B4000 Manual Transmission woess

[1996B4000]

It's to late for me to ask this, but, is there a consistent problem with Mazda B4000 manual transmissions?

Mine is 1996 B400, manual transmission, 4WD. I bought the truck used in 2005 after my 1989 Nissan truck did not survive 25 feet of water in Hurricane Katrina. Bought it with 96,000 miles on it.

In late 2013 I started having problems shifting into 2nd gear. Problem got worse, 3rd gear became a problem, by late January 2014 could not even shift into 2nd.


Feb 2014 with 138,000 miles put in a rebuilt Jasper transmission, cost $2,600 parts and labor.

Now, Nov 2022, 198,000 miles, it has started again. Not going smoothly into 2nd and occasionally difficult to get into 3rd, upshifting or downshifting. Also, 1st while stopped is hard to do. Double-clutching helps sometimes.

I don't have anywhere near the $3,000 that a rebuilt tranny would cost today and the truck probably is not worth $3,000 if I sold it. The Jasper warranty is 3 yrs/100,000 miles, so, I'm out of warranty.

Sorry to ruin everyone's day with this sad tale -- I may get tax refund that will help with the $$$. Until then, not driving it much.

(Ooops -- the title should be "woes".)

 

[Rick]

The biggest problem with these transmissions is with the slave cylinder. If it's not disengaging the clutch completely that could be the issue with hard shifting.

 

[RangerX]

Yes, the slave is the weak spot in an otherwise strong trans. You can try bleeding it, search for threads on the best way.
If you end up replacing it, only use Luk or Motorcraft brands.

 

[1996B4000]

The biggest problem with these transmissions is with the slave cylinder. If it's not disengaging the clutch completely that could be the issue with hard shifting.

THANK YOU!! That looks like the problem.

At the same time the shifting problem started, I thought the clutch felt "mushy" but didn't think anything about it. Crawled under the truck and found the driver's side of the transmission was damp, rubbed my finger over it smelled like brake fluid. Checked the clutch fluid reservoir, EMPTY. Added brake fluid to the reservoir, pumped the clutch pedal, added more, pumped pedal more, drove around, shifting normally.

Will take it to my local mechanic tomorrow -- check clutch master and slave cylinders. I think replacing the slave cylinder requires dropping the transmission.

 

[1996B4000]

It's to late for me to ask this, but, is there a consistent problem with Mazda B4000 manual transmissions?

Mine is 1996 B400, manual transmission, 4WD. I bought the truck used in 2005 after my 1989 Nissan truck did not survive 25 feet of water in Hurricane Katrina. Bought it with 96,000 miles on it.

In late 2013 I started having problems shifting into 2nd gear. Problem got worse, 3rd gear became a problem, by late January 2014 could not even shift into 2nd.


Feb 2014 with 138,000 miles put in a rebuilt Jasper transmission, cost $2,600 parts and labor.

Now, Nov 2022, 198,000 miles, it has started again. Not going smoothly into 2nd and occasionally difficult to get into 3rd, upshifting or downshifting. Also, 1st while stopped is hard to do. Double-clutching helps sometimes.

I don't have anywhere near the $3,000 that a rebuilt tranny would cost today and the truck probably is not worth $3,000 if I sold it. The Jasper warranty is 3 yrs/100,000 miles, so, I'm out of warranty.

Sorry to ruin everyone's day with this sad tale -- I may get tax refund that will help with the $$$. Until then, not driving it much.

(Ooops -- the title should be "woes".)

Turned out to be the master cylinder was worn out and leaking. Replaced master cylinder, bled the clutch system, working like a champ -- EXCEPT -- shifter is sloppy. I'll replace the bushings around the shifter tomorrow which should clear it up.