That for your friend to answer ......... he's the general mechanic telling you this stuff.

 

I asked my local dealership about using redline. He said he can't stop me from using redline, but he'd have to mark it in my account.

Dealership cost is $80

A local automotive car repair place wants $65

For such a simple job, they both seem over priced. I'm tempted to do it myself, but if the bolts aren't on right, I assume the risk.

 

The RedLine meets/exceeds Mazda's spec for gear oil and Mazda does not say that one should avoid synthetic gear oil for the tranny/diff. I'm not sure why the dealer is trying to lay a guilt-trip on you.

The $80 figure seems high. My Mazda dealer charged $52 for changing both the transmission and differential oil using his gear-oil. Since then I purchased both tranny and diff RedLine gear-oil from Rosenthal Mazda for $41 (including tax/ship) to replace what the dealer put in (a long, sad tale).

If you don't have the sockets, torque wrench and pump it is cheaper to have someone else install the Redline and it saves you from dealing with the logistics and mess. If you do have the tools, the risk is almost non-existant but there is still the issue of reaching the tranny/diff and the associated mess of any oil change.

Either way, the RedLine is worth the effort.

 

I just picked up Lucas GL-5 80/90 tranny oil. I couldn't find any redline MTX90. Does anyone know if this will work properly? The manual says GL-4 or GL-5 (75w90). Anyone have any experience with Lucas or with GL-5 80/90?

 

I purchased Redline for the tranny and differential from Rosenthal Mazda when I ordered my rotary accents, strakes and front splash guards. The MT-90 is a 75W90 that meets GL-4 for the tranny the 75W90 for the differential is a GL-5+ with additive for limited slip differentials. Exactly what mazda requires. I used Rhino ramps and the on/off fluid tool with squeezable Dr. Pepper bottle method (that rx8cited) posted). No problem, and I still have the flotool and Rhino ramps for a total expense of $63.

 

JoeRX8ter,

Glad to hear the on/off fluid tool with squeezable Dr. Pepper worked for you. So what's your impression of the car with the new juices in it?

rx8cited

BTW: DIY: Transmission and Differential fluid replacement got created recently.

 

Sears has 8000 pound Rhino ramps right now for 20 bucks the pair, and a 4500 pound jack with 4000 pound jackstands for 27 bucks. Not the best or fastest, but Craftsman has good warranty's.

 

direct link:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Lift+Equipment

 

Too narrow for me.

I bought a pair and did not like the fact that the stock tires were wider, so I opted to pay a few bucks more for the 12000 pound Rhino set which is nice and wide :D.

rx8cited

 

Shifting is smoother and it seems like the gear rollover noise at idle is less. It made a nice gearbox even better. I lucked out on the Rhino ramps at Advance, they had the 12,000# ones on sale. I got the last pair left. It gave me a chance to compare them to the 8,000# ones side by side. They are both the same height but the 12,000# are wider which is good. Since I was not sure that I had the car exactly level, I actually measured out the correct amount of fluid to make sure I got the required amount in. The Dr. Pepper idea was a life saver since I already have that plastic pump and knew that I was not going to use that POS. The pump is OK for siphoning gas, but the hoses are not attached well and they sometimes come off. I could just picture the hose coming off the pump, making a hell of a mess and not having enough lube to finish the job. Thanks for the info on the Dr. Pepper and the Flotool.

 

I just bought the 12,000 rhino ramps... the thing is, the car is so low, that the ramp is taller than the car's clearance. So I can fit one set of ramps in front of the car, or in the rear, but I can't get the second set on the other side. Any hints? I was thinking about driving up with the front, then jacking the car up in the rear and placing the rear ramps under, but I don't know if the car will roll.

 

Hey.. if I have just taken my car to Mazda for the scheduled maintenance does this mean that these fluids were never changed? I am assuming so.... Does this pose a problem?

 

I think that sometimes they replace your fluids, but it depends what servicing (10k mi for example) you came in for. Look in the owners manual and it should tell you.

 

Okay, before anyone says do a search ( I have)... before anyone says its been discussed before ( I know)..
Would someone just post the name of the royal purple products used in the transmission and the differential. Pllllllllleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeeeee.

 

RP is the only thing that I can get my hands on immediately before I take off cross country this week.

 

MaxGear...I'm assuming its the 75W90 flavor, but since I haven't changed it on my 8 yet I haven't paid enough attention to say that for sure.

jds

 

Thanks.

 

will using synthetic or anything other than mazda recommend fluids void that warranty in the 6spd manual? or using synthetic oil in the engine........etc diff........

 

I had mine changed at my dealer so that there would be no warranty issue. They charged me $45 and I supplied the Red Line. The notchyness ( is this a word? ) is gone and so is the whirring noise. Idel is much smother. :D

 

Is this not part of our free maintanance??

 

If you wait until mile 60,000 or month #48.

BTW, MIKEB don't you drive an AT? I couldn't find anywhere in the owners guide where it states when one is supposed to change the ATF. Is it really supposed to last forever or did I just miss something? :D

 

Even then, Mazda would probably not give us synthetic diff/tranny fluids for free.

Interesting observation on the ATF missing from the service schedules (I and II).

I see mention of ATF only in Service Schedule III (non-US us of US-spec car), but it only says to inspect every 12 months / 12.5 k miles all the way up to end of the period covered in the table: 96 months / 100 k miles.

rx8cited

 

Just switched my tranny and diff w/Redline... smooth and quiet! Should have done it a couple thousand miles ago.

 

You guys that changed the diff/tranny oil to synthetic... how often will you change the oil now. every 2 years as per the maintenance schedule; or sooner?

 

I just got redline in diff/trany.

It was apparent from the first time I shifted that the oils make a difference. Before wasn't bad, but had a grainy feel, now it feels like the gears have been coated in a thin layer of vasoline, it's much smoother and feels great.

If it matters, the oil that came out was clear from both diff and tranny, and the mechanic said he didn't see any metal shavings. The car had 4095 miles at the time.