Changed CX-9 transfer case oil myself (photos)

[avidien]

I changed my 2013 CX-9 AWD transfer case oil myself, didn't want to hold it off anymore and
none of the local dealers offered the $159 transfer case oil change service.

here's my link with photos in the forum's how-to section

Changing CX-9 Transfer Case Oil:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123847373-Changing-CX-9-transfer-case-gear-oil-%28photos%29

It was actually pretty easy, so easy that I will be doing this maintenance every 20K miles. I'm really glad I did it, my CX-9 only has 38,000 miles (mostly highway miles) and the oil was like black sludge. How Mazda can call this a lifetime fluid that doesn't need to be replaced is just madness.

It looked like the same as reported by Eric, he's right, it had a thick glue consistency and the smell was absolutely acrid,

like burnt oil/acid:

 

[avidien]

Also wanted to point out that when I was calling local dealers, they did mention that it was very important to rotate the tires on AWD CX9s, if the front and rear tires wears unevenly it can cause transfer case failures. Not sure if this is true but just letting you guys know what they told me.

Does anyone know if there is a front differential in the CX9 ? And if so, does the fluid need to be serviced as well ? I know the transmission and rear differential fluids need to be changed but I don't know about the front differential, thanks in advance.

 

[xxxmonoxidechil]

when I was calling local dealers, they did mention that it was very important to rotate the tires on AWD CX9s, if the front and rear tires wears unevenly it can cause transfer case failures. Not sure if this is true but just letting you guys know what they told me.

This is standard procedure for most any make and model AWD. When i was a tech, we would have a bad transfer case in the shop pretty much weekly for people replacing just front tires on a AWD car or something similar.

 

[Blujett2.0]

This is standard procedure for most any make and model AWD. When i was a tech, we would have a bad transfer case in the shop pretty much weekly for people replacing just front tires on a AWD car or something similar.

Is there a consensus on the best gear oil to replace it with?

 

[Scott91370]

If it were me I would definitely use a synthetic.

 

[memphisj]

Thanks so much for sharing and posting this. I definitely plan to do this weekend as I tow a boat into mountains regularly and don't want to take the chance. I have a pair of Husky plastic ramps so it's easy to drive up onto them and work underneath. What is the TC fluid capacity since I'll be pumping extra in there to flush out the old? Will one 1 qt/liter bottle of oil do the whole job, flushing and fill? Thanks.

 

[avidien]

Hello MemphisJ ,

you're very welcome, 1 qt/liter should be enough , but just get a second bottle just in case.
It all depends on how much old oil you need to flush out until the oil coming out is no longer black.

I had one 1 qt/liter and after I was done, I still had less than 1/2 bottle left,
but as I was doing this, I was worried and kicking myself for not getting a second bottle.

Better to be safe to have a second bottle just in case; you don't want to be doing this and have no new oil left.

Also, it's important to be as level as possible when doing this, otherwise as you're filling; the oil will not be level and as you back down from the incline; the final oil level won't be correct thus I used the lowest profile cement blocks that allowed me to get under the SUV, obviously the correct and easiest way to do this is a car lift but most people don't have access to this unless they take it to an auto shop. As long as your Husky ramps don't jack up your front to high of an incline angle, you should be ok.

just as a follow up, I now have 500 miles on the odometer after the transfer case oil change and happy to report everything is smooth as silk, definitely not a placebo effect, the gear shifts are much smoother, and when I need power to pass or merge, this sucker moves without hesitation.

see here for Mazda transfer case fluid specs :
looks like capacity is 1/2 quart, which seems far too little for this size SUV and transfer case,
and Mazda says it's a sealed unit and not serviceable ? yeah right , no wonder we're having so many transfer case issues, what was Mazda thinking ? or better question , what were they smoking ? (stoned)

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[eskimo0101]

The good thing about this is I'm much less concerned about the transfer case issues now because it's very clear to me they're failing when this fluid breaks down. I've been changing gear oils all my life (starting with quads, then cars diffs, boats outdrives and 4wd xfer cases) and it astounds me that Mazda would claim that GL-5 gear lube was a "lifetime" fluid, especially with such a small capacity. I'm going to change mine as soon as the weather warms up a little and make it a 20k service going forward.

 

[avidien]

........... it astounds me that Mazda would claim that GL-5 gear lube was a "lifetime" fluid, especially with such a small capacity. I'm going to change mine as soon as the weather warms up a little and make it a 20k service going forward.

Agreed ! I can understand if it's some magical Mazda proprietary lubricating oil then I can understand not having to change the oil for the lifetime of the vehicle

but it's just standard GL-5 (SAE 75W140) lubricating oil that other manufacturers use and other manufacturers recommend changing this oil.

