car transmission replacement - cost effective options

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
Posted on the Mazda boards but those guys are slow to respond. and a lot of knucklheads o_O.

My DD is an 02 Mazda Protege5 w/ 185k miles, 5spd.
nice fun cheap car.
Well it's been popping out of gear and grinding, evidence being shift fork issues.
Friday, it stuck in reverse. As in, can't get it out of gear. Doh.

So yeah time for a new trans.
Here's the question, drawing on the collective wisdom:
What's the most cost effective route to deal w/ this. I can pull/install the trans myself.

Option 1 - order junkyard trans. from car-part.com, looks like I could have one in my hands for $350 or so.
Pro: Cheap, easiest, it just shows up at my door. Maybe able to recoup a little $$ from recycling old one.
Con: No telling what I'm getting, aside from some yards that provide a rather short guarantee at least it hopefully shouldn't be bad right out the door.

Option 2 - order a rebuilt one online.
Pro: Easy, has more of a real guarantee
Con: not cheap

option 3 - take the trans to a local shop & have them rebuild it. I have no idea how much this would cost?
Pro: New parts & checked over buy a local guy who might actually care.
Con: Slightly more work (I have a pickup), assuming rebuild parts alone will be $300+

What say ye? Is it worth the cost/hastle to have the g-series trans rebuilt, or just go w/ the gamble and hope for 50k more miles? I only do 8-10k per year on it.
 
I personally would rather deal with a local shop than take my chances with the other two. If you have a problem you know exactly where to go. You pulling it and reinstalling it is probably what's gonna save you the most anyway. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Not familiar with mazda trans, but I would vote option 3, of those options.

If you are capable of getting it in and out yourself, why not just take a peek and see if it is something simple that you may be able to repair or replace. I would imagine there is at least some sort of side cover on the trans you could pop off and look around to see if a shift fork snapped or lost a bushing. Could save a couple hundred bucks and worst case you cart the pieces to the local trans shop and end up at option 3.

That is what I would do.
 
I know nothing about these specific trans, but...
How much can really go bad inside a manual?
Im betting (local rates at least) you could probably get out of a rebuild for less than the used route.
Remembering that wear items like clutch/pp/etc probably aren't coming with the used car-part route.

Were it me, since it sounds like you have another vehicle, I'd pull the trans first. Then find someone local to take it to and at least get an estimate. If its too much you can always drop back to the car-part solution
 
Transmission rebuilds is why the dining room table was invented. (Don't even bother to ask your wife first, forgiveness is easier...same amount of yelling either way).


Or...second choice, go with the local shop. Worth it in the end. On a store bought rebuild, no telling what was left in that "barely* met tolerances/passed inspection.
 
Sometimes with transmissions you really have to watch out for the variations between years (sometimes mid-years) to get an exact fit if it will even work at all. You know for a fact the one you have in it now will bolt exactly up. No second guessing to have the one you have rebuilt.
 
How much longer are you planning on keeping the car? I would hate to go with option #2 or #3 then have the engine take a dump in the near future. I would probably go with option #1. I would be hesitant to go with option #2 unless I had good information about the shop.
 
All good feedback, thanks.
To answer some questions - the Mazda g-series trans has several models that mate up, any 99-03 protege, just need non-ABS; also probe and 626 mate but the gearing is a little different.
Unless something unexpected happens I'll keep teh car awhile, I have no need for a new car and would rather put money into my Toy or set aside to replace wife's car. replacement horizon is at least 3+ years (I only do ~8k /year in this thing)

Kaiser - I hear ya... my shop bench is already full of halfway-done projects. if I start invading the kitchen table I might as well move my bed into the garage.
 
I have done option 1&3 with my Jeep. Although it was a different trans, I've put more miles on the $50 eBay trans I bought fairly locally than the shop rebuilt.
 
tknopp said:
Wasn't there an issue with the valve bodies? If so then you are rolling the dice with a junk yard one.
Click to expand...
manual trans.
 
Front drivers are fun for changing the transmission. Be sure to get it up on a rack to take a look at what is involved before tackling that one. Most of the time A LOT of stuff has to come out of the bottom if you want to leave the engine in place.

I will say this, do not count the dealer out on the work, get a quote from one of the local Mazda dealers. I know a friend that ended up paying more to get a Honda trans repaired at a local shop that he would have to just replace the transmission by the Honda dealer (it was an automatic, but the same concept applies). The best part with that scenario is their warranties are usually sound and the mechanics know what the heck they are doing.
 
OnlyOneDR said:
I will say this, do not count the dealer out on the work, get a quote from one of the local Mazda dealers. I know a friend that ended up paying more to get a Honda trans repaired at a local shop that he would have to just replace the transmission by the Honda dealer (it was an automatic, but the same concept applies). The best part with that scenario is their warranties are usually sound and the mechanics know what the heck they are doing.
Click to expand...

i doubt that, i know for a fact that my shop is 1500-2000 cheaper than the dealer on hondas.(and i'm not the cheapest shop in town)

dave make sure you check the shifter cable, i have seen a few of these with cable issues. getting the trans out is a lot harder than it looks on these, the trans needs to be turned 180* to clear the frame on the drivers side. i can guarantee parts are more than $300.
 
transman731 said:
i doubt that, i know for a fact that my shop is 1500-2000 cheaper than the dealer on hondas.(and i'm not the cheapest shop in town)

dave make sure you check the shifter cable, i have seen a few of these with cable issues. getting the trans out is a lot harder than it looks on these, the trans needs to be turned 180* to clear the frame on the drivers side. i can guarantee parts are more than $300.
Click to expand...

Obviously I was not calling out any particular shop, but yes the anecdote I posted is true. A buddy's friend got taken for a ride. I wish I could remember what place it was so I could post it as a place to avoid.
 
Back
Top