just lost my second transmission

[bingaching]

i just lost my second transmission the other day i was driving all day and had no problem until i turned on to my street and i put it into 2nd gear and my car came to a complete stop and died this is the second time for this to happen both time did the same thing exept the first time i was in 3rd. has any one else had this happen or anything like it? thanks for your help.

 

[bingaching]

the first one is probably because i drove it really bad but when i got the second put in i drove it really good. i didnt drive it that hard at all. i only have 23000 on the car. the weird thing is that it has been working great and it all of the sudden just craped out. so i have no idea what could have happen to it.

 

[Jim Frye]

This begs the question...

How long have you been driving, or is this your first manual transmission? Not pokin' at you, but having thrashed a couple of 323s with manuals and not having any problems other than short lived clutches (less than 100,000 miles), I wonder what could be so wrong with your P5s transaxles. What died in the first one? Jim

 

[changedman]

hmm- are you sure that you aren't using the clutch pedal as a footrest?

 

[PuertoRicanMP5]

maybe you should drive an automatic

 

[REMillers]

Jim Frye right:

Could you explain your driving habits with it? How you are using the clutch? RPMs/Speed at which you are upshifting and downshiting.

Etc...

 

[Kooldino]

Don't put the blame on the guy...our trannies are known to suck...

 

[REMillers]

Not putting the blame, but to help understand what is happening it is helpful to understand the driving habits.

Trannies are bad in DSMs but they vary with the degree of driving habits.

 

[Don]

I agree it's probably more driver related than machinery related - Few folks drive a car much harder than I do, and I've not had a clutch or transmission related problem on anything I've driven (all manuals) for 30 years or so - Since I was a "kid" to think about it . . . . I "broke" everything I touched for a while back then

Don

 

[Synthesis5]

of the subject, but this is my first stick and i usually change gears around 4-5k RPM. then when i'm driving(rarely, but sometimes ) hard i switch at 6-6.5k RPM. is this around the right RPMs to switch. i almost never downshift, i think it would be better to replace brake pads rather than a clutch. Should i change me driving habits or am i ok?


oh yea, i always wait a bit for the idle to go down when its cold outside. i heard to keep RPMs down a bit because of the oil pressure and etc.

 

[cbcbd]

shifting

Yeah, you must be doing something wrong there to have your 2nd tranny go out. I mean, what are the chances that you get 2 bum trannies?

vonprotege, about your shifting, I find it's kind of unnecessary to take it past 6K rpms. If you look at a dyno for our car, found here:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/protege/tech/dyno_runs/FM_P5_baseline.pdf

you'll see that torque has already dropped way down by 6K, and HP peaks around 5.5K and then drops. Yeah, it's fun to hear the engine scream at those RPMs, but performance wise you're not being that efficient or gaining more.

 

[Don]

Re: shifting

vonprotege, about your shifting, I find it's kind of unnecessary to take it past 6K rpms. If you look at a dyno for our car, found here:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/protege/tech/dyno_runs/FM_P5_baseline.pdf

you'll see that torque has already dropped way down by 6K, and HP peaks around 5.5K and then drops. Yeah, it's fun to hear the engine scream at those RPMs, but performance wise you're not being that efficient or gaining more.

I agree.

I frequently run my Miata to 6500/7000 PRM's, but then it's engine was designed to live up there - The P5 gives you very little benefit past 5,000 RPM, so even when I'm in a big hurry, I never take it above 5500 as there's nothing to be gained.

Amazing that they can design a small engine for a general purpose street car which delivers over 100 pound feet of torque from 2,000 RPM all the way up to near 5,000 RPM

Many may complain about it's ultimate lack of horsepower, but whenever I stand on it in 5th at freeway speeds to make a pass, I'm always amazed at how well it "delivers" - I wouldn't change a thing, and our 30+ MPG's are beginning to look real sensible with the price of gas these days.

Don

 

[bingaching]

i need to clear one thing up this second tranny realy isnt a second the dellership rebuilt the first one that i had. when i down shift i normally dont let the rpm's to get above 3000. and when i shift it is normally between 3-4000. i dont use the clutch as a foot rest. this is my first manual and i have been driving it for about 2 years but i new how to drive it before i got it because when i was a little kid i road dirt bikes and all shorts of crap that needed you to know how to work a clutch.

 

[uclap5]

rest your hand on the shifter?

Unlike many of these guys, i believe that you can have a bad egg, not all protege's come out the same out of the factory, and some just have a bad mix of little things that could result in multiple tranny failures.

I also believe in bad drivers, too. I just dont know all the facts and won't go callin people bad drivers when i cant see.

 

[Synthesis5]

cool, thanks cbcbd for the info.

 

[Jim Frye]

I'll ask again...

i need to clear one thing up this second tranny realy isnt a second the dellership rebuilt the first one that i had.

What broke in the original transaxle and what broke the second time? This may help understand what is going on and give others a leg up on possible future problems. Manual transmissions can be tricky to put together sometimes. If done incorrectly, you can cause a repeat problem or another problem. Jim

 

[bingaching]

i just got a response back from the dealership the warranty is going to cover it but they did not tell what was wrong. they are just going to order a new one and replace it. so i dont think that they are even going to check to see what is wrong.