Auto Transmission fluid change questions.

[Darklighterx]

Hello to everyone.
I just bought a 2000 Mazda Protege with 85,000 miles on it. I have never owned a mazda before, so I don't know much about them. It is a LX model with a 1.6 liter engine.

I read through the manual, but I didn't see anything on the transmission fluid changes or maintenance. I did do a search, but I could not find an exact answer to what I'm about to ask.

1. The engine has an original 85,000 miles on it and the previous owner never did a transmission fluid change. Should I have someone do this for me, or should I tackle this myself? Keep in mind that I have never done a tranny fluid change. Does it make a big difference if a shop does it with their fancy equipment, or not?

2. I hear that I need 2.9 qts for the change. What is the best fluid to buy (price does not matter), for the fluid has never been changed. Are they any additives that can make a difference in a motor of such high mileage? Also, are there any other parts I should buy when changing the fluid?

3. I asked a guy at my work place about this and he told me not to do this because of some 'gasket rings'. He said since the fluid had never been changed, the tansmission and it's components would not take a liking to the new fluid. Does this make any sense?

That is all I can think of at this time, so any help is greatly appreciated, as are any links and such.

With your help, I hope to learn much about the Protege' and the Mazda Family.

Thanks,
Darklighterx.

 

[Darklighterx]

Bump.
Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[walternavy24@ya]

Damn 85,000 and same tranny fluid..... im surprised the tranny is still working...the harder u drive the sooner u should change the fluid.... i would tell u to do it your self but filling and draining the tranny will probably not clean it that well.... take it to a shop have them hook a machine to it and pressure clean it....then u should be ok for 30,000 miles and ask if there is a filter on your tranny it will also need to be replaced...service your tranny every 30,000 miles


welcome to the family

 

[Darklighterx]

So a shop is the best route to take at this point, eh? Damn, better pull out the wad. I'll get it done right away!
Thanks!

 

[GNO]

If you can do an oil change, a tranny fluid change is just as easy. If the fluid is still red and not gritty, I wouldn't worry about the long duration. I don't like the pressure cleaning becuase I've heard too many horror stories about debris getting lodged where it doesn't belong due to the high pressure.

It's nice that our tranny pans have a drain plug. Many don't and you have to loosen the pan, make a big mess and have the fluid drain off a corner. With ours, just remove the plug just as you would an oil change and let the fluid drain. Afterwards, remove the pan then replace the filter. Replace the pan and refill the fluid through the dipstick tube.

Easy enough?

 

[Darklighterx]

So I should do it myself then, eh? I'bve never done it, but I can try.

 

[GNO]

I hate doing it because of the mess, but then again every other vehicle I have doesn't have the drain plug. I'll be doing the P5 this weekend, and I'm confident it'll be rather painless.

Every now and then, I sit back and think off all the money I've saved by doing the work myself. So whenever I feel too lazy to do something (big problem for me), I think of how much it'd cost and get right too it. In general, it's nice to learn how to do these minor things yourself, you can end up saving a bundle.

If you change the filter, there are a lot of bolts on the pan, so it's a bit time consuming. Getting a "pressure change" usually doesn't include changing the filter, another reason I don't get those.

With all that said. . . Yes, do it yourself.

 

[osudewd]

Well, I may be contradicting everyone here, but this is my personal experience. With auto tranny fluid, if you don't change it regularly, you are better off not changing it at all. Don't ask me why, but I had the auto tranny fluid changed in my old car with brand new stuff and the tranny would not work. I took it back to the shop and they still had my old fluid and suggested that sometimes putting the old fluid back in might fix it. And it did, I got my money back and left the old fluid in there for another 20,000 miles until I sold it without a problem. The mechanic told me that sometimes it was just best to leave the old stuff in there once it had been for so long. Maybe it is not the same on all cars, I don't know, this was not a Mazda.

 

[ChopstickHero]

changing the fluid isn't hard. i did it myself. i used some mobil1 synthetic atf. of course, in any tranny, the best way to change the fluid is to do a complete flush, as some fluid gets trapped in the gears and doesn't come out.

here are some pics from my tranny fluid change: http://public.fotki.com/chopstickhero/toprotegecom/atf_change/