And it's only 1/2 quart to boot! if it was like 2 or even 3 quarts, then maybe lifetime would make sense.

also I highly recommend a transmission fluid change every 30,000 miles
and rear differential fluid change every 30,000 miles

with this fluid maintenance plan, your CX-9 should last you a very long time.

generally speaking, for any car or make, most transmission breakdowns are due to lack of lubricating fluid maintenance

does anyone know if there is a front differential in the CX-9 and if so,
does the fluid need to be changed, I still haven't found out, no luck online.

 

[Blujett2.0]

You DA MAN Avidien! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this writeup and spec info! Much appreciated!

 

[avidien]

You DA MAN Avidien! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this writeup and spec info! Much appreciated!

You're very welcome Bluejet, just looking out for my fellow CX9er's, we should all enjoy our CX9s that we bought with our hard earned money and shouldn't have to worry about stupid transfer case issues, especially owners with families and kids that just want a safe reliable vehicle. I for one feel empowered now that I can at least do something about it instead of just helplessly waiting around for the dreaded burning oil smell or oil leaks.

I feel for the owners going thru with the damaged transfer cases but hopefully they got theirs replaced under warranty at no cost. I recommend those with replaced transfer cases also keep an eye out on the fluid condition and change oil if necessary, otherwise you may end up in the same boat again. Good luck to everyone.

 

[xxxmonoxidechil]

Man. After seeing that capacity level, that truly does explain the entire problem with the transfer cases.

I think an external transfer case cooler might be in order for me. Not so much for just the cooler, but for the added fluid reservoir the cooler, and the lines running to and from will give me. Ill be able to over quadruple my fluid capacity.

 

[voldsom]

Man. After seeing that capacity level, that truly does explain the entire problem with the transfer cases.

I think an external transfer case cooler might be in order for me. Not so much for just the cooler, but for the added fluid reservoir the cooler, and the lines running to and from will give me. Ill be able to over quadruple my fluid capacity.

And a write-up with pictures if you do it, riiiiiight?

I'll echo the consensus as well; this information does feel empowering, and if it really just comes down to fluid maintenance, that is something I expect with a vehicle and a AWD/4WD anyway. Thanks everyone for the investigating!

 

[avidien]

I'll echo the consensus as well; this information does feel empowering, and if it really just comes down to fluid maintenance, that is something I expect with a vehicle and a AWD/4WD anyway.

Voldsom,

Agreed ! I’ve only driven 4WD/AWD and always expected to do proper maintenance on all fluids (rear diff, transmission, transfer cases, etc) the CX-9 should be no different.

Except in this case Mazda didn’t provide us with a drain plug and didn’t add this to the maintenance schedule which is causing all the problems. I’m just glad everyone here is working to solve the issue

And I don’t want to take the credit for coming up with this solution because actually many members posted how they did this before and I just followed their lead and posted pictures to help everyone else.

What really didn’t add any value was when fellow members came on here looking for desperate help,
and some FWD members replied “glad I bought a FWD” I mean really ? how does that help anyone ?
it’s just smug in my book. Well, now that we seem to have a solution moving forward,
I can say “I’m glad I got an AWD, especially when we get 2 feet of snow” (drinks) cheers

 

[chuyler1]

This is on my list to do. I just hit 40k so it's a little over due. Your fluids look similar to what came out of my Mazdaspeed6 which I was religiously replacing every 35k.

Did you also replace the automatic transmission fluid?

 

[avidien]

This is on my list to do. I just hit 40k so it's a little over due. Your fluids look similar to what came out of my Mazdaspeed6 which I was religiously replacing every 35k.

Did you also replace the automatic transmission fluid?

yes, I replace BOTH transmission fluid and rear differential fluid at the same time at my local Mazda dealer every 30,000 miles.

it's a little pricey but I've learned a long time ago, better to pay a little more now then spend heavy later,

I never changed the transmission fluid on my old beat up 2001 4WD Highlander and the transmission

failed twice.

 

[avidien]

I received a lot of messages asking about how the car drove after the oil change and what's the best oil to use.

The vehicle definitely drives a lot smoother and no issues of leak or burnt oil smell to report. I can definitely feel the difference, it's so smooth I can't even feel the gear shifts.

