ok, hate to be the one to break it to ya, but the syncros r gone n so is the clips that hold 3rd n 4th in place on the shaft, this is the problem that i was told it was here in s.fla by 5 diff trans guys, including a place that does all my work
www.japtrix.com, ne who, when the clip broke it slipped into third right n neutral became third gear n all other gates r closed except when u turn the car off right, my quick beleive it or not if the car is needed still daily, .... start it up in third gear then find a open area that u can speed in 3rd 20-40mph then get up to a steady speed n hang a hard left or right, i mean hard no takin it easy here, if u dont hear the tires skreeching u aint doin it hard enough, but while makin the turns hurry up while all the g's have the car pent to that side n slide it into 2 gear the gates will open up, im 100% positive of this, i did it, the end result is once u get it in to 2nd you can never switch to 3rd or 4th gear or u will get stuck, if u do repeat process, if not u will have 1st,2nd,5th n reverse, notice that u can now switch right into those gears, so u wanna build up ur rpm's while in 2nd 4,500 plus or accelerate lil harder n switch to 5th from second take ur time on gettin up to speed from there, or clutch will become an issue fast, also watch ur down shifting to i will repeat no 3rd or 4th, but this is the same issue im having n now i want the 03.5 mazdaspeed protege trans that comes wit the correct machined shift fork n gear clips n shaft n overall a better well built trans oem, n higher ratio's too, so thats what im tryin to do unfortunate u almost gotta wait till u see one wrecked n totaled from the rear to run to the scene or junk yard n pull it quick, probe guys also hunt this tranny down too, n if u call lookin for one make sure u can readly identify it came out of a mzdspd-p not just a regular one or mp5, word to the wise, p5 owners really gotta beef it up when it comes to the trany both 5spd n auto. but i hope i helped on sheddin light, stick wit me bro as we both r goin thru this pain in the azz, oh n if u call mazda lmao dont waist ur time they will say driver error n that its ur fault, but mazda is more than well aware of the crappy gears n shaft n shift fork that were all machined .30 to thin n yes it makes a hell of a diff, i argued wit wpd mazda for 7 days n refused to pick up my car or return the rental n they hooked me up they nto only paid for it but they left it up to me to find the aftermarket stuff n they paid for it n installed it, but this was before i learned of the 3rd gear problem that was for the shift fork n shaft b4, but ne way bro hit me ne questions at all im findin answers constantly
