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- San Antonio, Texas
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- '15 CX-5 Miata AWD
After 36000 miles I decided to drain and fill my ATF. According to the manual, 3.5-5 qt will drain out. I drained a little over 3.5 qt.
Oil - Up to 5qt of Mazda ATF FZ (It's blue then it comes out). I believe I paid about 14.50 at the dealer
Preferably a lift. I rented a 4 arm lift for a total of $14 including use of some tool i needed to borrow and an impact gun to install a part I bought.
Tools needed: 10mm socket, Flathead screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, a general purpose pail with a measurement scale inside, a long funnel and a new washer (I got it free at the dealership) I believe the size of the drain plug was 8mm, you will need an 8mm allen wrench.
Before you even drain your atf I would get a reading after you've driven it so you know your current level is for a visual dipstick reference later.
1. Remove the dip stick from the reservoir. It's at the bottom front of the engine bay, pictured here. It is held in place by a 10mm bolt (already removed in the picture)
2. There are 2 access panels on the cladding that is to be removed; one is the oil access, and one opens to nothing really (I think this may be for the manual transmission). Notice at the top of the picture there is a door (the closes and smallest door to the front of the car), it does not need to be removed, and it is the access for the radiator, don't mess with it. Under the car loosen (or remove, I found it easier just to loosen all the the front and leave the 2 plastic rivets in the rear because they can be hard to get out) the underbody cladding. It consists of about 6 10mm bolts on the front, and like 4 plastic rivets on the side. You can see I have left the two rear on, and it just hangs, you can remove if desired. The transmission pan is to the right of the oil pan, in the picture the bolt is off already. Note that the left is my oil pan, yours will look different as mine has a valve added to it.
3.Allow the oil to drain into the bucket. 3.5-5 quarts is the drain amount. My oil came out reddish brown.
4. Replace the drain plug and a new washer onto the pan.
5.Use the funnel to add your new fluid, starting with the same quantity as you drained, checking for leaks after first quart. Do not reattach the bolt for the dipstick yet.
6. Idle the car (or drive around the block) to heat up the oil before you take a reading. I've found that idling to get a proper reading may take a while, so give it about 10 mins. You are supposed to check it at 50 c (122f). I did this before I drained and filled and it was reading below, got hotter and it was still below (used torque pro to get atf temp from ecu); it read correctly after I had driven though (tested after a drive with the motor still on, wiped it and retook the reading). Just a head up. Add (or drain lol) atf as needed.
7. Throw the oil into the toilet. (Just kidding don't do this)
My result was smoothing out some bump shifting I was getting.
The oil itself will run you about $70 for 5 bottles. Dealer charges about 75 for labour (varies), so by doing this yourself, you just saved about $75 an hour lol.
Oil - Up to 5qt of Mazda ATF FZ (It's blue then it comes out). I believe I paid about 14.50 at the dealer
Preferably a lift. I rented a 4 arm lift for a total of $14 including use of some tool i needed to borrow and an impact gun to install a part I bought.
Tools needed: 10mm socket, Flathead screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, a general purpose pail with a measurement scale inside, a long funnel and a new washer (I got it free at the dealership) I believe the size of the drain plug was 8mm, you will need an 8mm allen wrench.
Before you even drain your atf I would get a reading after you've driven it so you know your current level is for a visual dipstick reference later.
1. Remove the dip stick from the reservoir. It's at the bottom front of the engine bay, pictured here. It is held in place by a 10mm bolt (already removed in the picture)
2. There are 2 access panels on the cladding that is to be removed; one is the oil access, and one opens to nothing really (I think this may be for the manual transmission). Notice at the top of the picture there is a door (the closes and smallest door to the front of the car), it does not need to be removed, and it is the access for the radiator, don't mess with it. Under the car loosen (or remove, I found it easier just to loosen all the the front and leave the 2 plastic rivets in the rear because they can be hard to get out) the underbody cladding. It consists of about 6 10mm bolts on the front, and like 4 plastic rivets on the side. You can see I have left the two rear on, and it just hangs, you can remove if desired. The transmission pan is to the right of the oil pan, in the picture the bolt is off already. Note that the left is my oil pan, yours will look different as mine has a valve added to it.
3.Allow the oil to drain into the bucket. 3.5-5 quarts is the drain amount. My oil came out reddish brown.
4. Replace the drain plug and a new washer onto the pan.
5.Use the funnel to add your new fluid, starting with the same quantity as you drained, checking for leaks after first quart. Do not reattach the bolt for the dipstick yet.
6. Idle the car (or drive around the block) to heat up the oil before you take a reading. I've found that idling to get a proper reading may take a while, so give it about 10 mins. You are supposed to check it at 50 c (122f). I did this before I drained and filled and it was reading below, got hotter and it was still below (used torque pro to get atf temp from ecu); it read correctly after I had driven though (tested after a drive with the motor still on, wiped it and retook the reading). Just a head up. Add (or drain lol) atf as needed.
7. Throw the oil into the toilet. (Just kidding don't do this)
My result was smoothing out some bump shifting I was getting.
The oil itself will run you about $70 for 5 bottles. Dealer charges about 75 for labour (varies), so by doing this yourself, you just saved about $75 an hour lol.