How do I change my Standard trans fluid
 

Where is the drain and fill plugs? How much should I use and what should I use?

Any info would be great!

What plug on the side? Which side? Front or rear?

Can you post a pic please?

theMAN....... you need a gear oil pump? is this for a MT? geez..... i thought you just filled it. how much am i gonna need to spend to get one of those?

you DO just fill it Aaron, what "theman" is refering to is a small HAND PUMP to PUMP the gear oil from its container INTO the transmission....it makes the job MUCH simpler....AND cleaner!

Drain Plug

Fill Plug

sirnuke........ i have the sedan. is the fill plug in the same place as the P5? i can't seem to tell where this plug is when i open the hood. sorry i'm a dumbass but....... is it toward the back of the engine down low? i see so many bolts. :confused:

seeing as how I have a P-5 and not a sedan.....I am not going to say...since I can not say with 100% certainty...HOWEVER>..I can not believe that the transmissions are different in our cars....so...i would THINK its in the same spot..

YOU may not be able to see it as well since if you have your stock intake on there is a LOT of plastic crap in the line of sight.....I don't, I have an aftermarket intake which is how i was able to take that picture.....

try looking up from the bottom....you may see something like this....looking at the picture...the TOP of the picture is the FRONT of the car

Fill plug hole? You mean the drain plug right? If this is where your fill plug is, then my MP3 is different. I don't have such a bolt in that location! I also do not have the electrical connection in that area!

NO...that IS my fill plug...the drain plugis is smack dab in the middle on the bottom....that pic looks a little funny since I just stuck my hand under the car with my camera and got LUCKY with the shot! lol

unless I am wrong...which btw HAS happened before....that electrical connection is the BACKUP light switch.....

I didnt' think that the sedan and the P-5 manual trannies were different.

can anyone confirm this? that the 3rd gen manuals are different from the sedan to the p-5?

i have a sedan and from the pictures you posted for the drain nut plug and fill plug is the same as mine. the transmissions should be the same. as for the MP3 i'm not sure. the drain plug is easily seen from the bottom of the car and the filler plug is more towards the front/side of the car with the similar looking plug not too far from the drain plug.
how much transmission fluid do you need for the change?
and where would you get a gear oil pump? any automotive store?

the AMOUNT is in the back of your manual in the SPECIFICATIONS section...has all the capacities for YOUR year and model.

as far as the pump....yep....probably get one at nearly any decent autoparts store.....

some of them are even made to screw right on top of popular sized containers that gear oil comes in....then it will have a plastic hose....small....and you just hand pump it in.

Nick.....I can't go out and VERIFY the location on an MP3....there is only ONE in town....and its owned by some teenage girl and I don't know them....

Sir Nuke - since you've already gone way above the call of duty, would you mind going a little further and telling us what the sizes of the plugs are? I just lifted my car after buying some Redline MT90, and realized I don't have a socket big enough and there's no room for a wrench :(

there is CERTAINLY room for a wrench on the FILL plug...and on MY car the fill plug and the drain plug are the same size....check it out.

I have located the fill plug, but it seems to me that it is pointed in a downward direction at a slight angle. I hope this is the fill plug, I guess i just open it and see if I can see/or feel and fluid.

Sir Nukem. is it pointed downward?

Here a odd one my Shelby uses 10-30 oil. Because it lubs better. Hmm, wonder why mazda requires such a high weight oil? Maybe it just lasts longer?

YES Nick...the plug IS slightly pointed in the downward direction.....just happens that is how that panel of the side of the transmission is shaped.

yeah if you need SHINEY pics of 3rd gen parts that I can take without taking stuff apart....just ask. :{D

So I just changed my fluid to MT90 and when I was putting the fill plug back in, I saw it had a gasket, but there wasn't one on the drain plug. Is this normal? I don't really want to go out and get a gasket now since I've just filled it, and it would be a pain to purge and refill, but I was wondering if there's supposed to be one.

If there is supposed to be one, can anyone speculate on what will happen if I drive without one?

Cheers,

Eric

P.S. The plugs are 23mm on a P5.

did you look at them closely when BEFORE you took them off? the reason I ask is there is a metal gasket on BOTH of mine (if you look REALLY close, you can see them in the pictures I posted).....so if you dropped the drain plug in the pan when you took it out, the gasket MAY have popped off the plug and its in your drain pan.

the WORST thing that can happen NOW since you didn't put one on....is it could leak.....due to the fact that there is a large flat area under the head of the plug for the gasket to seat....and this is the first time you have changed the fluid, AND the housing is nice soft aluminium......it probably won't leak....but it might....just keep an eye on it.

I have to admit I didn't look closely before I took them off, but nothing was in my pan (it has a weave that catches stuff) afterwards. I'll keep an eye on it for leaks, and put in a gasket if I see any serious leakage. Thanks for the prompt reply!

Cheers,

Eric

you are more than welcome eric.....its what WE are here for....and considering what a small part it is....its VERY possible that it was left off at the factory....

Shaderman - MT90
 

I'm from Montreal too. Where did you get the MT90 tranny fluid. I've been thinking of doing the same thing in the near future. I couldn't find anywhere that sells MT90 around here.

How much of a difference does it make in the smoothness of the transmission? How much did you need?

Re: Shaderman - MT90
 

I found MT90 at Lazer Auto, 9900 Henri-Bourassa West, (514) 334-4785. They only had two bottles left after I bought three, so you may need to get them to order it.

I bought 3 quarts - the tranny is supposed to take 2.9 quarts.

As for the difference, I have to admit so far I haven't really found much of a difference. The shifting was pretty smooth on my car to begin with, it may be slightly smoother now. I think the real difference will show when shifting at higher rpms (which I haven't done yet), as well as in the winter.

Cheers,

Eric

I also put in the Redline MT-90 and did not really notice much difference either. I've read others here have notice a difference though.

Another thing I noticed while draining the factory tranny oil is that it didn't smell bad at all, like most tranny oil. It sure seems like our factory tranny oil (in the P5) is synthetic, anybody know for sure?

Carlos