2016.5 CX-5 Transmission fluid change questions

I got it off using the non-marring tool and a 4 lb hammer and gave myself a nice slice as well :D. I guess it takes persistence.

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Looks like both sides have factory RTV on them. You’re going to have fun time to clean those up! Let us know.

Are there lots of metal shavings on the magnet? Any close-up pictures? Is there a lot of ATF left in the pan couldn’t be drained out when you have the pan removed? How much residue on the ATF pan which needs to be cleaned?

And thanks for posting those pictures!
 
Disclaimer: Please do not attempt this if you aren't sure what you're doing as you may end up destroying your transmission. The below is what I've encountered and my experiences so it may/may not be similar to yours and you are performing this procedure at your own risk.

So I actually finished the whole process of removing the RTV from the mating surface and also the pan itself and reapplying the RTV. It was definitely a PITA but see the below for tips/pictures:

Tools Required:
  1. 8 mm hex bit socket for transmission drain plug
  2. 10 mm for transmission filter (strainer) and transmission pan bolts
  3. Harbor Freight Non-Marring Tool Set (4 Pieces)
  4. Magnetic Parts Tray
  5. Telescoping Magnetic Pickup Tool: In case you drop your drain bolt inside your drain pan.
  6. 3/8 socket extension
  7. Scott Shop Towels (lots of them)
  8. https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned): To measure how much fluid that has been drained.
  9. 70/90% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol or brake cleaner (non-residue/fast drying)
  10. ATF FZ Fluid: 0000-FZ-113E-01 If you plan do do (2) Drain and Fills + (1) Pan Drop then you'll need at least 14 quarts of fluid.
  11. Mazda OEM Filter (Strainer): FZ01-21-500
  12. Transmission (Filter) Strainer Bolts: 9945-40-616
  13. Transmission (Pan) Bolts: 9YA0-10-615A
  14. Transmission/Oil Washer: 9956-41-400
Torque Specs:
  1. Transmission Dipstick Bolt: 71 - 97 in lbf
  2. Transmission Drain Plug: 23 - 30 ft lbf
  3. Transmission Filter (Strainer) Bolts: 80 - 88 in lbf
  4. Transmission Pan Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf
  5. Fresh Air Duct Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf
Here are some tips (feel free to ignore the obvious stuff):
  1. Take your time, if you don't have more than 8-10 hours/whole weekend free, I suggest you don't even bother because you'll be spending most of your time scraping the crap off and making sure the surfaces are clean and prepped and this includes the breaks that you take as well not including waiting for the RTV to cure before you can pour in ATF FZ fluid.
  2. Please make sure you clean off your socket before loosening/tightening the filter bolts to avoid contamination. I sprayed brake cleaner on my socket to clean off any old residue that may have been remaining from previous work/oil changes.
  3. Don't use a safety razor or a screw driver please, you will definitely scratch the pan and cause damage. If you plan to separate the transmission pan from the mating surface, use the Harbor Freight Non-Marring Tool set, put it at the corner where you can easily reach with a 4 lb hammer and keep hitting it until it goes inside. It will definitely take a bit of force to do so and once you've done that, the pan should loosen up a little bit and allow you some room to insert the tool into the other angles and separate the pan. If required, use two bolts to hold the pan together but don't tighten it all the way in, maybe 50% in so it doesn't drop on you and spill.
  4. Use the non-marring tool from Harbor Freight, especially the corners/edges to scrape off the RTV. It's did a great job at doing what it was supposed to do, although I think the aluminum mating surface still got scratched a little. I can't really be certain that it wasn't like that from the factory. Scotch brite non-scratch was useless in my opinion, I used the non-marring tool 90% in conjunction with the scotch towels
  5. Use the Scott Original Shop rolls on the mating surface after you remove big chunks of the RTV. Basically, instead of having a straight line of RTV, you want to destroy the RTV so that it's in smaller pieces not in a straight line so that you can use a paper towel and then apply pressure to rub it off. I don't know how abrasive it is, but it shouldn't be abrasive enough to damage the surface like sand paper (I hope).
  6. Use rubbing alcohol (70%/91/99%%) to clean the oil/grease off of the surfaces so that the new RTV you apply will adhere better.
  7. For the Permatex® the Right Stuff® 1 Minute Gasket™ GREY Gasket Maker RTV that I used, the dispensing nozzle is extremely slow and I think I might have messed up applying the RTV in some areas because I was trying to go faster than the nozzle could pump out. The reason why I rushed was because it dries in 5 minutes and I was rushing to go through the holes again in a semi-circle with the RTV as well as putting the pan upwards and putting on the bolts/torqueing them. Unless you're in a time constraint, don't use the "Right Stuff" that dries in 5 minutes, but use something that allows you more time to torque the bolts. I know there are other Permatex products that require you to torque the bolts in 1 hour. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures since I was in a rush.
  8. Draining the fluid through the plug (4 quarts) + pan fluid/filter (1 quart) + some spilled from the filter hole because I didn't know where it was (around 0.05 - 0.10 quarts). The transmission fluid was dripping into the measurement container I had the entire time and it didn't seem to go past 5-5.10 quarts give or take. So in total, it seems to be about 5 quarts.
My observations:
  1. The magnet was extremely dirty with so much crud and metal shavings on there, that I actually think I should've dropped the pan sooner. Honestly, this really depends on how you drive but I did drive pretty aggressively in the beginning and then moderately-aggressive afterwards. The car has 64.4k miles so far.
  2. I cut open the filter and I did see some metal shavings inside the filter. Don't know if this is a good thing or not but I'm still waiting for my oil analysis to be processed. I'm not sure if I'll use Wix again for an oil analysis, seems like their customer service isn't so great but for $10-11, can't really ask for much.
I haven't poured in any ATF FZ fluid into the car yet since it was getting pretty dark when I was finishing up applying the RTV and cleaning up so hopefully I will get a chance to do that tomorrow and assuming I didn't mess up applying the RTV then I should be good to go.

