89 Festi Tranny probs

[fife]

I just finished an engine swap on my 89 Festiva 1.3L EFI. Now engine runs fine but auto tranny wont engage. (tranny performed just fine prior to swap)
I put it on jack stands today fired it up and shifted thru all gears....nothing. No matter what gear its in, including "park" I can spin the fron tires freely.

....oh yeah....I drained and refilled fluid during swap

[mechanicaldj]

swap????

we need more info please

[econoaddict]

Did you reinstall the bolts on the flexplate/torque converter?

[fife]

yes I reinstalled original bolts

[Lil-Red]

are you sure it is shifting, maybe stuck in neutral?

[fife]

Nothing fancy on engine swap. Festi given to me by my dad and would not run more than a couple seconds. I determined quickly that it was more time and cost effective to swap the engine rather than rebuild. The original engine was a 1.3L EFI w/ AC and the replacement is a 1.3L w/o AC. I swapped pulleys and took care of that. Trans mission is original ATX 3 speed (I guess) and worked fine before the swap because I was able to drive the car on and off the trailer before it sat for 6 months before I finished the swap.

[fife]

I have the car on jack stands now and am turning shaft by hand (vise grips) with shift cable removed. Also, I marked the location of the "park" on the shaft prior to disasembly and removal of the original engine. Any tips on how I can tell if its stuck in "N"

[mechanicaldj]

i do not know if this is true with the automatics:

with the manual trans, if you do not hold the side gears in the differential with a block of wood or something when removing or installing the trans, they can move with the spider gear's help and cause REAL big problems

[shawns 88]

transmission problems

Hi,

This is what I know of older transmissions goes. Yes I understand it is not engageing. I use to have a Ford Ecnoline step side truck with a c-6 trani in it and had the trani rebuilt and I installed it. Same problem you had.
Now this is going to take some time but this is what you need to do..
Make sure that you have the proper amount of fluid in it it is ok if it is slightly over, (your torq converter is not properly filled along with other chambers)
run the car, shift it back and forth park to first gear. And keep doing that back and forth make sure that it is hot and at running temp. eventually it will start to catch. when mine finally caught it did dump some fluid out the fill tube so make sure that the stick is no in it if it is it will build too much pressure and not prime up.

Here is my cell number so that if you want to call me so I explain it a little better.

530-315-6757 My name is Chris.

If you understand this on what I wrote then great, but if not then please call me and I will talk it thru.

Chris

[fife]

Thanks Chris...makes sense, I'll try it when I get home from work.

[blkfordsedan]

[QUOTE=fife;238809] No matter what gear its in, including "park" I can spin the fron tires freely.QUOTE]

"Park" is a positive mechanical lock of the output shaft and has nothing to do with fluid or the hydraulics of the trans. (otherwise it wouldn't be "PARK"). If you truly do have it in PARK and can turn the wheels then my guess is on the differential side of the transaxle. Unless you pulled the torque converter off of the trans input shaft and turned it upside-down or manually drained all the fluid out, there is no reason for the converter to be empty or even low. As mechanicalDJ said, the side gears need to be held in place if you pull both axle shafts out at the same time. If they fall out of place you sever the mechanical connection between the CV axles and the trans output. I assume it's the same for an auto trans since it is on the final drive side of the transaxle.
Maybe someone that has torn a Mazda transaxle apart can explain it better. I havn't actually had one apart (and hopefully never will). Good Luck!

[fife]

I hate to admit it...but you may have a point BlkFord. I tried shifting from park to first and it still didnt move. I did this for over 30 mins continuously and nothing. I check the fluid level before and after and it didnt change. I know the tranny is in park because I used a black marker to indicate "park" by marking the input shaft relative to the transmission housing. SOOOO....how do I regain the mechanical connection between the CV axles and the trans output?????