I always change the transmission oil when I change the clutch. If nothing else, it gives you a chance to inspect for metal flakes that indicate gear wear. Oh, and put a magnetic drain plug in when you do change the oil, so it will trap those metal flakes from gear wear, and prevent them from circulating and increasing the rate of wear. And yes as stated by others who know, make sure the fill plug will come out before you drain it. and one more thing, you can get an oil pumper that fits on the oil bottle to plump the oil into the fill hole, if you cant reach it with a funnel, cause these transaxles can really take the fun out of funnel.
BK…He, he… It’s not only Mazda…I’ve done it many a times on my VW Golf GTI MKII.
I just had the manual transmission fluid changed for the first time on my 1993 Ford Festiva after 17 years and 161,000 miles. Allow me to elaborate.
The owners manual states that the manual transmission fluid should never require changing. However, yes, I am a responsible enough car owner that I inquired about this at my 60k and 120k timing belt changes, because that just sounds wrong to me. I was told that the transmission fluid couldn’t be changed because there is NO drain plug. Finally, through reading these forums, I learned about the vacuum device that can be used to suck out the old transmission fluid, and I just had the service done a few weeks ago.
Frankly, I think this is another instance where the people who designed the car never anticipated someone cheap enough to still be driving a Ford Festiva after 17 years.
Incidentally, this is also a car where you fill the transmission fluid through the speedometer cable, and what a fun project THAT is! To check the fluid, you have to pull out the gear and check the fluid against the gray shaft, and the fluid looks clear against the shaft so you can’t really tell if its low or not! And getting the speedometer properly re-connected is an all afternoon project when you have a bad back, what with the way you have to contort your arm behind the engine and line up the notch and thread the connection by the feeling in your fingers. Whew.
Also, the owners manual states to use the Automatic Transmission fluid in the manual transmission. Hope some of this is helpful.
I have also changed my gear oil in my manual transmission, with 187k on it I figured it was time if I want to get to 300k, but apparently I over filled it. While it shifts more smoothly, it will occasionally do something that concerns me. I am trying to determine if the cause is the fact that it is too full, so what are some symptoms of an overfilled manual tranny?
I searched and this thread was as close as I could get, looking for symptoms that are only occasional and at low speeds. Thanks.
Over filling would cause a leak and could damage a seal resulting in fluid leaking even when the fluid was at its proper level.
And the gear oil weights are not the same as other oils. To differentiate the product the viscosity number on gear oil is increased. 90w gear oil is comparable to 50w engine oil. And the angle of the gears, especially the hypoid ring and pinion gears, requires EP (extreme pressure) lubricants. Newer manual transmissions using ATF, Syncro-lube and engine oils seem to be manufactured with much tighter tolerances than older units and use straight cut gears, also.
What fluid is required for this tranny.
Not sure when or if GM stopped this…but for years…GM used Dexron ATF for their manual transmissions. No need to change it unless you’re seeing problems…And if you do…ANY manufacturer that meets GM standard will do.
Chrysler also used Automatic Transmission Fluid in many of their manual transmissions years ago. I don’t know if they currently do.
My Saturn has 235k miles on it and I have never changed the manual transmission fluid. It does use Dexron III and occasionally I check it for color. The manual transmission does not get the oil as hot as automatics do and so far, the Dexron still looks like new so I am not going to change it either.
GM did use 10w40 back in the late 70’s or early 80’s but switched to Dexron III in manual transmission used in cars and light trucks.
I changed the manual oil in my 2006 Matrix last year at 21,000 miles.
Why so early? A little searching will reveal lots of complaints about 2003-2005 Corolla/Matrix early (<100k mi.) transmission bearing failure.
There’s speculation there was a revision in 2006, but I wanted to see what’s what.
The old oil was dark with a metallic sheen and a slightly gritty feel.
So I think I did the right thing. Only ~$15 for the oil and washer.
If the oil looks better after the next 20k I’ll extend the change interval.
I’ve never changed the fluid in my '88 Escort with a 4 speed manual transmission and it’s currently at 517K miles and still doing fine. I have had to top it off a couple times from losing some while putting in new axles.