New Filter/Pan Bolts:
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Clean Pan:
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Magnet (Gunk):

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Magnet (Clean):
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New Filter (Strainer):
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Non-Marring Tool in Action:
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Pan RTV Removed:
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Looks like both sides have factory RTV on them. You’re going to have fun time to clean those up! Let us know.

Are there lots of metal shavings on the magnet? Any close-up pictures? Is there a lot of ATF left in the pan couldn’t be drained out when you have the pan removed? How much residue on the ATF pan which needs to be cleaned?

And thanks for posting those pictures!

Yes, the magnet has a ton of shavings. Pretty much the whole thing was caked with it. There was quite a bit of ATF, maybe around 0.5 - 0.8 quarts. The amount of residue would depend but in my case, there was quite a bit of residue that I had to clean up with a number of paper towels:

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It's about 5 quarts give or take. This isn't the last photo taken of the container, just somewhere between the filter drop.
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Good job BD^ Yeah wait for that RTV to cure. 64k miles is perfect timing to do filter drop and fluid change. That said others including myself merely did fluid change only. I did 2 myself and may drop the pan before the 100k mark.
 
Yes, the magnet has a ton of shavings. Pretty much the whole thing was caked with it. There was quite a bit of ATF, maybe around 0.5 - 0.8 quarts. The amount of residue would depend but in my case, there was quite a bit of residue that I had to clean up with a number of paper towels:

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It's about 5 quarts give or take. This isn't the last photo taken of the container, just somewhere between the filter drop.
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The most extensive post so far by a member here to demonstrate the transmission pan drop and filter cartridge change! Thank you!
 
Two more things, if memory serves me correct, this is the best angle to hammer through using the non-marring tool.

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The red circle right here is where the fluid will leak out from once you pull down the filter (strainer) so make sure that you have something under here.

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Good job BD^ Yeah wait for that RTV to cure. 64k miles is perfect timing to do filter drop and fluid change. That said others including myself merely did fluid change only. I did 2 myself and may drop the pan before the 100k mark.

Thank you! Let me know if you see the same stuff as me with all that build up and shavings when you drop it.
 
I have a weird question but, if I pour in the new fluid back tomorrow and it starts leaking, would it still be okay to re-use the fluid after re-applying the RTV or would it be contaminated and unusable?
 
The most extensive post so far by a member here to demonstrate the transmission pan drop and filter cartridge change! Thank you!

Thank you, now I'm just waiting for someone to make a proper high quality gasket so I don't have to use RTV anymore :LOL:
 
I have a weird question but, if I pour in the new fluid back tomorrow and it starts leaking, would it still be okay to re-use the fluid after re-applying the RTV or would it be contaminated and unusable?
If you applied the RTV around the pan continuously without any breaking point, I’d imagine chances are very slim the pan will leak. If unfortunately it does leak, I’d get another 4 ~ 5 quarts of FZ ATF and consider It the lesson learned for applying the RTV, and the 4th drain-and-fill which increases the fresh ATF ratio from 87.5% to 93.75%! You really don’t want taking any chances to re-use the drained-out ATF which may have been contaminated, especially in a system which simply can only do 50% draining.
 
My observations:
  1. The magnet was extremely dirty with so much crud and metal shavings on there, that I actually think I should've dropped the pan sooner. Honestly, this really depends on how you drive but I did drive pretty aggressively in the beginning and then moderately-aggressive afterwards. The car has 64.4k miles so far.
If you look at the video, the guy’s CX-5 diesel has only 13,121 km / 8,153 miles, and the magnetic has similar amount of metal shavings like your transmission with 63K miles. Those metal shavings should have been there since early stage of the transmission life. They should make no harms to the transmission because they got stuck by the magnet and filter strainer.
 

