What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Good to see another Winnipegger! Which dealer did you get it from?

RX8 wheels would look great on it!
Ah sweet! Ur from Winnipeg to eh? Niiice! I actually bought it from a dealer in Mississauga. Was a nightmare getting it here. Said it was saftied but it wasn't, delivery delays, etc... But it was worth it given its equipment and kit. I def wanna put the rx8 rims on it. I think it'll fill the wheel gap nicely and carry that zoom-zoom-era mazda look nicely.
 
Just picked up another Mazda5 last weekend and drove her 700 miles home. 2012 Sport, 108k miles, with the manual transmission of course! She is much nicer than Bessie the rust-wagon that I owned a few years back; no appreciable rust, 6-speed, and more sound deadening makes her much nicer on the highway, and hopefully to work on as well! And, she's in a non-greyscale color as a bonus!
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That makes us a pretty Mazda-heavy family with the '09 RX-8 and '88 RX-7 convertible (under the cover) in the background there.
 
Yes, the main purpose is for a bike hitch or rear carrying tray - I don't plan on much towing but having a hook-up for lights will be nice since bikes or cargo in the tray may block the normal taillights.

With that being said, I towed a small enclosed U-haul moving trailer about 1000 miles with my old 2006 Mazda5 with a class-1 hitch at 60-70 mph - the key is being careful both in loading/measuring/inspecting the trailer, and when driving. Make sure that you've got the CG far enough in front of the wheels that the trailer will be more stable, but not forward too far to exceed the 200 lb tongue weight - 10% of the entire trailer weight. With a little math, a bath scale and some 2x4's, you can measure the trailer and tongue weights accurately enough to ensure this. Otherwise, planning ahead, driving defensively, and being mechanically sympathetic will all help to reduce stress on the brakes, transmission, and cooling system.
 
Transmission filter. This thing has 119k on it and I was the first one to open it. Still had the factory "pink silicone/no gasket" on it. That pan was stuuuuuuck. The first fill and drain was blaaaack.
I did mine last year at 75k and it was black and yes the pan was stuck. Use a tiny torque wrench to put it back on with the new gasket since they are super easy to strip and are not very tight. Sorry, I don't have the torque spec, but you can't do it by feel so be careful.
 
Do you guys who have pulled the tranny pan to do the filter think it's worth the trouble? What I mean is, have you found the filter to be in need of replacement?

I've been changing my ATF by doing the disconnect hose and pump out method.
 
Do you guys who have pulled the tranny pan to do the filter think it's worth the trouble? What I mean is, have you found the filter to be in need of replacement?

I've been changing my ATF by doing the disconnect hose and pump out method.
I found there was a fair amount of sludge build up on the magnet. Hopefully by cleaning it it'll help allow the magnet to keep doing it's job. It wasn't the worst job ever but I'm trying to get the van road trip worthy and I don't think the PO did anything other than engine oil so I'm doing everything
 
Do you guys who have pulled the tranny pan to do the filter think it's worth the trouble? What I mean is, have you found the filter to be in need of replacement?

I've been changing my ATF by doing the disconnect hose and pump out method.
Yes, it's absolutely necessary in my opinion. The job isn't difficult at all, just time consuming getting the factory RTV off.

If you go with a Wix filter for replacement, that has a silicone gasket that you use instead of RTV. Much cleaner solution.
 
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