? will a mazda3 transmission swap easily or a cheaper aftermarket transmission? so I can fix this problem for good

 

[drgnzadiel101]

first two were dealer installed and the one i have now is a junk yard one. it was installed by a backyard mechanic. been running fine so far. bought car with 88k miles and now has maybe 114k. i shouldnt have to change so many trannies within that many miles. luck of the draw i suppose.

 

[tweety2300]

Mazda 3 trans won't work. And mine is fine with 152k grinds going into 2nd if I'm being hard on it but the slave cylinder needs o be replaced. If you search around the forum you'll see wha other transmissions work. I believe any in a fwd mazda with a 2.0 will work but not positive.

 

[drgnzadiel101]

forgot to mention all were p5 transmissions

 

[tweety2300]

All 01-03 transmissions are the same even the msp except for the diff

 

[JDM_Pro5]

Yeah my tranny went out aroun 111K miles. The syncro was going out in 1rst and 3rd. I was pushing it when it stuck in 3rd. No matter where I shift the transmission was still stuck in 3rd. I believe the shifting fork broke off inside. I took it to my buddies shop and left it for a week. I took off to the beach and when I got back it was fixed. They ordered me another P5 transmission with 88k and did all work an labor. Total price out the door was $1,025. This transmission is in a much better state than the stock. I can feel 3rd's syncro getting weaker, but it's not a huge deal

 

[prazzi]

does anyone know if the auto tran from an 03 p5 would swap into an 02? my 02 doesn't have the up down gear select on the consol. I miss having a manual, but not enough to switch back. Just wondering if it would work

 

[JDM_Pro5]

It would work if you planned on doing a mani to auto swap. That's alot of work and money and you stated you don't plan on swapping. You'll have to have a manual tranny

 

[tweety2300]

Prazzi if you have an auto now then yes the transmissions are the same its the ecu that's different beween the 02 and 03

 

[drgnzadiel101]

yea for some reason p5 trannies are expensive. makes me piss my honda sometimes lol. when a tranny broke on that thing id just go to any junk yard, give them 300 bucks and im good to go. around here p5 trannies go for $700+.


i didnt know 02 and 03 p5's had different ecus. thats odd. i always thought there were just 3...protege/5, mp3, and speed. good to know

 

[tweety2300]

The ECUs are interchangeable just the 03 or 03.5 had the sport tronic which is controlled by the ecu

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Yeah, good ole sportronic aka autotragic. People wanna bash and talk trash about them how the manuals are so much better and all. Faster to have problems like being thrown around here if you drive them any faster than you can go in the sportronic pretty much. 94k & still 31mpg on my "crappy autotragic". Enjoy the syncrofests and bentshiftforkfests and burntclutchfests by believing they are that much better than poor ole autotragic is. To each their own tho, have fun. And before any wise asses wanna chime up, I fully understand the fragility of the FSDE and it's tranny selections and drive accordingly so this post isn't about any superiority thing because neither setup is even robust for anything other than cruising without much dinero thrown at it.

 

[Mcmazda]

when you say "except for the diff" do you mean potentially not fitting in and having to swap the diff of my current transmission

 

[CheeseHelmet]

when you say "except for the diff" do you mean potentially not fitting in and having to swap the diff of my current transmission

No, the only difference is that the MSP tansaxle had a limited-slip differential but still works with the non-MSP axles. If you can get your hands on one for cheap, go for it

 

[tweety2300]

only get the msp differential if you n/a. if you have plans on turboing or doing a massive na build get an mfactory (good for 1000 hp according to them). the diff in the msp is junk even stock msps break them. if you dont believe me theres an actual list in the msp section of people who have broke them.

nobody is bashing automatics sometimes id rather have one than a manual but a manual is just simply more fun to drive and makes a hell of a difference in the snow. also in a well built transmission ( non mazda) there is never bent shift forks or bad synchros unless you rag the piss out of the car. id rather replace a clutch than rebuild a transmission

 

[JDM_Pro5]

Didn't know about the sportronic. Interesting. I have a manual, and the one in it wasn't great before the sway. The syncro was going out in 1rst and 3rd. Sure enough the shift fork broke. I knew a MP3 in the area that had lost 3rd gear completely. The transmission I put in feels way better than the stock. They are just hit and miss