When and How To Drain and Fill Auto Tranny

[kevinmcc]

Okay all, I need some advice and how to for a drain and refill for my 2.0 DX. The car has 33,000 miles on it and someone told me to drain and refill it with fresh fluid every 30k miles to prolong the life.

So, what fluid should I grab? I assume OEM auto tranny fluid from Mazda? And also where is the drain plug, and do I just refill it from the dip stick tube?

I am not sure what fluid is in it now, it might have been changed once at the dealer. I cannot find mazda atf?

 

[thuzil]

I would not worry about the fluid at 33K unless you are having problems.

I am not sure about brands for automatics, so I suggest Mazda.

If the auto is like the manual, there is a 23 mm drain plug on the bottom and a 23 mm fill plug on the front.

 

[Kyle28]

Follow this?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?94623-How-To-Auto-Tranny-Flush

 

[concept]

I agree that you SHOULD drain and fill your auto transmission fluid. I do mine every 2 years (which is a bit conservative at 8000 miles), but believe me, it is far better to be safe than sorry.
First, make sure you have the following:
Car ramps (Walmart has plastic ones for $40 or so).
A graduated, translucent plastic container that holds at least a gallon (like Mcmaster.com's #4169T25 for $8.15)
6 quarts of ATF fluid (You can buy this at almost any auto parts store. The exact type is listed in your owners manual.)
A socket wrench or box end wrench set and a large adjustable wrench in case the set doesn't have a large enough wrench.
Lots of paper towels and some disposable gloves.

Changing your auto tranny fluid is like changing your oil, except you should know how much fluid you drain out - hence, the graduated container. Put in what you drain out and your level should be very close to perfect. (Always check, afterwards.)

Finally, since you can't drain all of the fluid, you should drain and fill again after a period of time. I'll do it again, the following year and then skip a couple of years.