Transaxle help please

[Dwane]

I have an 88/89 festy that has a mystery leak and I can not find scooby doo on the forum here other then a b6 for suggestions on a replacement transaxle. Currently I have a 4 speed behind the b6 carby that I just rebuilt. I have replaced the axle seals on the driver side and the passenger side of the transaxle but I still have this mystery leak that dumps the oil on the axle and flings the oil everywhere making it a bear to find where the leak is coming from. I have decided to try and replace the seal one more time on the passenger side of the trans but if it leaks after that I am going to put a 5 speed in and just get rid of this leaking nightmare. The oil is NOT coming from the bell housing at all and when I have the trans out the input shaft was solid and the seal showed no leakage at all. What I have been trying to find is the best 5 speed to replace this 4 speed with. I dont want to have to make any mods if at all possible, is there a trans that is just a bolt in 5 speed that I can find at pick and pull? thanks for any help here I am almost bald pulling all my hair out trying to find this mystery lieak.

[Dwane]

I meant that my car has a B3 not a B6 and that I can NOT find a thread on anything saying if there is a stock 5 speed you can put behind a B3 that is a bolt in replacement for the 4 speed that is in it now. should'nt post when I havent had my morning coffee yet

[sactnato]

Unless I'm missing something, Festiva's also came with 5 speeds which should bolt right up.

[nonamekid]

The festiva 5 speed will bolt in where the 4-speed was. Only difference will be the lack of the shift light sensor. The 5-speeds didn't have it. You won't have to change anything other than the transmission. Axles, mounts, clutch, etc: it's all the same.

Here is a link with a how to on removing the transmission.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?11144-DIY-Remove-and-replace-a-manual-transmission-in-a-festiva

[Dwane]

Thanks nonamekid that is exactly what I wanted to know and thanks for the link but ive had the tranny out a couple times now so I think I have that part figures out lol. I wasnt sure if the 88/89 came with the 5 speed also I thought it was only in later fasty's and I wasnt sure what year I should be looking for to swap to a 5 speed. It would help to know what years I could seek the 5 speed from if anyone knows

[nonamekid]

The five speed came in the 88/89 festivas but only in the LX models and they had a tach cluster, hence no shift light. It is the same tranny that came in the 90-93 festivas. So all festiva 5-speeds are the same.

[Dwane]

thank you that info is much appriciated
do you know if this is the same as the aspire 5 speed or the 323? i see only 2 pick and pull that have 1 festiva each within 200 miles no aspire's but one that ive already seen and its stripped down and has an auto trans. I sure appriciate the input.
I may have to see if someone has one from the for sale/wanted thread

[buck zeplen]

I have a 1989 Festiva 4 speed I made an offer on. The went for the offer. I put in a fuel pump and it started right up. It uses oil - 1 quart per 1,000 miles.
I am having the carb engine rebuilt and have a 5 speed put in. (I got the 5 speed in Feb 2013 from Macalister Oklahoma with 85 k. 33 mpg to 39 mpg will to
43 mpg to 47 mpg. This is what Neanderpaul (the Festiva Cult king of Ronoak said in passing) Neanderpaul KNows anything you need to know about a Festiva.

The five speed should bolt right up. I will find out in the next two months as the engine is rebuilt.

buck zeplen

[Dwane]

My step daughter turned 15 in january and she has kept her 4.0 gpa all through school sense I have known her the last 10 years and my aunt gave me this car when it had about 76k on it. Havent really had to do much until it hit 200k and the top ring broke in #1 cylinder and started blowing oil out like a mother)*(&, wife went 120 miles after i just fulled the oil to the full mark on the dip stick and when she got back after the blue cloud disapated I looked at an oily nightmare from the top of the manifold down the back of the engine dripping from the bottom of the manifold, oil filter, alternator to the rear window covered with oil blow up. I parked it for the last 2 years and figured I would rebuild the engine and give it to my wife's daughter on her 16th birthday next year. I am hoping to paint it blue for her this summer its the silver bullet right now. I rebuilt the engine when I got the block bored, new pistons, the whole works and I had new valve guides and exaust valves put in. Put it together in 2 days in my living room, wife wasnt too pleased :-( but then I wheeled it out and put it in the car and took it for a test drive. Found out that the driver side caliper was frozen on, sigh!! so I put a new caliper on and flushed the entire brake line system cleaned the bottle on top of the master cylinder and ran till all new fluid was coming to the slaves and calipers. breaks work awesome now! so then I test drive it and it is now blowing transaxle oil from a mystery point on to the passenger side axle and flinging it everywhere including on top of the cat and burning it off. I pulled both axels and replaced both axle seals and put everything back together and test drove it and still leaking from somewhere. Ive been trying to pin point it now for a couple months with no luck. Im going to replace the passenger side seal one more time and see if something happened to it on install but I checked the axle to see if there was any slop and everything is tight as can be. So im thinking if I can find a bolt in 5 speed that would give other bennifits like mpg and hwy noise lowered. Hopefully I can find one the pick and pulls within 200 miles only have 2 festiva's one is a 90 and the other a 91 and they are pretty picked clean already and the only aspire i could find had an automatic trans. Im going to try and see if someone on the list may have one layin around they could part with for a reasonable price. thanks for your info too buck

[nitrofarm]

Does the pass side only leak when you drive it? Like if you top off the fluid and let the car sit is everything still dry the next day? Sometimes its best to clean the transaxle with break cleaner and just drive a short distance then come back and jack up the car for inspection.

[nonamekid]

thank you that info is much appriciated
do you know if this is the same as the aspire 5 speed or the 323? i see only 2 pick and pull that have 1 festiva each within 200 miles no aspire's but one that ive already seen and its stripped down and has an auto trans. I sure appriciate the input.
I may have to see if someone has one from the for sale/wanted thread

The 323 tranny is an F-series tranny and would require custom mounts, different axles, different flywheel and clutch....
The aspire tranny is similar to the festiva tranny except that the front mount is different. It has been placed in the festiva. I think one needs the aspire front tranny bracket and mount, if I remember correctly. You can keep your axles and clutch and other stuff.

[Dwane]

Yes nitrofarm it is only the passenger side that had oil on it and the engine. it does not leak at all when sitting only when driven and I have tried the drive and stop to check every few blocks, when it does leak it is all over the place again which is what is making it hard to find the stinkin leak. a buddy of mine that makes a 5 speed volkswagon trans suggested I put flourasine in the trans and to also check for axle wabble. the axle has no wabble at all and I reafed on it pretty hard. Getting some flourasine today and I hope that if there is a crack somewhere it will show up under the black light. Thanks nonamekid that gives me a good idea what to look for now. I also put an ad on the for sale/wanted thread to see if someone might have a 5 speed I can get cuz there sure arent any in oregon or washington pick n pulls. oh and I did try replacing the o-ring on the speedo assembly also, still leaks

[nitrofarm]

Then you might look at simply replacing the axle.I've heard that a Dry/Hard seal can cut a valley into the axle (just like a main seal). Im assuming this is a older axle......I'm kind doubting you have a cracked case,but anything can happen. Its obviously leaking directly around the seal because of the oil getting slung everywhere.

[Dwane]

yeah I thought of wear also, the axle has probably 145k miles on it and it doesnt look like its groved but who knows at this point. I am hoping to find a 5 speed for a good price and make the change over for the extra milage

[roadkyll]

i was in pick a part in albany the other day and they have a blue one. pretty sure the trans is still in it. no idea on price. phone number is 541 926 5855. another thing you may want to try is car-part.com. its linked to every computerized wrecking yard in the us and some in canada.