Well I've busted *** all week to try to swap transmissions and converters in my Mazda but to absolutely no avail.
Monday I got the old worn out one ready to drop, Tuesday I got it out and on the ground and swapped shift levers inside the new transmission, and Wednesday (last night) my dad and I got the new transmission in the car. We ended up having to take it out a few times due to some fitment issues and had to drop the pan a few times to get the shift lever drilled out to the right location and size but eventually got everything in and squared away.
Upon first fire up around 11pm last night we realized it had a catastrophic fluid leak. Through further investigation, we discovered that the case was cracked around the upper cooler line fitting. An incredibly demoralizing and deflating revelation. So now the new transmission has to come back out again so I can stuff it in a new stock case. Sadly, I won't be hitting the track with it this weekend like I'd hoped to.
I posted the following on Facebook a few days ago while still in the process of getting the transmissions swapped:
"It is sad to see the old one come out though. The transmission that is coming out of the car was one of the last few race transmissions my grandfather built before he died. I think it?s longevity speaks to his transmission building prowess. It?s been behind 3 different engine combinations, 5 freshen ups, 11 years of abuse and thousands of runs. Nitrous, quarter mile, hot laps, it?s seen it all and never let me down. Even now there?s nothing wrong with it besides a worn out stock pump. Never been serviced, only flushed the fluid one time a few years ago, still looks brand new.
I moment of silence for the most reliable, abused transmission ever assembled."
