$21 electric sunction extractor/transfer pump for transfer case oil changes

[avidien]

"Regarding the stubby wrench you used. Do you think the right size Allen wrench would work just as well?"

I don't think there's enough room for a 3/8" Allen wrench, I could barely get my low profile ratchet in there, the problem is that there is another obstruction opposite of the plug. As you loosen the plug the gap gets tighter, so even if you somehow can get the allen wrench to fit, you won't be able to get the plug out. A right angle 3/8" Allen wrench will be too high, also, without the ratcheting action, it will be very tedious with the Allen wrench, there's absolutely not enough to turn the Allen wrench 360 degrees (maybe at most there's enough space to turn 120 degrees, so you'll have to keep removing and re-inserting the wrench after each turn)

 

[avidien]

Is there also a 'front differential' or is this another term used for the transfer case?

there's no separate front differential in our CX-9, it's built into our transmission,
that's why I service the transmission oil every 30,000 miles no matter what Mazda says,
that transmission oil is working hard all the time.

also see voldsom's explanation below and in the link :
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123844692-2008-Mazda-CX9-AWD-not-working-%28-real-wheel-not-turning%29

I service all the drivetrain fluids listed in the picture religiously :
engine oil: Mobil 1 5W20 synthetic every 6000 miles
transmission: every 30,000 miles
transfer case a.k.a. PTU or PTO: Royal Purple 75W140 every 6,000 miles
rear differential: serviced at dealer every 30,000 miles

 

[kornholio]

Avidien which dealer do you go to for the rear differential service and how much does this dealer charge? also do i ask for this service or do they have it on their price list chart.

 

[avidien]

Avidien which dealer do you go to for the rear differential service and how much does this dealer charge? also do i ask for this service or do they have it on their price list chart.

I go to Wantagh on Sunrise Highway/Wantagh Parkway, they're good guys,
Google them and you'll see it's family owned and they get good reviews.

They don't list the rear differential service, but I'm positive they offer it, I think it runs around $70 or $80, I'm not sure.
just FYI, they don't offer the transfer case service (hand) , I asked multiple times ; so I just did it myself.

 

[4wardmotion]

there's no separate front differential in our CX-9, it's built into our transmission,
that's why I service the transmission oil every 30,000 miles no matter what Mazda says,
that transmission oil is working hard all the time.

Thanks again Avidien!

I completed the oil change service yesterday. After reading all of the posts and not knowing whether we were driving on the original gear lube at nearly 134K miles, I was more than a bit nervous about what I was going to find. I'll post some pics when I get a chance, but here a few interesting things that I discovered;

The fill plug was not tight at all - it took very little effort to remove it. I also noticed the red thread-locker was 'damaged' - well...'disturbed' is probably a better word to use - it looked as if it may have been removed and reinstalled.

This was my first indication that perhaps they really did service the transfer unit back in 2011 at 85K miles. The plug itself had a thick coat of sludge along with some metal filings just as others have found. BTW - I took the 9 for a quick drive just to warm things up a bit. I live in the Northeast (MA) and it was pretty mild for this time of year (around 55 degrees) which is why I wanted to do this service yesterday.


After I removed the plug, I inserted the smaller/stiffer tubing that came with the suction pump. I found if I inserted the tubing on an angle from above the hole, it slid in and I was able to move it around quite a bit - I think I had about 7" of tubing stuffed into the hole at one point - where it ended up, who knows!
I turned on the pump and wondered what the hell was going to come out. I was really surprised to see something other than black gunk coming out. I could easily see light through it. I kept moving the tubing around; pulled it out and reinserted it several times on different angles to try to reach as many places as possible. I ended up pulling almost 12 oz of oil out. It's dirty, but nothing like I imagined it would be....in fact, it might have been the 'cleanest' dirty oil I've ever seen!



I am now pretty confident that they really did change the oil 4 years/50K miles ago. But based upon what I pulled out, I'm also thinking that the lube they listed on the work order; "75W90SYN" was what they may have used. If so, it's obviously not what is recommended. I've never had any issues with shifting or oil leaking - before or after that service in 2011. With so many folks having TU failures and leaking.....I can't help but wonder if the Tech did me a favor by using this instead of the 75W140. I ended up pumping in about 15 oz of the correct 75W140 lube.


Since my Pop only drives about 2K miles per year, I'm not too concerned about having to do this procedure again anytime soon. But now I have the electric suction pump that I can use on my boat engine next fall instead of the manual suction style pump.

Thanks again for the great info and write up!

Pete

 

[avidien]

Thanks again Avidien!

I am now pretty confident that they really did change the oil 4 years/50K miles ago. But based upon what I pulled out, I'm also thinking that the lube they listed on the work order; "75W90SYN" was what they may have used. If so, it's obviously not what is recommended. I've never had any issues with shifting or oil leaking - before or after that service in 2011. With so many folks having TU failures and leaking.....I can't help but wonder if the Tech did me a favor by using this instead of the 75W140. I ended up pumping in about 15 oz of the correct 75W140 lube. Since my Pop only drives about 2K miles per year, I'm not too concerned about having to do this procedure again anytime soon. But now I have the electric suction pump that I can use on my boat engine next fall instead of the manual suction style pump.

Thanks again for the great info and write up!

Pete

wow, great news, Pete.

it definitely sounds like they serviced the transfer case at 85,000 miles.

Which Mazda dealership did you have it serviced? I'm wondering if there's any value added to get the oil sample analyzed ?
I'm not an oil expert so maybe an expert can chime in and add to the discussion 75W90 vs 75W140 ?

this is a good video I found regarding 75W90 vs 75W140

 

[W1gfd]

Wish the previous owner of my CX9 had taken care of the PTU. My CX9 went into the shop three days after driving it off the lot and so far Mazda has bought a new PTU and transmission.

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Just an update, the CX-9 has been at the dealer for almost four weeks, still awaiting Mazda to Shipp the transmission. I cannot complain though, Mazda is covering all parts and labor and they gave me a brand new car for a loaner.

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[rgrisoli]

W1gfd, how were you able to get Mazda to cover the cost of the new transmission. I assume that the splines were sheared off? How many miles on the vehicle at the time of the failure and were you covered under an extended warranty? Sorry for all the questions, but my TC failed and took out the transmission splines. Mazda is covering the TC under the extended warranty, but not the transmission. I'm at 74K mi anbd out of warranty.

 

[Bargain]

What brand of Transmission oil you guys used for CX 9?
-I flush it and used Fuchs Titan 4400 ( I was 15K ago), i may do it gain in next 10k.

 

[W1gfd]

W1gfd, how were you able to get Mazda to cover the cost of the new transmission. I assume that the splines were sheared off? How many miles on the vehicle at the time of the failure and were you covered under an extended warranty? Sorry for all the questions, but my TC failed and took out the transmission splines. Mazda is covering the TC under the extended warranty, but not the transmission. I'm at 74K mi anbd out of warranty.

You are correct, when the PTU failed it sheared off the splines on the transmission, and I really have no idea how the dealer got Mazda to cover the transmission, all i know is that one day I was getting a new PTU and quite literally the next day I got a call saying that the splines had been sheared off and Mazda was covering it, the vehicle had over 75K miles on it, guess I was just lucky, or the dealer really went to bat for me.

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