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2007 Mazdaspeed3 Transmission Problems/Noise!!!

18K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  rexseven 
#1 ·
first, I've owned my 07 Speed3 for about a year now, in which I have put on about 35k miles, totaling 88k (I have a long commute). I categorize myself as a spirited driver, I have a little fun here and there but don't thrash the car. I drive for economy 95% of the time, and my commute is nothing but boring country roads, so I sit at 60-65mph in 6th almost the entire time.

Last week, I started to notice an ever-so-slight gear whine/tone in only 5th or 6th at highway speeds, it was so minimal that I dismissed it as something that was always there, just never heard it before. But, it progressively got louder, and now its to the point its just flat out obnoxious. Its a mid-toned gear whine that is more apparent on acceleration, but is very apparent on deceleration as well. The sound is identical in 5th and 6th, it changes slightly with speed, but not with gear change. For instance, 60mph in 5th sounds the same as 60mph in 6th. There is no problem getting it into those gears, so the syncros seem to be fine. But once your in 5th or 6th and let the clutch out, its super loud. Its not a grinding sound, just a mid-tone drone noise.

I have the oil changed every 4k or so, at which point all the fluids are checked and topped off.

I'm curious to see if anyone has heard of or experienced similar problems, and may give me some insight as to what is going wrong. I'd like a bit more knowledge before I drop a bunch of money to have someone tear the tranny apart only to find there was nothing wrong, and it was a simple fix. I'm super strapped for cash so I'd like to get as close to the actual problem before paying someone to tear my car apart.

thanks in advance for your help.
 
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#2 ·
check your mounts.
 
#3 ·
I thought of mounts as well, and none seem to be the cause. Its not a vibration noise that would be associated with a mount (I wouldn't think anyway). I would tend to believe that a mount would create noise no matter the gear, but at a certain speed/rpm combo and tend to be more intermittent, rather than the constant drone sound. Am I way off base there?

My guess is the tranny is on its way out, possibly bearings going bad or something, but am hoping that someone can make my day/month/year by telling me otherwise, saying its a common a small problem caused by tiny little demons that live in the transmission that need to be exorcised and banished or something along those lines:) that i could live with, but a tranny rebuild is lame.

I appreciate the note though, I'll have to inspect them further to make sure that isn't in fact the cause.
 
#5 ·
well i'm afraid I don't do it myself, purely because I don't have the space or any tools to speak of. I have a local shop service it. So, I'm not sure. I can call them up and check into that.

Does anyone think that a transmission flush would be a good place to start? Or can that cause more complications?
 
#6 ·
That sounds like it could be the problem. The MS3 transmission needs 75W-90 synthetic gear oil without friction modifier since dino-oils or synthetics with too much friction modifier can cause increased synchro wear. Off the top of my head, Red Line, Amsoil, and Motul all make excellent synthetics that should be gentle on your synchros. They are expensive but they last a good, long while as well (15K intervals). You might hear some noise during tight turning in a parking lot- that is the LSD. I am not bothered by it but if you are, then you may add friction modifier, but only enough to quieten the noise.
 
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