How to change manual tranny fluid?
 

Before anyone jumps all over me, I did several searches using different keywords and checked the FAQ, all to no avail.

Therefore, my question is, can someone give me detailed instructions on how to change my tranny fluid in a manual '02 P5? I'm pretty mechanically inclined (do my own oil changes, installed my B&M and Kartboy bushings myself, etc.) but I'm looking for instructions as I've never done tranny fluid before. :)

i dont think you have to "change" youre tranny fluid, just top it off. If it part of the regualr maintainance cycle than you should prolly flush the system at 60000-70000 (maybe sooner) unless you notice a leak or the fluid in the tranny resovoir is brown. Someone else back me up on this as I haven't done it yet either.

I know that I don't have to change it, but I want to switch to a synthetic to make shifting smoother.

I thought only automatic transmissions had any transmission fluid? Sorry if I missed something, but where is it under my hood?

thats true-auto's have tranny fluid while manuals use gear oil, which is usually engine oil anyway, but since it goes in the tranny we call it tranny fluid. Sorry for the confusion.

Hawkeye, its prolly a good idea for longevity and smoother shifting, not to mention fewer times having to change the system since synthetic is designed for a higher pressure/temperature environment. I'd do it. Anyone know the steps??

Okay guys this isn't really difficult. It's easier then changing the engine oil.

Jack up the car, put it on jackstands, and find the fill plug and the drain plug. Loosen the fill plug. Besure that you can loosen the fill plug BEFORE draining the fluid out. It would suck to not have any fluid and not be able to get the fill plug out.

After you loosen/remove the fill plug, stick your drain pan under the car and remove the drain plug. Let the crap drain out, then put the drain plug back in. Lower the car off of the jackstands.

Now stick your funnel with hose into the transmission fill hole from the top in the engine bay. Put the recommended amount of oil in the transmission. I can't remember how much off the top of my head, then replace the fill plug.

Like I said, it's really simple.

If you can't handle it, go buy the synthetic fluid that you want and take it to your nearest jiffy lube. They'll overcharge you for it, but will get it done.

ummmm, how can a transaxle house a transmission if a FWD car doesn't have a transmission???? ;)

Working from my memory, the fill plug is on the front side of the manual gearbox, and is about 2/3's of the way to the top of the housing. I believe it requires a 17mm wrench.

But I may be confusing all of this with my other car.

It was probably overkill for my little protege, but I just put Redline shockproof synthetic tranny fluid in my 5-speed, and it made a very noticable improvement.

I used redline as well. Made the shifts a little smoother.

I damn sure wish I knew where the thread is....some time ago we had this discussion somewhere here on the board...and I even went and posted pictures of the drain plug location and the fill plug....

the drain plug is right in the bottom and somewhat under the cross memeber.....look for it.

the fill plug is somewhat on the front of the tranny about 2/3 up from the bottom and on the drivers side of the car....

check in the manual near the back and it will tell you exactly what the capacity of the gear oil is you need to put back in.

anybody know where to get some REdline on line or should i just go to one of the rice shops to get it. its MT90 we need and 2.9 quarts right, thats what i heard.

A few little points about tranny oil:

1) To the person with Redline "Shockproof" gear oil in their tranny- drain it and get MT90. Redline "Shockproof" is NOT tranny oil, it is special differential oil intended to prevent diff breakage in high-horsepower RWD cars and 4x4's. It does not have the special ingredients in MTL and MT90 that improve shifting. I'm not sure if "Shockproof" will *hurt* your tranny, but I would replace it with MT90 just to be safe.

2) The drain plug is either 21mm or 23mm, I will check later.

3) The capacity of the tranny is rated at 2.85 quarts, but when you fill it, buy 3 quarts and pour in as much as you can. Tranny oil is such sticky stuff that unless you're willing to sit there holding each bottle upside down for 10 minutes, enough of it will stick to the inside of the funnel and the bottles that you won't overfill the tranny. :)

4) The easiest way to fill the tranny is with a 3' length of 5/8" O.D. clear vinyl tubing. Stick the funnel in one end, open the hood, and stick the other end in the fill hole. You are much less likely to spill this way. :)

5) Wear old clothes and be careful to avoid spills. :D Tranny oil is nasty stuff, it stinks (mechanics call it "skunk juice" for a reason) and it will stain any fabric permanently. If you spill a bunch on yourself, the foul odor will take days to dissapate, and no cologne or soap on Earth will disguise it completely. Do NOT change tranny oil when you have a hot date later the same day. :D

hahaha go pick up pamela anderson at 7 wearing "scent of an engine"

Bolt size
 

I just did the tranny oil change on my 2000 Protege. The drain and fill plugs are both 23mm. It's not that hard if you have a little patience. Get the clear tubing to put in the fill hole but you can also get a little valve that you can attach to an oil bottle and the tubing that allows you to stop the oil flow if you cough or something and the oil starts pissing out.

I used Redline MT90. It shifts a little smother, especially from first to second...but nothing too noticable. Seems like there are fewer vibrations as well...or maybe that's me sniffing too much tranny oil. The shit that comes out of your tranny reeks!!

Last thing, I put all 3 quarts in and the tranny didn't overflow. Like someone said, it's hard to get every drop of oil out when you use Redline, it's think. My car may not have been perfectly level as well.