Tranny fluid change intervals?

Hi - I used to own a Ford and perused this group a lot, but in 2003 I
bought a new Mazda Protege with the 2.0 DOHC engine. I believe my
Escort was mostly Mazda anyway, if I recall.
Anyway, I now have just 40K miles on the Protege and the dealer keeps
bugging me about changing my tranny fluid/filter. I am a little
skeptical on this because first I don't want to spend needless money and
second I don't want them to cause a leak or other problem by messing
with the pan, filter, etc. How often should automatic tranny
fluid/filter be changed? I owned stick shifts for my entire 15 yrs of
driving before buying the Mazda, so I really don't know, and after
lurking in this group a while I have come to believe reading the owner's
manuals for your service intervals isn't always the 'best' advice.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

"Eric L. Hulliberger" <DarkShadow79 (AT) webtv (DOT) net> wrote

Hi - I used to own a Ford and perused this group a lot, but in 2003 I
bought a new Mazda Protege with the 2.0 DOHC engine. I believe my
Escort was mostly Mazda anyway, if I recall.
Anyway, I now have just 40K miles on the Protege and the dealer keeps
bugging me about changing my tranny fluid/filter. I am a little
skeptical on this because first I don't want to spend needless money and
second I don't want them to cause a leak or other problem by messing
with the pan, filter, etc. How often should automatic tranny
fluid/filter be changed? I owned stick shifts for my entire 15 yrs of
driving before buying the Mazda, so I really don't know, and after
lurking in this group a while I have come to believe reading the owner's
manuals for your service intervals isn't always the 'best' advice.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

My advice on automatic transmissions is simple. Change the fluid!
Honestly, every 30k miles is appropriate, and more often than that if your
vehicle sees severe use. Heat breaks down the fluid, and automatics can
really produce heat.

Having said that, I'm not sure the filter needs changing, but the fluid
should be. I'm not against properly used transmission flush machines. I
know dealerships who use them. I'd go that route on your low mile Mazda.
If it were a vehicle that had 100+k miles and had been given no transmission
service, I'd have different advice.

CJB

Hi - I used to own a Ford and perused this group a lot, but in 2003 I
bought a new Mazda Protege with the 2.0 DOHC engine. I believe my
Escort was mostly Mazda anyway, if I recall.
Anyway, I now have just 40K miles on the Protege and the dealer keeps
bugging me about changing my tranny fluid/filter. I am a little
skeptical on this because first I don't want to spend needless money and
second I don't want them to cause a leak or other problem by messing
with the pan, filter, etc. How often should automatic tranny
fluid/filter be changed? I owned stick shifts for my entire 15 yrs of
driving before buying the Mazda, so I really don't know, and after
lurking in this group a while I have come to believe reading the owner's
manuals for your service intervals isn't always the 'best' advice.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

On a Ford (and any Ford by-product) once a year wouldn't be too much
based on their tranny track record thusfar.

-GV

GlassVial wrote:

Hi - I used to own a Ford and perused this group a lot, but in 2003 I
bought a new Mazda Protege with the 2.0 DOHC engine. I believe my
Escort was mostly Mazda anyway, if I recall.
Anyway, I now have just 40K miles on the Protege and the dealer keeps
bugging me about changing my tranny fluid/filter. I am a little
skeptical on this because first I don't want to spend needless money and
second I don't want them to cause a leak or other problem by messing
with the pan, filter, etc. How often should automatic tranny
fluid/filter be changed? I owned stick shifts for my entire 15 yrs of
driving before buying the Mazda, so I really don't know, and after
lurking in this group a while I have come to believe reading the owner's
manuals for your service intervals isn't always the 'best' advice.

Thanks in advance,
Eric

On a Ford (and any Ford by-product) once a year wouldn't be too much
based on their tranny track record thusfar.

-GV

draining the torque converter as well, or just the fluid? when i do my
corwn vic, i always drain the torque converter as well, but on the wifes
civic, i hve no idea how to drain it, i just drain the fluid, and fill
it back up with another 7L of honda brand fluid...

i've never had my crown vic or the honda flushed.

Tom - thanks for all the tips, especially the bolt-loosening intervals,
that will definitely keep my garage floor cleaner I hope. We got a
freak snowstorm and really cold weather here in Michigan this week and
Saturday only looks to be about 42 degrees for a high temp so will
probably wait until next weekend...at least that gives me time to buy
the filter, fluid, and check to see if I need to replace the gasket as
well...thanks a lot

Eric

Eric L. Hulliberger wrote:

Tom - thanks for all the tips, especially the bolt-loosening intervals,
that will definitely keep my garage floor cleaner I hope. We got a
freak snowstorm and really cold weather here in Michigan this week and
Saturday only looks to be about 42 degrees for a high temp so will
probably wait until next weekend...at least that gives me time to buy
the filter, fluid, and check to see if I need to replace the gasket as
well...thanks a lot

Eric

While you've got the pan off, you can install a transmission drain plug
kit. You can get one at most auto stores. All you have to do is drill a
hole of the proper size in the pan. Locate the hole in the lowest part
of the pan and make sure it's accessible when the pan is installed on
the transmission. Be sure to thoroughly flush all the metal chips out of
the pan after drilling. Transmissions often have a magnet in the bottom
of the pan for catching ferrous metal particles. It's usually donut
shaped. It should be removed to clean the attached particles.
With a drain plug installed, you can now replace the fluid in the pan
without removing it. It's not necessary to change the filter every time
you drain the pan. I replace the fluid once a year. I get about three
quarts out of the pan. That's enough to replenish the fluid in the system.

Great, thanks for the all the useful tips, I hope to get to it next
weekend.