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15,000 Miles. Time for my automatic transmission fluid and filter change. I couldn't find a filter change guide after a little searching. Thought I'd submit my own.
Similar to SilverM3S's guide, but with the additional step of replacing the filter.
Start by jacking up the car
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Brief review: Engine in silver, on the right. Transmission pan in black, on the left. This photo was taken looking up from below, with my feet facing the nose of the car.
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What is that pink stuff? strange. Moving on...
also, despite the fact that the bolts say 8, they are not 8mm. They're 10mm's.
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In addition to the jack, jack stands, tranny fluid, filter, and tools, you'll also need a fairly good sized drip pan.
![]()
When I was down there, I noticed that the drain plug is not only close to part of the driver's side suspension (including a rubber bushing or something similar), it is aimed directly at it.
I put a bag over the suspension parts just in case. Turns out it was a good idea - it got the bag a little bit at the beginning when I unscrewed the bolt.
So, first step: drain the transmission fluid, as per the original guide.
Second step: take off the transmission fluid pan.
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The pan would NOT come off. Damnit! why? The pan was completely stuck. I decided to go for it. I pried it with a hammer and a flathead screwdriver used as a chisel and pry bar. After 10 minutes of profanity, it came off.
So, it turns out that Mazda uses something like liquid super glue in the place of a gasket. That's what the pink stuff is, and that's what made it so f-ing hard.
Just beware: this is the most frustrating part of the task - removing the pan. But, since you are replacing the pink stuff with a *real* gasket, it should only be this hard the first time.
(Note: while prying, I left one bolt in each corner screwed halfway on. This is so that the pan wouldn't fall off completely, but would sit nicely on the half-undone bolts. So, while it may appear in the picture above that I'm prying against a tightened bolt, I'm not.
)
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with the pan off of the transmission, you can see the nasty pink gasket that made the pan removal so difficult.
I'm no professional, but I have two problems with the use of this type of sealant. First: it doesn't seem to make a great seal. Sure, there's pink stuff everywhere, but at the raised lip along the edges, there is a noticeable absence of sealant (as seen by the black lines between the bolt holes). A traditional gasket seals here, while liquid is pushed away from here.
Second, liquid gaskets are more prone to break off and enter the transmission. Not good. A traditional gasket is a single piece of solid material. It doesn't really break off.
Anyway, you can also start to see the sludge that has accumulated at the bottom of the pan (especially around the magnet). This is literally liquid metal. Keep in mind that this car is only 15,000 miles old.
Clean it up, and make it look like this:
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WTF? this filter has wires? Not really. Just some sort of sensor. Gently grab the black sensor and pull down. It'll come off easily.
![]()
The sensor is held in place by a black nipple. It doesn't put up much of a fight. Just pull straight down.
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the bottom of the new filter. You can see the round hole where the nipple of the sensor will go.
Next: pull down on the filter.
There are no screws for this step - it's held in place entirely by the friction of the filter gasket. Gentle pulling straight down will do the trick.
![]()
The transmission after the filter has been removed. The circled holes are where you line up the filter
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The top of the filter. line up these two posts with the ones circled above.
![]()
Mmm. Clean magnet.
![]()
I had initially tried to scrape off the liquid sealant. This didn't work too well. I tried other methods (steel wool, toothbrushes, etc), but nothing worked. I decided to stop, since it would still form a nice seal if I used the new gasket on top of the liquid sealant.
If anyone can tell me how to remove this, I'd love to know. I'll do that for my 30,000 service.
![]()
I did manage to scrape some of the pink sealant off of the transmission surface, though. But I also noticed that the chiseling action scored my transmission pretty badly. Right on the sealing line, too! I'm hoping I don't get leaks here. Just BE CAREFUL when you take off your pan.
Again, if anyone has any suggestions for improving the removal of the pan, I'd love to hear it, too. I won't have this problem again, but it will help out all the first timers out there.
![]()
Make sure the filter is on, and the sensor is plugged into the filter.
put the new gasket on the pan, and re-bolt the pan to the transmission.
My gasket didn't want to sit properly. To help with that, I like to put two bolts on either side of the pan through the pan and the gasket, and push the pan up to the transmission from below using those two bolts. It helps keep the gasket in place when you get the pan up there.
Also: DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN THE BOLTS. I don't have a torque wrench, but my general rule of thumb for transmission pans is: as tight as I can get it with firm pressure on a socket wrench by gripping it around the socket, like this:
![]()
Then, I used an old milk container to get an approximate measure of the amount of fluid that came out. Fluid out = fulid in.
Replacing the fluid is the last step. Put in the amount you took out, then measure the level with the dip stick.
You're done!
So, this took me a loooong time to do. Mostly because I go slow, but also because there was the problem of getting the damn pan off!
To recap:
1. Jack the car up (see related thread)
2. Get your drip pan ready, put a bag over the nearby suspension parts, and open the drain cock.
3. Remove the bolts to the pan. Remove the pan.
4. Take the sensor off the filter. Take off the filter. put new filter on.
5. Replace the pan, tighten the bolts.
6. Replace the drain cock.
7. Measure the old liquid. Put that much new liquid in.
Problems (request for help!)
