transmission fluid change advice needed

[Matsuda03]

-03 P5 with sportshift Auto-

It's time for a drain and fill for the transmission. The last owner had the transmission flushed about 15,000 miles ago. I know it's soon, but I really want to prolong the life of my tranny.

My questions:

Is there a filter?

The dealer quoted me 1/2 hour plus parts and fluid ($100/hour). An independent shop quoted me $79.95. Does the dealer's price sound too good to be true?

If I go to the ind. shop, I planned on picking up the Mazda Long Life ATF at the dealership, anyway. How much will I need?

Thanks!

 

[cbrcrx]

You can do it yourself in five minutes.

 

[rustychops41]

$79 for a complete dialysis (flushed while running -not just drain and fill) is a decent price for a private shop. I know I had mine flushed every 30K, and it seemed to get nasty looking quickly.

 

[fishdonotbounce]

You're going to need at least 8 quarts. There is a how-to in the how-to section that tells you how to do it yourself. I bought 10 quarts so I could do a really good flush. Ended up using 9.

There is a filter. You can get the filter kit which includes a gasket for your transmission fluid pan. It doesn't originally come with a gasket but I used it anyway and it has held up really nicely. The kit costs 20 bucks at autozone.

I used valvoline maxlife btw.

Good luck

 

[cbrcrx]

Most of the trans and oil change shops don't even flush it. I had a friend who used to manage a big one around here and he told me himself they didn't do it even though they are supposed to. If it is only $79, I wouldn't trust it. Do it yourself and you know it's done right.

 

[TheMAN]

drain and fill will be fine... 15k is WAY too soon

I recommend valvoline maxlife also as far as a cheap ATF Type M-V goes... it has excellent additive packages and seal restorers... works great on both of my 15 year old toyotas!

 

[StealthWyvern]

see sig

 

[Mazdaspeed2oo35]

I recommend using Redline Lightweight Shockproof Synchromesh Synthetic Transmission Fluid. Ive been using this oil for the past years punishing the transmission with excellent results. or you can also use Redline MT-90 they are awesome as well

 

[sersiem]

I recommend Mazda ATF M-V... only... 8-10 liter

 

[azmp5]

anyone use Royal Purple ATF, thats what I was going to use.

 

[slavrenz]

drain and fill will be fine... 15k is WAY too soon

I recommend valvoline maxlife also as far as a cheap ATF Type M-V goes... it has excellent additive packages and seal restorers... works great on both of my 15 year old toyotas!

I use Valvoline MaxLife ATF as well - it's only about 5 bucks a quart and it restored some of the shifting that the last jackass who owned the car ruined when he put in some of that generic ATF crap.

I agree with the above posts - for $79, they're not going to do a flush- they'll probably just drain it and refill. I drain and refill every 10,000 miles, and drop the pan and change the filter every 30,000 miles.