About six weeks ago I found this 1995 protege for sale on craigslist for $900. It has 200,000 miles but the interior is in great shape and all the body panels are straight. The engine purrs and the car is basically a winner, but the one thing I failed to check while test driving it prior to purchase was the reverse gear.
I bought it on the spot, drove it home, and parked it in my apartment parking lot for a few days while I got it licensed and insured. Of course the first thing I did when I got in the car is put it in reverse to back out of my parking space. I was greeted with a loud and ominous knocking coming from the bowels of the car. I'm no mechanic but I knew it was more than a flesh wound.
After a short diagnoses it became clear that it was a transmission issue, so was faced with three options. Pay for it to be fixed by a transmission shop, ignore it and hope my tranny doesn't suffer a catastrophic failure, or fix it myself. I opted for the last option even though the most sophisticated mechanical work I've done on an auto is an oil change.
I bought an air compressor, impact wrench, and other sundry items and did manage to fix the transmission. The reverse idle gear was missing three teeth. I bought the replacement part from Jim Ellis Mazda, who I recommend highly.
I bought it on the spot, drove it home, and parked it in my apartment parking lot for a few days while I got it licensed and insured. Of course the first thing I did when I got in the car is put it in reverse to back out of my parking space. I was greeted with a loud and ominous knocking coming from the bowels of the car. I'm no mechanic but I knew it was more than a flesh wound.
After a short diagnoses it became clear that it was a transmission issue, so was faced with three options. Pay for it to be fixed by a transmission shop, ignore it and hope my tranny doesn't suffer a catastrophic failure, or fix it myself. I opted for the last option even though the most sophisticated mechanical work I've done on an auto is an oil change.
I bought an air compressor, impact wrench, and other sundry items and did manage to fix the transmission. The reverse idle gear was missing three teeth. I bought the replacement part from Jim Ellis Mazda, who I recommend highly.
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