MS6 Fluid Notes & DIY Pictures

Very good write up! Just went through the Amsoil product page and priced out everything, which comes out to about $90 for the tranny, diff, and transfer case fluids, as well as the hand pump.
 
Gotta do it!!! My transmission felt like it was brand new again. This winter the first shift from first to second when the tranny was cold I could feel the snyc gears grinding a little as it went into second. After the trans fluid change it felt better than it did when it was brand new.
 
A few questions:

1.) I assume the car needs to be nice and level during the filling correct? You fill until some oil comes out of the fill hole basically?


2.) Did you need to buy the limited slip differential additive from the Amisol page?

3.) Has anyone just bought fluid from their Mazda Dealership? Would they have the proper oil weight since the 80W-90W is not available?
 
Excellent thread. Thanks. What about a third option that doesn't require mailorder? Anyone had good luck with, say, the Mobil 1 options? I'll try it this weekend and see. Tran, PTO, and rear diff.
**edit**too funny, I went to the local Oreilly on my way home from work and my choices for the appropriate gear oil were Royal Purple at $19 a quart, and a Lucas at $17 a quart that seemed intended more towards the farm implement market, no Mobil 1. Guesss I'll just order me up some Redline. The Amsoil stuff I'm turned off by their marketing/distribution seems like Amway to me, plus the lack of official industry certification.
 
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I used redline oil and it is holding up with no problems so far although I have only put 5k on it in the past 5 months. :)
 
Excellent thread. Thanks. What about a third option that doesn't require mailorder? Anyone had good luck with, say, the Mobil 1 options? I'll try it this weekend and see. Tran, PTO, and rear diff.

i'm rocking the Mobil 1. works good enough for me, but i haven't really noticed a difference over stock.
 
I am not knocking mobile 1 by any means. I use mobile 1 synthetic grease on my wheel bearings on my Bronco; And the mazdaspeed 6 gets mobile 1 5w30 every change. I have just heard great things about redline gear oils so I decided to use them on my baby. The only reason I decided to change my fluid after 20k miles was because this winter my oem tranny fluid would turn to sludge in the 20 degree weather in NJ . My first shift of the day from 1st -2nd then -3rd would hurt my feelings. The sync gears slowed down too much to allow me to shift without grinding (even with a double clutch overev move ). I switched the oil with redline and baboom no more cold problems. I am sure that mobile 1 would do the same thing for my problem and prolly provides the same if not a little more protection to the gears. But I dont drive it like I stole it on a regular basis so I am happy :).. Only when punks in there civics and 350z's give me the stare like is this kid serious. Then its game on VRRRRRM PSSSHHHHH
 
You're funny man. How does crappy oem gear oil that turns to sludge in the winter translate to a transfer case problem? Seriously spend another year or 2 on the forums READING about how transmissions work before you throw random words down that you don't have knowledge about. (braindead
 
how many miles is everyone changing there diff fluid? I did the trans at 20,000 and have changed oil every 2,500 miles. I was thinking 30,000 for the diff's.
 
I did mine at about 36K miles but it was still in great condition. I'll do it again in another 60k in all likelihood.
 
Just put my order in for 3 qts. of Amsoil syn. transmission lube and 3 qts. of Severe Gear 75w-90, as well as the hand pump. Should be in middle of next week.
 
Here's my purchase:

I also have dealer pricing on Amsoil, so before you buy, let me know and I'll let you know what it would cost with the PC discount. I am NOT selling it (at least not right now).
 

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If you're thinking of going thicker, get the 5W-40

The 5 vs 10 is ONLY AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE so at startup, both are too thick, but the 5W gets acceptable a little bit faster and both would be the same at operating temp. So if you live in a cold area this is highly recommended. If you don't, you can probably save a few bucks.
 
10w-40 is a little harder to find. Living in MI, the 5w-40 is fine. Besides, Mazda is recommending that for those experiencing smoking as well.
 
After reading the thread I started buying all the things I need for a tranny/pto/ rear diff change. My question is the sz of the bolts. In the thread it says 23mm or 24mm. I have a 24mm wrench already. 23mm is kind of hard to find at many auto part stores. Do I need a 23mm wrench? Just want to make sure I have everything b4 I drain the fluids and find out I dont have the correct sz wrench. Thanks for the help.
 
honestly, i don't remember. I want to say it was a 23mm for me..but i don't remember for sure.

you could always buy the 23 and return it if you don't need it. i think lowes/home depot sells them individually too.
 
I used a 24mm 6-point socket to get the rear diff and trans fill/drain bolts off without issue.
 
steve did you do the PTO also? thats the one i did most recently that i'm thinking was a 23...
 
hello, 46k here and just now aware of this tranny/diff oil change. help me out here.

what does PTO mean?

tunersteve you still offering a discount on amsoil? i thought i seen a post about it.

and thanks for all the info so far. most helpful.
 
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