Tranny rebuild

[tel626]

'88 Festiva... 180,000 miles 4speed manual

I had a noise in the transmission. I changed the throw out bearing, pressure plate. and clutch plate, that was not the problem. I drove it a few miles and it started popping out of 4th gear, then it got to the point that it wouldn't go in to 4th at all.

So I figure it is time to change/rebuild the transmission and I see a bunch of change outs with used transmissions and not many rebuilds.

My question is... how hard is it for somebody with good mechanical skills to rebuild a transmission in a Festiva... and what special tools are required?

[aithanmier]

just curious but why would you want to rebuild it? the 4 speed is far from being a desirable transmission to begin with and the hard fact is that you won't be able to find replacement parts for it. your best bet would be to find a good used 5 speed, or if you have some fabrication skills an aspire 5-speed or the capri 5 speed. they are both stronger and have better gear ratios. i don't think you would need any special tools to rebuild it (as i had my 5 speed apart without any unusual tools) but it is a 18 year old car, and the replacement parts are pretty much non-existant. thats why i have a dissasembled aspire 5 speed in my garage right now instead of in my festiva.

[tel626]

So there is no love for the 4 speed....

The four speed did everything that I needed. The car goes 80MPH. It gets me from a to b.

But if there aren't any parts available... I will switch to the 5 speed. I am in the Portland Metro area and found one for $350.

[oxbrain]

I know that ram auto in lacey has a 4spd for $250 and a 5spd for $300. I'm sure there are other small junk yards that would be cheaper, the hard part is spending an hour on the phone. I found a festy engine with 5spd for $150 which I'm not going to buy, but it would be a 4 hour drive for you to get to it.

[tel626]

one more question

Thanks! I think I will stick with the Portland market. I don't have to pay sales tax and I don't have to drive 4 hours.

Now for my question... if there are no new parts available how do transmission shops... like those listed on car-part.com rebuild them?

How did rotinaj13 repair his? (see post http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/vie...ghlight=tranny)

I also saw one that listed a new one for $950.00. (core charge $250)

[aithanmier]

well you can still get syncros but most of the hard parts are obsolete. as for the repair shops...i have no clue where they would get parts, when i talked to the ford dealer he said that most of the parts are completely unavailable in the U.S. so i dunno you might bust it open and see whats broken or worn but imho it would just be a whole lot faster and probably cheaper in the long run to buy a good used tranny to swap in. then if you still wanna rebuild the one in it, go for it and sell it on ebay.

[FB71]

https://www.drivetrain.com

has a good mix of Ford, Mazda and Kia manual trans parts

[tel626]

Fixed!!!

I put in a used 5 speed out of a '90. I found one for $240 bucks.

The '90 bolted right in no problems at all. (no more shift light is all)

Thanks for all your advice and recommendations!!!

[rotinaj13]

just curious but why would you want to rebuild it? the 4 speed is far from being a desirable transmission to begin with and the hard fact is that you won't be able to find replacement parts for it. your best bet would be to find a good used 5 speed, or if you have some fabrication skills an aspire 5-speed or the capri 5 speed. they are both stronger and have better gear ratios. i don't think you would need any special tools to rebuild it (as i had my 5 speed apart without any unusual tools) but it is a 18 year old car, and the replacement parts are pretty much non-existant. thats why i have a dissasembled aspire 5 speed in my garage right now instead of in my festiva.

bull there are places that sell shit for that tranny. it is a mazda tranny so there is some interchangability. Trust me I rebuilt mine. It is more then likely the syncro ring. However it is more to buy the syncro rings for it then it would be to buy a junk yard transmission. btw use google and thou shall recieve. there u be good reverand! LOL

[tel626]

More tranny problems

So I found a old 5 speed tranny. Now the thing is grinding in first second and third gear.

I found parts for it on drivetrain.com.

Also, I called some junk yards around here. A used 5 speed is rare and about $450.

So is it better to rebuild or find a junk one? If better to rebuild any special tools you need?

[Gforcefd]

I can get 4 for 75 bucks each at my local salvage yard, prices suck where you all are at.
logan

[Bizarre]

$125 for a 5 speed in my junk yard and that's after they take it out for me a little steep but for a five speed that's not to bad.
-Bizarre-