mazda transmission help
 

okay, doing this for a friend.
Got a 97 mazda 626 automatic transmission that needs some TLC. it lags, misses or drops out when driving at normal speed (no folks, not our normal speed, but regular people normal speed!). and when at a stop light it shudders before letting off the break pedal and engaging the gas. if anybody can tell me where to get some help(good cheap professional kind) , or even a procedure, or fuck if you've even a crazy idea of what you think is the problem, please don't hesitate to post. Thanks again all you mazda heads.!

That's a good sign that the tranny is on it's way out. Trust me, I've blown 3 of them so far. I wouldn't trust any regular shops in the 757 to do a rebuild. Find a race shop (preferably one that builds racing automatic trannies for domestic cars) and have them rebuild it w/ a shift kit and whatever else they usually do to improve the tranny.

thanks eric, how about millenium or that other one, do they do good work on autos?

I doubt it. Most places don't even like to touch automatic trannies. I took mine apart and I see why. If you can find a hardcore race shop that's used to working on domestics with auto trannies, that's probably your best bet. Those places are used to rebuilding automatics and installing shift kits in the valve body. I had mine built for racing at just a tad bit over the cost of a normal garage rebuild. Small import shops that specialize in installing cold air intakes and selling seatbelt pads is not where you want to take your car for this problem.

By the way, I've had all the symptoms you've described and worse. Trust me, get it taken care of as soon as possible. It really sucked when my first tranny in the Z blew...2 hours away from home!

yeah, he's reading all this right now, and he's not happy. Thanks again Eric.

Yea, if you want a good tranny build... find someone who builds domestic trannies, they'll have so much more experience in autos.

hey, here is a stupid question- what would it cost to throw in a manual? I don't know much about mazdas, but its a pain in the ass to go from automatic to manual, but only if its a hydro. Anyone, anyone (my best ben stein impersonation! :) )

Re: mazda transmission help
 

this is very dangerous, and in my case the car would stall instead of "shudder"; it would only "shudder" when I could catch it and play w/ the brake enuff to keep it from stalling. I got pretty good at that. :) It's a sign of torque lock-up; the car is not properly downshifting in overdrive.

Tranny definitely needs to be replaced or rebuilt.

My advice:

If he drives aggressively or is into racing, follow my previous advice: rebuild w/ performace upgrades.

If not, get a brand new tranny installed at a reputable Mazda dealership. It will cost more than a rebuild, but should be more reliable and should have less hassle at the dealership if something goes wrong w/ the new one. Try to find somebody that works in a Mazda Parts Dept, and get it at cost (or a little more than cost).

DO NOT take it to a place like Cottmon's or All Tune Transmissions. You have been warned. I currently have to take a certain shop to court to get back @ $3000 for an improperly installed transmission.

Make sure whoever installs it also installs a brand new transmission cooler. This is a must.

Good luck. Let me know if you need to know anything else.

That would be the smartest way to go. It might cost a little bit more than a nauto rebuild, unless you provide the transmission and can find one at a good price.

The 626 will certainly drive better w/ the manual. Also, problems are alot cheaper and easier to fix w/ a manual. If he's not against that, I would suggest doing the conversion rather than building the automatic.

yeah, searching ebay right now, found out that if he does have the v6, then its compatible with a mx-6 (ls) and a ford probe gt. Lets see what happens.