2nd gear grind when hot

Apr 29, 2004 2 Replies

Hi - i get second gear grinding in my 5-speed '87 mazda 323 that started a couple years ago. It first started only after a couple hours of driving on a hot day. Now it happens after about 60 minutes or less if it's really warm out. I ususally don't have any grinding during my normal driving in the cooler months of the winter.



I've adjusted the clutch cable to no avail. If i double clutch it's fine so I believe it's probably synchros. But from what i'm reading the normal synchro failure behaviour is that the grinding is more common when it's cold and then the grinding disapears after things get warm.



Any ideas of what is going on in my case? The car is overdue for a tranny oil change and wondering what type of oil to use...synthetic redline, thick/thin.


thanks for any assistance with this


If it grinds when hot and not cold, try a thicker oil.

When you say the car is "overdue", how many miles has it been since the oil level has even been checked?

On *some* of the Mazda transmissions, you might be able to extend their life a bit by using Redline...but check with a good transmission tech or Mazda tech for your specific car first. I managed to keep an '85 RX7 going for a couple years by replacing with Redline, until I got around to just having the thing replaced.

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