MX-3.com

Hello all (Mazda newbee here)
My daughter has a '93' MX3 with a manual trans (5-spd I believe)
and she called me (she lives 280 miles away) & said that she was on her way to work
& made a stop at a red light taking the car out of gear after stopping, now the car will not move
when she puts the car in gear.
I ask her the following questions & got the following answers

Q: Was you having any difficulty shifting before? ----------------------------------------> A: No
Q: Was the trans making any weird noises or grinding B4 ?-----------------------------> A: No
Q: Does the shifter move through the gear pattern smoothly? -------------------------> A: Yes
Q: Does the clutch peddle feel any different when you push it in? ---------------------> A: No
Q: Did you hear a popping noise or anything weird when you stopped @ the light ? -> A: No

Have any of you Mazda veterans experienced this or have an idea of what I am facing here ?
I'm thinking shifter linkage related but I'm a Ford man and dont know diddly about Mazdas,
Any and all help is appreciated ! Thx

She either lost an axle or her clutch. You'd notice the axle, so I'd say clutch, but you'd notice that too..

ask her if it didn't speed up as fast as it used to, or if the RPM's moved without the car going faster while in gear.

Would the clutch still feel solid if it was toast ?
I do know that she had a cv joint replaced recently & that she
does not feel anything turning / movement underneath the car.

Its hard to say, the clutch can fail in a few ways, but in most of them the clutch would feel empty.

If this shift pattern is still fine her linkage is still fine.

Without anything catastriophic feeling/sounding.... I have no idea.

-The first thing I'd check is to see if the axles are still connected. An open differential means if one axle can free-spin, the car won't move. If the tech forgot a circlip or used the wrong(shorter) axle, it may have just simply fallen out of the differential or halfshaft.
-The next is the clutch. See if the car even tries to move if you put it in gear and try to drive away. If the clutch still feels normal, then it should at least TRY to move. She would have felt this coming over the past weeks though, it would slip on engagement and under power.

The more I think about it, the more I think its an axle issue. Without a very noticeable catastrophe, this is the only option.

Thanks Ryan
Looks like the axle is where I need to start,
I realy appreciate your feedback !

022velocity+ wrote: I do know that she had a cv joint replaced recently & that she does not feel anything turning / movement underneath the car.

Axle must of popped out either because when they reinstalled it the axle wasn't inserted completely or the ring clip on the end of the axle needs to be replace.