  1. ATF FZ Fluid: 0000-FZ-113E-01 If you plan do do (2) Drain and Fills + (1) Pan Drop then you'll need at least 14 quarts of fluid.
  2. Mazda OEM Filter (Strainer): FZ01-21-500
  3. Transmission (Filter) Strainer Bolts: 9945-40-616
  4. Transmission (Pan) Bolts: 9YA0-10-615A
  5. Transmission/Oil Washer: 9956-41-400
Torque Specs:
  1. Transmission Dipstick Bolt: 71 - 97 in lbf
  2. Transmission Drain Plug: 23 - 30 ft lbf
  3. Transmission Filter (Strainer) Bolts: 80 - 88 in lbf
  4. Transmission Pan Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf
  5. Fresh Air Duct Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf]
Several questions:

1. Are these 2 o-rings which need to be replaced included in the new Mazda OEM ATF “oil strainer” FZ01-21-500?
?
2. “Oil strainer“ bolts can be re-used?
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3. Mazda Factory Workshop Manual says “Apply a light coat of silicon sealant (TB1217E) to the contact surfaces of the oil pan and transaxle case.” Did you apply RTV both sides or just on the pan?
4. Pan bolts should be replaced with new ones?
5. Did you tighten the pan bolts with cross-pattern? It seems strange that FSM doesn’t say that?

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Thank you, now I'm just waiting for someone to make a proper high quality gasket so I don't have to use RTV anymore :LOL:
IMO cork / rubber transmission pan gasket usually won’t last long to prevent ATF leak. If Mazda designed the pan using the RTV sealant, I’d use it again without hesitation. Once the initial metal shavings are cleaned with a new filter strainer, I’d believe we won’t see too many of these the next time we drop the pan. Your experience and the YouTube video, make me think that I should drop the pan to clean up the metal shavings during my first ATF drain-and-fill.

One thing for sure is I won’t use Permatex® the Right Stuff® 1 Minute Gasket™ GREY Gasket Maker as I hate to do the job in very limited time frame. Besides, the data sheet still says it needs 24 hours to cure fully. I may try OEM RTV TB1217E or something similar to "ThreeBond 1207C Liquid Gasket Reddish Brown" showing in the video when I plan to drop the pan. Mazda Factory Workshop Manual says “Apply a light coat of silicon sealant (TB1217E) to the contact surfaces of the oil pan and transaxle case.” Again, did you apply RTV both sides or just on the pan?
 

Torque Specs:
  1. Transmission Dipstick Bolt: 71 - 97 in lbf
  2. Transmission Drain Plug: 23 - 30 ft lbf
  3. Transmission Filter (Strainer) Bolts: 80 - 88 in lbf
  4. Transmission Pan Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf
  5. Fresh Air Duct Bolts: 71 - 88 in lbf
Most may have already noticed, but still a warning here about the torque range (Mazda special) value listed: most of them are in-lb, which is 1/12 of the ft-lb torque we usually see. So make sure don’t over-tighten these bolts!
 
If you applied the RTV around the pan continuously without any breaking point, I’d imagine chances are very slim the pan will leak. If unfortunately it does leak, I’d get another 4 ~ 5 quarts of FZ ATF and consider It the lesson learned for applying the RTV, and the 4th drain-and-fill which increases the fresh ATF ratio from 87.5% to 93.75%! You really don’t want taking any chances to re-use the drained-out ATF which may have been contaminated, especially in a system which simply can only do 50% draining.

I did go in a continuous line in the inner pan side. I have a diagram of what I did, the only thing that wasn't continuous was the semi-circles on the bolt edges. True, I figured that since I didn't even start the car yet, then I may have a chance to reuse it but better safe than sorry I guess.

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If you look at the video, the guy’s CX-5 diesel has only 13,121 km / 8,153 miles, and the magnetic has similar amount of metal shavings like your transmission with 63K miles. Those metal shavings should have been there since early stage of the transmission life. They should make no harms to the transmission because they got stuck by the magnet and filter strainer.

To be honest, it still doesn't make me feel at ease with the magnet all covered up with crud. Seems like it would be a good idea to add some extra magnets like what he did in the video to even out the distribution of the extra stuff remaining. Not sure if it would make sense to purchase the magnets from Mazda or go aftermarket in the future.

Several questions:
1. Are these 2 o-rings which need to be replaced included in the new Mazda OEM ATF “oil strainer” FZ01-21-500?

The new filter (strainer) already comes with the two green o-rings preinstalled so you do not have to take off the old ones and place them over the new filter. The only thing I recommend doing is lubricating the o-rings, male surface of the new filter so that it slides in easily and you don't damage the o-ring. I used the fluid from the transmission that's already leaking.

