Friday, May 25, 2007
Transmission and Differential Oil Change
This is for a 96 Manual Transmission Miata.
Transmission Oil Change
Do this every 30K with Red Line. The shifting will feel smoother.
1. Jack the car up on all 4s and ensure it's as level as possible. If the floor is not level, then jack up one end higher to get the car level.
2. Unscrew the fill plug. It's a square looking plug on the front left side of the transmission. Be prepare with a oil pan as some oil may or may not come out.
3. Unscrew the drain plug at the bottom of the transmission near the back. Expect about 2 quarts of oil to come out. The plug has a magnet on the inside and a crush washer. Clean the magnet and look out of large pieces of metal that could indication transmission damage. Remove the crush washer(sometimes there's more than one; remove them all).
4. Screw the drain plug back in with a new crush washer. This is the same washer used for oil change and you can get this from the dealer for pennies. I got mine from Flying Miata in a pack of 10 for like $1.50. I hand tighten this and gave it an extra 1/4 turn. You can dry torque it to 20lbs, but it's usually wet so I don't bother. Clean this area around the plug very well so it's easy to check for leaks later.
5. Use a pump to fill the oil through the fill hole. It takes about 2 quarts. Stop when oil starts to come out the fill hole. If oil comes out too early or late, then the car may not be level. I use a hand pump that looks like a bicycle pump. Don't bother with siphon type pumps. This step can be very messy, so have some card board ready to cover work area.
6. Screw the fill plug back in and you're done. I don't remember if this has a crush washer or not. Again hand tightenn + 1/4 turn should do it. Clean and check back for leaks later.
Changing the differential oil
Red Line has oil for this also and it's different than the transmission oil. The manual should have the oil spec. I'm not sure if it's the same for all Miatas since the older N1 had VSD and the later N1 had TSD. I'm not aware of any advantages using the more expensive oil for the differential, but you only do this every 30K so why not get something good in there.
Basically the same steps as the transmission oil change. Both plugs are on the back of the differential, but the drain plug is about 6" lower. It's easy to reach this by just jacking up the back of the car, but don't because you have to keep the car level.
Basic Oil Change
I use dino oil cause it's cheaper and works fine. I plan to change my oil more often depending on track use. Otherwise, Costco is selling Mobil 1 for about $5 a quart. I use the Mazda oil filter which is $6 each. There is a oil filter kit that moves the oil filter to a better location and allows for the use of a bigger filter. I'll look into this next time.
Transmission Oil Change
Do this every 30K with Red Line. The shifting will feel smoother.
1. Jack the car up on all 4s and ensure it's as level as possible. If the floor is not level, then jack up one end higher to get the car level.
2. Unscrew the fill plug. It's a square looking plug on the front left side of the transmission. Be prepare with a oil pan as some oil may or may not come out.
3. Unscrew the drain plug at the bottom of the transmission near the back. Expect about 2 quarts of oil to come out. The plug has a magnet on the inside and a crush washer. Clean the magnet and look out of large pieces of metal that could indication transmission damage. Remove the crush washer(sometimes there's more than one; remove them all).
4. Screw the drain plug back in with a new crush washer. This is the same washer used for oil change and you can get this from the dealer for pennies. I got mine from Flying Miata in a pack of 10 for like $1.50. I hand tighten this and gave it an extra 1/4 turn. You can dry torque it to 20lbs, but it's usually wet so I don't bother. Clean this area around the plug very well so it's easy to check for leaks later.
5. Use a pump to fill the oil through the fill hole. It takes about 2 quarts. Stop when oil starts to come out the fill hole. If oil comes out too early or late, then the car may not be level. I use a hand pump that looks like a bicycle pump. Don't bother with siphon type pumps. This step can be very messy, so have some card board ready to cover work area.
6. Screw the fill plug back in and you're done. I don't remember if this has a crush washer or not. Again hand tightenn + 1/4 turn should do it. Clean and check back for leaks later.
Changing the differential oil
Red Line has oil for this also and it's different than the transmission oil. The manual should have the oil spec. I'm not sure if it's the same for all Miatas since the older N1 had VSD and the later N1 had TSD. I'm not aware of any advantages using the more expensive oil for the differential, but you only do this every 30K so why not get something good in there.
Basically the same steps as the transmission oil change. Both plugs are on the back of the differential, but the drain plug is about 6" lower. It's easy to reach this by just jacking up the back of the car, but don't because you have to keep the car level.
Basic Oil Change
I use dino oil cause it's cheaper and works fine. I plan to change my oil more often depending on track use. Otherwise, Costco is selling Mobil 1 for about $5 a quart. I use the Mazda oil filter which is $6 each. There is a oil filter kit that moves the oil filter to a better location and allows for the use of a bigger filter. I'll look into this next time.
# posted by Mack @ 9:18 AM 