1. Getting the pan off.
2. Scraping off the old gasket/sealant liquid.
Haven't test-driven the car yet. I'll let you know if I feel a difference in shifting.
Similar to SilverM3S's guide, but with the additional step of replacing the filter.
Start by jacking up the car
Brief review: Engine in silver, on the right. Transmission pan in black, on the left. This photo was taken looking up from below, with my feet facing the nose of the car.
What is that pink stuff? strange. Moving on...
also, despite the fact that the bolts say 8, they are not 8mm. They're 10mm's.
In addition to the jack, jack stands, tranny fluid, filter, and tools, you'll also need a fairly good sized drip pan.
When I was down there, I noticed that the drain plug is not only close to part of the driver's side suspension (including a rubber bushing or something similar), it is aimed directly at it.
I put a bag over the suspension parts just in case. Turns out it was a good idea - it got the bag a little bit at the beginning when I unscrewed the bolt.
So, first step: drain the transmission fluid, as per the original guide.
Second step: take off the transmission fluid pan.
The pan would NOT come off. Damnit! why? The pan was completely stuck. I decided to go for it. I pried it with a hammer and a flathead screwdriver used as a chisel and pry bar. After 10 minutes of profanity, it came off.
So, it turns out that Mazda uses something like liquid super glue in the place of a gasket. That's what the pink stuff is, and that's what made it so f-ing hard.
Just beware: this is the most frustrating part of the task - removing the pan. But, since you are replacing the pink stuff with a *real* gasket, it should only be this hard the first time.
(Note: while prying, I left one bolt in each corner screwed halfway on. This is so that the pan wouldn't fall off completely, but would sit nicely on the half-undone bolts. So, while it may appear in the picture above that I'm prying against a tightened bolt, I'm not.
)
with the pan off of the transmission, you can see the nasty pink gasket that made the pan removal so difficult.
I'm no professional, but I have two problems with the use of this type of sealant. First: it doesn't seem to make a great seal. Sure, there's pink stuff everywhere, but at the raised lip along the edges, there is a noticeable absence of sealant (as seen by the black lines between the bolt holes). A traditional gasket seals here, while liquid is pushed away from here.
Second, liquid gaskets are more prone to break off and enter the transmission. Not good. A traditional gasket is a single piece of solid material. It doesn't really break off.
Anyway, you can also start to see the sludge that has accumulated at the bottom of the pan (especially around the magnet). This is literally liquid metal. Keep in mind that this car is only 15,000 miles old.
Clean it up, and make it look like this:
WTF? this filter has wires? Not really. Just some sort of sensor. Gently grab the black sensor and pull down. It'll come off easily.
The sensor is held in place by a black nipple. It doesn't put up much of a fight. Just pull straight down.
the bottom of the new filter. You can see the round hole where the nipple of the sensor will go.
Next: pull down on the filter.
There are no screws for this step - it's held in place entirely by the friction of the filter gasket. Gentle pulling straight down will do the trick.
The transmission after the filter has been removed. The circled holes are where you line up the filter
The top of the filter. line up these two posts with the ones circled above.
Mmm. Clean magnet.
I had initially tried to scrape off the liquid sealant. This didn't work too well. I tried other methods (steel wool, toothbrushes, etc), but nothing worked. I decided to stop, since it would still form a nice seal if I used the new gasket on top of the liquid sealant.
If anyone can tell me how to remove this, I'd love to know. I'll do that for my 30,000 service.
I did manage to scrape some of the pink sealant off of the transmission surface, though. But I also noticed that the chiseling action scored my transmission pretty badly. Right on the sealing line, too! I'm hoping I don't get leaks here. Just BE CAREFUL when you take off your pan.
Again, if anyone has any suggestions for improving the removal of the pan, I'd love to hear it, too. I won't have this problem again, but it will help out all the first timers out there.
Make sure the filter is on, and the sensor is plugged into the filter.
put the new gasket on the pan, and re-bolt the pan to the transmission.
My gasket didn't want to sit properly. To help with that, I like to put two bolts on either side of the pan through the pan and the gasket, and push the pan up to the transmission from below using those two bolts. It helps keep the gasket in place when you get the pan up there.
Also: DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN THE BOLTS. I don't have a torque wrench, but my general rule of thumb for transmission pans is: as tight as I can get it with firm pressure on a socket wrench by gripping it around the socket, like this:
Then, I used an old milk container to get an approximate measure of the amount of fluid that came out. Fluid out = fulid in.
Replacing the fluid is the last step. Put in the amount you took out, then measure the level with the dip stick.
You're done!
So, this took me a loooong time to do. Mostly because I go slow, but also because there was the problem of getting the damn pan off!
To recap:
1. Jack the car up (see related thread)
2. Get your drip pan ready, put a bag over the nearby suspension parts, and open the drain cock.
3. Remove the bolts to the pan. Remove the pan.
4. Take the sensor off the filter. Take off the filter. put new filter on.
5. Replace the pan, tighten the bolts.
6. Replace the drain cock.
7. Measure the old liquid. Put that much new liquid in.
Problems (request for help!)
1. Getting the pan off.
2. Scraping off the old gasket/sealant liquid.
Haven't test-driven the car yet. I'll let you know if I feel a difference in shifting.