2. “Oil strainer“ bolts can be re-used?
The bolts that were already inside of the filter prior to removal looked fine but I guess I just wanted to play it safe and replace them.

3.Mazda Factory Workshop Manual says “Apply a light coat of silicon sealant (TB1217E) to the contact surfaces of the oil pan and transaxle case.” Did you apply RTV both sides or just on the pan?
I did not bother to apply anything to the contact surfaces of the transaxle case because the RTV that is already on the pan will touch the transaxle case anyways and it seems a little extra. In the videos that I watched on YouTube, I did not see them apply it on the case as well. I guess I'll find out if it's extra very soon.

4.Pan bolts should be replaced with new ones?
When I did my research, there were some people that mentioned to replace the pan/filter bolts and the manual recommends it as well. I paid about $13.76 for the (16) bolts and they were also starting to get rusty. In a lot of the videos I watched, I saw them reusing the old bolts but if you don't have rust or anything on them, I figure you could possibly reuse them.
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5.Did you tighten the pan bolts with cross-pattern? It seems strange that FSM doesn’t say that?
I attempted to do the cross-pattern for only 6-10 bolts then I forgot which ones I haven't tightened because I was rushing to beat the 5-minute drying time from the RTV so I ended up just going in a circle afterwards to see which ones I missed.


IMO cork / rubber transmission pan gasket usually won’t last long to prevent ATF leak. If Mazda designed the pan using the RTV sealant, I’d use it again without hesitation. Once the initial metal shavings are cleaned with a new filter strainer, I’d believe we won’t see too many of these the next time we drop the pan. Your experience and the YouTube video, make me think that I should drop the pan to clean up the metal shavings during my first ATF drain-and-fill.

One thing for sure is I won’t use Permatex® the Right Stuff® 1 Minute Gasket™ GREY Gasket Maker as I hate to do the job in very limited time frame. Besides, the data sheet still says it needs 24 hours to cure fully. I may try OEM RTV TB1217E or something similar to "ThreeBond 1207C Liquid Gasket Reddish Brown" showing in the video when I plan to drop the pan. Mazda Factory Workshop Manual says “Apply a light coat of silicon sealant (TB1217E) to the contact surfaces of the oil pan and transaxle case.” Again, did you apply RTV both sides or just on the pan?

Honestly, applying RTV seems more like an art than anything, the nozzle from the permatex tube sucks and I would've liked to apply it evenly throughout like Felix Dan, rather than going in a continuous line with no breaks. Also, I thought you would do (2) drain and fill and (1) pan drop to get rid of 87% of the old stuff :D? I'm debating whether or not it's worth it to drop the pan again at around 30k miles just to see how it looks and just skip the drain and fill.


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Yep, it says 24 hours to fully cure but it also mentions that it can be ready to be used right away in their TDS. That's the only reason why I thought it was worth it but let me know how the ThreeBond goes when you drop your pan.

I only applied the RTV to the pan since it would be touching the mating surface.


Most may have already noticed, but still a warning here about the torque range (Mazda special) value listed: most of them are in-lb, which is 1/12 of the ft-lb torque we usually see. So make sure don’t over-tighten these bolts!

Very true, I also used a digital torque wrench instead of the regular click-types that you can purchase. I'm actually scared sometimes because the click-torque wrench can be defective and if it doesn't click when tightening, you'll eventually snap the bolt in half so I decided to invest in a better tool. Obviously, that's just me hehe.

Oh, in addition, here are the prices I've paid so far:
  1. Mazda OEM Filter (Strainer) (FZ01-21-500): $26.89
  2. Transmission (Filter) Strainer Bolts (9945-40-616): 2 bolts for $3.16
  3. Transmission (Pan) Bolts (9YA0-10-615A): 16 bolts for $13.76
  4. Transmission/Oil Washer (9956-41-400): 14 bottles for $152.12
  5. Permatex® the Right Stuff® 1 Minute Gasket™ GREY Gasket Maker: $15.93
  6. Permatex High Temperature RTV Silicone Gasket Maker: $9.65
  7. Pittsburgh Non-Marring Scraper Set, 4 Pc.: $12.99
So in total, around $235 for (2) drain and fills (1) pan drop.
 
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Also, when I was looking for methods to best apply the RTV, I was unable to find any good videos or tutorials on how to do it because everyone seemed to have a different method. The one I used was this method:

Go in a straight line inside the inner edges and then come back to the bolt holes and apply semi circles.

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I think (2) other method that could be used is to apply a thick layer on the middle of the pan surface and going over the holes.

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or from Felix Dan

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Very true, I also used a digital torque wrench instead of the regular click-types that you can purchase. I'm actually scared sometimes because the click-torque wrench can be defective and if it doesn't click when tightening, you'll eventually snap the bolt in half so I decided to invest in a better tool. Obviously, that's just me hehe.
What kind of digital torque wrench do you have?
 
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