2003 base 5 speed Transmission going out...

joash · Post by **joash** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:18 am

I guess I am looking for some advice... For the past month and a half our car has been making a funny noise when accelerating... At first I thought it was a few other issues... Sparks.. Airflow.. but after some research in the forums here I found a description that perfectly matched the symptoms of my vibe... In that situation it was the clutch going out... A problem I have never run into before. I have done a fair amount of car repair but only help a friend work through one transmission and that was an automatic.. So currently I am totally out of my comfort zone.. So I took the car to our mechanic and he confirmed my suspicions. It is somethin in the clutch going out.. could be a bearing or something else... All the same he suggested avoiding rebuilding the trasnmission to find the broken part.. Rather he suggested buying a used one if I could find a good used one.. So that is where I am at.. I have a few questions... First.. Can I go looking for a matix transmission or am I limited to pontiac transmissions?How hard is it to put in a transmission myself... I can get access to a garage.. Finally... I live in Vancouver Canada... Which means I don't know about shipping a used tranny across the border.. Is that problematic? For that matter I have never ordered a car part of the size. What should I know about buying a transmission off the internet?Well, I going to keep sweeping the forum to learn more about this process. Any advice or help on this subject would be much appreciatedthanks!!

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Tue May 11, 2010 1:13 pm

Quote, originally posted by joash Â»First.. Can I go looking for a matix transmission or am I limited to pontiac transmissions?How hard is it to put in a transmission myself... I can get access to a garage.. Yes, a matrix/corolla tranny will work as will any that's bolted to a 1zz/2zz engine.2 people would be better if for nothing more then a second set of eyes.

joash · Post by **joash** » Wed May 12, 2010 11:58 am

Thanks for that... Good to know... Made it easy to find a used transmission. I am now crossing my fingers and hoping it is a good one...A few of the people I talked to seemed suprised that our car needed a new tranny. It has 160,000 Kilometers on it... What has been the average life of your transmissions... have many of you had to repair them yet?

joash · Post by **joash** » Sun May 16, 2010 7:36 am

Well the story is finished... I bought a used transmission we had it installed by a local transmission group. When they were finished they called me to tell me they had run into a bit of an issue.. Basically the wrecker had given me a 6 speed instead of a 5 speed. But it works fine in the car. So now we have a 6 speed.. Yeah.. Kind of a happy ending to a bit of a mess. So anyone in the BC lower mainland want a 03 5 speed transmission? Currently it is sitting in the back of my Vibe. If you want it for parts or rebuild you are welcome to it. just message me. And we can arrange a pick up.

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Mon May 17, 2010 1:20 am

Nice upgrade! Glad it worked out for you.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Mon May 17, 2010 4:34 am

Quote, originally posted by joash Â»Well the story is finished... I bought a used transmission we had it installed by a local transmission group. When they were finished they called me to tell me they had run into a bit of an issue.. Basically the wrecker had given me a 6 speed instead of a 5 speed. But it works fine in the car. So now we have a 6 speed.. Yeah.. Kind of a happy ending to a bit of a mess. weirdIs this the same 5 speed replaced with a 6 speed event discussed in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=41342 ?

joash · Post by **joash** » Mon May 17, 2010 5:49 am

nope... that is a different vibe

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Mon May 17, 2010 8:23 am

Quote, originally posted by joash Â»nope... that is a different vibeI didn't think it was, the other was a Matrix, but it was just a weird coincidence. For eight years, nobody had ever poted to say they replaced a 5 speed with a 6 speed, and then two separate reports of that on the same day, from people only a few hundred miles apartcongratulations on getting the car back on the road. I know how good that feels.

Sway · Post by **Sway** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:50 am

funny.. got a 2004 base Vibe with the 5-speed and @ 158,000 mi, my trans went out too. I lost 1st, 2nd, and reverse... called Pontiac and complained.. they said if there was ever a recall they'd notify me...

Neouka · Post by **Neouka** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:20 pm

Unfortunately my 5-sp transmission sounds like it's on its way out at 192,000 km First I talked to the GM dealer... they want $750 for the clutch PARTS alone, so yeah fark that.I went to a local transmission shop, they wanted about $1500 to repair the 5-sp trans, saying they'd replace all the bearings in it. That's a bit more than what I wanted to spend - especially since I plan on selling my car very very soon for a 2011 VW Golf TDI...I asked him if he'd be able to put the 6-speed transmission from a Vibe GT/Matrix XRS in, but he didn't believe me it'd work without some modifications... Seriously, are the proper linkages from a base 5-speed Vibe already there for a 6-speed transmission? IIRC Reverse would be left and up instead of where 6th would be.I'm thinking I just want to find a used 6-speed transmission (I think i've found a used one with 60,000 km for $750), buy an exedy clutch kit off ebay for $130, and have them install it.... then sell my car in a not-almost-broken state :/

sideshowalan · Post by **sideshowalan** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:43 pm

To anyone that has replaced the 5speed w/ a 6speed. What was the difference in gas mileage?My 2003 5speed is going strong at 104K but these threads got me shopping around for a replacement transmission already.

joash · Post by **joash** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:52 am

We saw a very minor improvment in MPG if any.. There really is more torque.. It is a bit more fun to drive... once you get used to shifting a lot more then with a five speed. After driving this around both my wife and I were wondering if we shouldn't match the engin to the tranny and spend 750 on the matching engine used. It is fun, I like it... but didn't see much by way fuel economy increase.ehh

Herb · Post by **Herb** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:30 pm

Quote, originally posted by joash Â»We saw a very minor improvment in MPG if any.. There really is more torque.. It is a bit more fun to drive... once you get used to shifting a lot more then with a five speed. After driving this around both my wife and I were wondering if we shouldn't match the engin to the tranny and spend 750 on the matching engine used. It is fun, I like it... but didn't see much by way fuel economy increase.ehhHas anyone here done a 2zz swap on a 1zz Vibe?I would imagine that the ECU and wiring would have to be done as well. Certainly would be a fascinating projectKeep in mind that the 2zz engine requires premium fuel though

Sway · Post by **Sway** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:36 am

if everyone that's having manual trans issues actually calls GM and Toyota and complains maybe they'll do a recall

2003 base 5 speed Transmission going out...

2003 base 5 speed Transmission going out...

Re: 2003 base 5 speed Transmission going out... (joash)

Re: (joash)

Re: (joash)

Re: (joash)

Re: (joash)

Re: 2003 base 5 speed Transmission going out... (joash)

Re: (sideshowalan)

Re: (joash)