Mazda Eunos- Not moving

Author
Discussion

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Hi,

I've had my Eunos Roadster 1993 automatic for just over 6 months. I took it out the other day and during the drive it seemed to struggle up hill, when I got back the was smoke coming from the drivers side of the car.

When I attempted to reverse into my space my revs sounded fine but the car just rolled forwards slowly (on a slight downhill) however much pressure I put on the accelerator.

This morning i decided to move it (forwards only) to a nearby garage but the same issue is happening in Drive. 1 and 2, it starts fine, revs fine but just won't move. I should mention that it also doesn't keep the biting point when you release the brake, it rolls on a hill as if there are 0 revs.

Any help much appreciated! Thank you!

Munter

31,328 posts

248 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Sounds like you have burnt out the clutchpack in the box to me.

Recover it to a garage and have them check it out.

rb5er

11,657 posts

179 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Gearbox cream crackered unless a driveshaft has somehow come away from the gearbox. I dont think changing the fluid is likely to help at all if you have no drive.

Edited by rb5er on Wednesday 30th March 10:10

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Thank you for your advice guys.

A friend suggests draining and renewing the automatic transmission fluid before anything potentially more costly, does this sound worthwhile or would you rule this out?

Thanks again.

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
As anyone had experience of getting a new gearbox for one before? I imagine they could be expensive for an Mk1.

pewe

663 posts

226 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Sorry to say it sounds pretty terminal.
Talk to Autolink - they show a Mk1 autobox at £150 +VAT and then fitting I would guess around £250-300
http://www.autolinkmx5.com/clutch--transmission-pa...
Question then is - is it worth spending that sort of money??
BOL.
Cheers, Pewe.

PS post which follows this for a meet next Sunday is on ANOther forum - would be worth your while signing up as there are benefits in the Traders section yes


Edited by pewe on Wednesday 30th March 11:20

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
Thanks for your help.

I'm going to get it to the garage and see what they recommend. I've only had it 6 months and had to get a new battery and alternator for it. it looked in really good condition for the age and done less then 70,000 miles.

MX-5 Lazza

7,954 posts

226 months

Wednesday 30th March 2016
quotequote all
If you are going to pay someone to do it then it might be a bit expensive unless they can do you a deal. It's not really a big job for professionals with the correct equipment but it is something they usually charge a bit over the top for. In reality it shouldn't cost much more than a clutch change.

The most important thing on these cars is the bodywork. If it's rust free then it probably would be worth fixing it up. If there is any rust...

rotarymazda

538 posts

172 months

Friday 1st April 2016
quotequote all
Cookie777 said:
As anyone had experience of getting a new gearbox for one before? I imagine they could be expensive for an Mk1.
I had a spare one when I did my rotary conversion. It may be still at WGT Auto Developments if you want to give them a call. It was from an LHD Mk1 if that makes any difference. I don't want anything for it.

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Friday 1st April 2016
quotequote all
Thank you all for your help. I will certainly look into that.

I managed to roll it forward today and it seems to be a puddle of what seems like oil underneath. Also the dipstick for transmission fluid seems to be of a brown colour and is really low. There was a pot hole the car went over a few weeks ago (i only use the car a few times a week) and one side seemed to lift in the air, not sure if this has any effect of where the transmission fluid is stored?

pewe

663 posts

226 months

Monday 4th April 2016
quotequote all
If you smell the dipstick and the oil smells burnt then regret to say your in trouble.
ATF has a very high temp rating and by the time it smells burnt the box is most likely fooked.
Keep us posted any way.
Cheers, Pewe.

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Monday 4th April 2016
quotequote all
Looking at the history on it I believe the transmission oil hasn't been changed, I'm going to try that first. Hopefully it doesn't need a new gearbox as I wouldn't even know where to start to find a good decent reliable one.

rb5er

11,657 posts

179 months

Monday 4th April 2016
quotequote all
Changing the gearbox oil on a gearbox that is seized is just a waste of money.

pewe

663 posts

226 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
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rb5er said:
Changing the gearbox oil on a gearbox that is seized is just a waste of money.
What he says ^^ especially if it's spewing oil out - that's not because it's old oil but something wrong in the box.

Depending on where you are there should be a local MX5 specialist - penarthmx5parts over on Nutz seems to have a good following and his prices are reasonable - if you can get the car to him....
Cheers, Pewe.

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
It's in Somerset at the moment, anyone now any specialist garages around the area? I'm just a bit worried on costs to repair it and how to get it to garage as I don't know anything about these cars

Google [bot]

6,698 posts

188 months

Tuesday 5th April 2016
quotequote all
Nothing helpful to add, but when I had my supercharged NA in for some work I was loaned an auto NA with hardtop. Absolutely brilliant car, I loved it, way more than mine.

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 6th April 2016
quotequote all
Topped up with automatic transmission fluid. And there's a leak in the bottom where it's coming out from. Glad it's not the gear box. Thanks for your help everyone.

rb5er

11,657 posts

179 months

Wednesday 6th April 2016
quotequote all
Cookie777 said:
Topped up with automatic transmission fluid. And there's a leak in the bottom where it's coming out from. Glad it's not the gear box. Thanks for your help everyone.
So it was leaking for quite a while before it packed up?

Cookie777

Original Poster:

13 posts

104 months

Wednesday 6th April 2016
quotequote all
I am not sure, maybe around three weeks but I have only used the car three times at the most since then.

I managed to top it up enough to get to the garage but they don't specialise in auto and no where in the area does. What is normally the cause of a transmission fluid leak?

battered

4,088 posts

154 months

Thursday 7th April 2016
quotequote all
The only places it can leak from, assuming there is no physical damage, is the input shaft or output shaft. Either one of these can result in significant leaks. A modest leak can be addressed by frequent topping up, this does no harm as provided you keep the levels up new oil is no hardship and it's not especially expensive. You'll know if it's a proper leak, and you'll have to fix that.

A modest leak could come from a leaking gasket but this is unlikely to be a big deal, I've had any number of cars that dripped a bit of gearbox oil and needed topping up once a year or so, and they never got any worse.

All this assumes that there isn't a more serious problem and your breakdown was just the result of low fluid.