Thanks guys for this discussion on transmission oil! Glad to know there are a few different selections available to me. I think I may try that Redline MT-90 stuff, only because I've heard a handful of people mention it positively on this forum.
My p5 would pop out of gears on acceleration and it just came down to being low on oil, probably a dumb question but have you changed the oil?
Not a dumb question at all; I haven't checked in ages. In fact, last I heard of the transmission oil was when I first bought the car! I had it drained and refilled shortly after buying it and getting an inspection. That was a little over two years ago (13-14k miles ago) now. That's about half the standard life of transmission oil, but who knows if I should just dump it and refill now, especially since I've tracked it hard once a month? To be safe, I might as well do that.
With that, I have a relatively clear list of tasks to ensure my transmission's not purely at fault:
- Inspect/Replace transmission fluid
- Inspect brake/clutch master cylinder
- Inspect clutch slave cylinder
If the fluid's low or bad, and replacing it does the trick, then alright, party on! Otherwise, I'll inspect the clutch cylinders. The Master cylinder isn't particularly low, however. It's within the two MIN and MAX lines, but it's lower than the middle point between the two. I haven't seen any leaks. I think I'll check the lines while I'm at it, but I don't feel any particular difficulty when I shift.
As usual, that clutch slave cylinder does that rhythmic chirp...sometimes. There have been a few days where it's absent, but I'm not making anything big out of that. Could just be weather fluctuations or whatever.
Also, to add some detail to my grinding, here's what a typical driving experience is like:
I start up fine, and never dog the car past 3kRPM until the car's at operational temperature. 3rd gear works just fine when shifting under this RPM constraint. Once it's at the proper temperature, I can push it to higher RPM, and third gear will seemingly work fine past 3-3.5kRPM. It's seems like only after my car's been at op temp for a decent amount of time does third gear start to grind. Kind of the opposite of the usual problems people have. Some grind when it's cold, but mine grinds when it's hot?
Budget update!
Protege5 Transmission Option
G15M-R non-LSD (88k Miles) | $560.00 |
Mazdaspeed Chromoly Flywheel | $264.61 |
Spec Stage 1 Clutch Kit | $295.00 |
Total: | $1119.61 |
Got my quote for a standard P5 tranny, which will be the safest option with no extra steps. I found a Spec Stage 1 Clutch Kit offered for 295 bucks over at CR3's website, although it's not officially listed under the Protege category. Gotta ask and see if he has any in stock. Otherwise, there's a Spec Stage 2 Clutch Kit for only one dollar more, apparently. That one's officially listed. And of course, throw in that Chromoly lightweight flywheel, and I got myself a major upgrade.
However, if I'm going through such lengths to drop in race parts, shouldn't I also be looking at motor mounts? I feel like dropping in an LSD alongside a sport clutch set-up would possibly wreck my stock mounts fairly quickly. Ah well, that's for a later development.