tranny fluid

[fairman86]

hey guys, just wanted to change the fluid in my tranny, i have the Mazda M50D-R1. i rad that there ae plugs in the top that leak, i will eventually get to replacing them, but im leaving on a trip and wanna just change out the fluid fornow, i read that mercon atf was the recommended, but also read that eople are using synthetic oil, what is your opinion, and what fluid do you think will work the best? if i dont hear anything ill prolly just go with the mercon atf

 

[Earl43P]

I used Valvoline semi-synthetic ATF (a Mercon equivalent according to the label). MerconV is the new standard (semi-synthetic).

Be sure to remove the FILL plug BEFORE you drain it. Otherwise you may have to refill it by removing the shifter.

The plugs you refer to are called shift rail plugs, accessible by removing the carpet and the entire top cover plate on the tunnel. If they are leaking, you'll see a trail of ATF mess.

Dorman makes metal plugs, but I simply reused the rubber plugs after cleaning them and their bores (dry) and sealing them in with gasket sealing compound. Mine hadn't leaked prior to that, nor afterward.

 

[fairman86]

+1 it seems that someone has used motor oil in my tanny, i know this can be used, but isnt recommended because when it leaks you have a hard time tekling if it was the engine or the tranny. so i will make sure that i can open my fill plug, then ill drain it and fill it with the proper mercon, thanks so much...

 

[kukaepe]

Has anyone used Redline MTL in the manual 5 sp transmission instead of ATF?