Transmission general data
The 3-speed automatic transmission F3A was designed by Mazda for its top of the line FWD vehicle Mazda 626 in 1983, when 3-speed automatic transmissions were extremely popular.
This transmission turned out to be quite good in the ratio price\quality, and despite some vulnerabilities, after some adjustments it was used on Ford vehicles in the class up to 1.6 liters - Ford Festiva, Stylus, Aspire.
Number of gearsTransmission TypeDriveTorque (Nm)ATF (full capacity) LATF (change) LATF type3ATFWD1206,63Dexron VI
Technical issues and repair guidelines
This transmission was also installed on Chevrolet Spectrum and Mazda started using this transmission in 1986 on the 323 model.Then GEO, Suzuki Swift, and Mercury had been using this transmission until 1995. Ford had been manufacturing a budgetary Aspire equipped with the F3A until 1997, when 3-speed automatic transmissions were ousted from the market. It’s a very rare case when the F3A transmission gets in repair services. Spare parts for repair of this transmission are only kits of gaskets and seals and kit of bushings. The open filter with a metal lath gets replaced quite rarely, in most cases it is just washed for reasons of economy.
Which cars run with this gearbox?BrandModelYearTypeEngineFordASPIRE94-973 SP FWDL4 1.3LFordFESTIVA90-933 SP FWDL4 1.6LGEOSTORM90-933 SP FWDL4 1.6L 1.8LIsuzuSTYLUS91-933 SP FWDL4 1.6L