Again, it all unfortunately comes down to "if you can't take the time don't do the crime".

However in this case, if you fill the whole in the intake with an adhesive and paint the adhesive with chrome paint, they won't even notice it.

 

With all this talk about tranny problems I am getting real scared. I have grinded second twice now for no reason at all and I thought it was because the single dry place disc sucked!! But with all these problems I am wondering if I should hold off on my mods to keep the waranty. If anyone can find out why trans are doing this let me know.

 

It sounds like Mazda uses shift forks that are just barely strong enough for the application. With a bit of persistance, you should be able to get this fixed under warranty regardless of your modifications, unless there are obvious signs of abuse... The problem is this, the dealer will only replace stock parts with stock parts. If the stock shift fork in the trans is weak, it's probably only a matter of time before it bends or breaks again. You may need to have a custom one made at some point to eliminate the problem. NC_MP3, it certainly sounds like you had the same bent shifter fork the others had. Why the dealership would replace the entire transaxle instead of just the shift fork, I don't know. The dealership may have just been out to be reimbursed for the extra cost of replacing the entire transaxle. Mazda doesn't have the greatest dealer network out there, which is probably why they eliminated some of them in the last couple of years. The place I bought my car from was one of the ones they dumped, with good reason. The place sucked. I never see the dealer again after the first time I drive of the lot anyway, and they had the exact car I wanted, so I bought it there, but they were lousy.

 

Tri-point has had LOTS of problems with trannies. They've broken them and know what's weak. I've talked to them about strengthening mine for a boosted app. One of the things you can do is change over from the stock brake fluid in the clutch and replace it with Motul. This will help the clutch to disengage better. It's caused by trying to shift fast without the clutch completely disengaging and also by trying to slam the shifter into the next gear. Yes, it's not a super strong tranny but it should still be able to take 200 HP as long as it's not abused. I'm sure that I'll eventually have to cough up for a better diff and beefier gear sets and shifters eventually.

 

I've been reading about the 5-speeds in the Proteges. I have a 2003 Protege5 with the auto tranny but I've still come across alot about the 5speeds. Seems that it is the same tranny they use in Ford Probe GT's and Escorts. I guess that it is a pretty crappy tranny that wears out easily.

I was kind of upset that I didn't get a 5-speed in mine, but now that I read more I'm happy I went with the auto, not that I had a choice.

 

I thought this thread was dead?