I really don't want to get into a debate about which oil is best, some say Redline, some say Amsoil, I personally prefer Royal Purple (I have used this in the CX-9 with no problems, so I will stick with it). Honestly, in the end, ANYTHING is better than the 1/2 qt of OEM oil after 30,000 miles; so long as it's GL-5 (SAE 75W140)

Since the procedure is so easy, I decided to redo the procedure and take a look at the oil condition this weekend after 1500 miles since changing the oil

(still can't understand how dealers can justify charging $159 for this service, it's just basically a simple oil change)

and based on what I have seen, it seems like a good idea to change twice on the same day as eskimo0101 suggests below to truly get rid of all the old oil, he is right, it is ABSOLUTELY impossible to suction out the old oil completely (some old oil is still on the gears that the sunction gun can't reach),
I can't imagine paying the stealership $159 TWICE on the same day, they will think I belong in the mental hospital.

BUT I'm sure you can get away with one change per day; twice might be overboard and considered OCD (ughdance) just kidding LOL

Even with a drain plug, you'll never ever get all the old oil out but if you truly want everything flushed out, it's best to follow what eskimo0101 suggested below, change once, go for a nice drive, and change again.

However, I think we can all concur the best solution is at the very least :
change the OEM transfer case oil at regular intervals (doesn't matter if it's once or twice)

Based on what I have seen so far, I'm going with every 6,000 miles, I will do this at the same time as my engine oil change. I am not a gearhead but if I can do this, I think anybody can.

I provided an update in the How-To section:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123847373-Changing-CX-9-transfer-case-gear-oil-%28photos%29

I really want to know what is the part number of the Mazda OEM transfer case fluid that came with the car originally, if anybody knows please let us know. Perhaps it's the same as the Ford Edge transfer case oil since they share the same transfer cases as the CX-9 ? I want to see the true color of the original fluid, I can't imagine it being black.

this is from Ford Edge forum (transfer case issues)

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/10914-ptu-leak-failures/page-2

the Ford Edge has the same exact transfer case as the CX-9, when you start smelling burning oil or see leaking oil,
DO NOT IGNORE IT! , you can still "save" the transfer case by changing out the oil. If not addressed, the TC will be damaged beyond repair or even worse take out the transmission with it as some members have reported

below is a picture from the Ford Edge forum, the oil has broken down and is "barfing" out thru the vent valve on top:



Ford Edge new oil looks to be amber/yellow:



Those Ford Edge guys are true gearheads, I bow to them, they took the whole darn transfer case apart !



_________________________________________________________________________________________

Below is a comparison picture of my fill plug at 38,000 (with no oil change) vs after 1500 miles (with oil change). The oil is definitely less viscous than before, it flows way smoother. The color is still dark but not black and sludgy like before. The dark color is probably from the leftover black oil that the suction gun couldn't reach but I'm sure after two more changes the black color will be eliminated once the new oil eventually flushes out the bad oil thru multiple oil changes.

Believe it or not, that's the ENTIRE capacity I was able to suck out (about half a bottle of Poland Spring water bottle) shown in the video above, the miniscule oil capacity for this large size vehicle is a joke.

From a technical view, I submit it's not how hard the car is driven but rather there are two factors to consider when dealing with this low capacity,

1) length of continuous driving

this is just my theory, but if the oil has indeed broken down and driving the car for more than say 3 hours continuously, I believe there will be overheating issues

2) cold weather, when it's cold, old oil is pretty thick and can't lubricate the gears enough

Maybe some owners who had their transfer case replaced can chime in and help us out, is your daily commute a long drive and do you live in a cold part of the country ? and at what mileage did you encounter transfer case issues ?

Perhaps this is why some owners are lucky (someone posted 86K with no TC issue)
while others are not (someone posted transfer case failure at 29K),
depends on the length of their daily drives and climate.

Personally, I would consider changing the oil before a long road trip with the family just to make sure the transfer case doesn't overheat AND changing the oil right before the cold winter season every year.

 

[voldsom]

Hey avidien, thanks for the updates! I'm really happy someone is pioneering a detailed experience on this.

Just to clarify, is that video up above ^ of another oil swap? I.E. is the oil being poured out the 1500 mile oil, implying you did the procedure again?

 

[eskimo0101]

It looks that bad because the suction gun isn't getting all the old oil out. This is why engineers are supposed to put a plug at the very bottom allowing you to properly drain all the fluid out.

When I do mine I expect to change it twice the same day, taking a nice 10 mile or so cruise with some highway speed driving between the first and second change to help slosh the remaining crude from the first change out with some of the newer oil.

 

[avidien]

Hey avidien, thanks for the updates! I'm really happy someone is pioneering a detailed experience on this.

Just to clarify, is that video up above ^ of another oil swap? I.E. is the oil being poured out the 1500 mile oil, implying you did the procedure again?

Hey Voldsom,

CORRECT, I did the procedure again after 1500 miles.

The video shows how the oil looks after 1500 miles.