Well, I've read all the DIY's on this topic, but the final verdict is that I don't have the means to elevate the car, as I have no floor jack or jack stands. I'm gonna take it to the same guy that me and my dad have been goin to for a few years now, but I have a few questions, as I have never had to have Trans. or Diff fluid changed before. I am going to put Royal Purple fluids in it, so I already know I'm going to have to bring my own fluids. My first question is, am I going to have to bring my own crush washers for him to put in during the change? Is changing out these washers standard procedure on most cars? Also, is the fluid changes for the Rx8 pretty similar to most other cars, or am I going to have to explain to the guy some of the differences between this car and others. He really knows what he's doing, and he's been around a while, but I just didnt know if this aspect of the 8 was as mysterious as some of the other aspects of the car.

EDIT: Any advantages to using Redline over Royal Purple or are they about the same??

 

Don't bother with new washers, most dealers won't have them anyway. The old ones are fine for reuse. Both those oils are good.

Nothing weird for your mechanic to worry about. The changes here are standard fare.

 

Thank you. I think I might actually end up going with Redline. Just hope the labor isnt too much considering I could have done this myself had I had the means of lifting the car.

 

I've used both, I prefer RP, but thats mainly cuz is a Houston Company

 

Why don't you just buy a jack and jack stands? They're not that expensive, and you never know when you'll need it.

 

True, I had thought about it. But I figure that I wont have to get the Tranny and Diff. fluids changed again for a while. I would rotate my own tires, but my dealer still does it for free under warranty. Anything else that required the complete lifting of the car, I probably wouldnt have enough automotive knowledge to work on it anyway.

 

Yeah, you're probably right, you won't need a jack for much else then. I just think that in most places you'll probably pay much more for the tranny/diff fluid swap than for a cheap set of jack/stands. I paid around $20 at walmart a few years ago for a jack/stands/lug wrench/car blocks during a thanksgiving day sale, and I still have them. You can easily pay that much for an oil change.

Actually, the only reason I'd be inclined to not buy one just in case is to not have another thing (and a heavy one at that) clogging up my closet.

 

I dont think I would trust my life to a cheap set of jack stands though. No judgements on yours, as I don't know what kind you have, but just a general statement.

 

?? The car comes with a scissor jack. Use that to jack the vehicle up and slide some large blocks of wood under it. Done.

 

These stands I have came from a fairly reputable brand. It's not like it's that difficult to make, really, it's just cast steel with a locking mechanism. If somebody makes them out of their garage, then I'd definitely have second thoughts.

Now I probably won't use my jack anymore actually, since I have access to a full garage with lifts, etc.

 

Once you see the price of labor, you may think twice about doing it yourself. I just used a pair of ramps, that worked fine. The actual job could be done by a child, just make sure you have the right sockets (one of them on the diff is an oddball size IIRC) beforehand, and a little fluid pump too.

There's only 2 bigass bolts on the driver's side of the transmission. Bottom one drains, top one fills. Drain it, and then fill with the pump until it's spilling out the top hole, then cap it off with the plug. Repeat for the differential. It's even easier than an oil change, because you can't overfill it.

 

I was under the impression that the car had to be perfectly level. If ramps is all I need, I would be fine to do it myself, but from what I've heard you have to lift the whole car.

 

It's important to have it level so that you get the proper amount of lube back in the case. The procedure is to add until it starts leaking out the fill hole. If it's not level that could result in too much or not enough. If you lucky enough to have the right kind of sloping driveway using ramps can work or you can use ramps on one end and jack/jackstands on the other.

Using a scissors jack to hoist all 4 corners onto stands and back down is a real pain. A low-profile hydraulic floor jack is a very nice convenience.

I wouldn't expect the mechanic to charge an arm and a leg. It's not much different than an oil change and there's no pesky filter to deal with. With the car on a lift and proper pumps for the oils I think it'd be a breeze.

The one nice thing about DIY is you can make absolutely sure you're putting the right lube in the right case. It's not like getting 5w30 instead of 5w20 in the crankcase. Getting GL4 and GL5 mixed up can be VERY BAD.

 

Yeah, then crawl under your car and enjoy what Dark Age torturers called "Peine forte et dure ." It is quite the thing. Just ask the witch Giles Corey. He enjoyed it so much he asked for more!

 

Well, I talked to the guy today. The labor isn't gonna be too bad, but he called his friend at the Mazda dealership, and called me later that day to tell me the Mazda people said putting synthetic tranny and diff. fluid in the car is quote: "a very bad idea". I knew this was the case with motor oil, but was surprised to hear this about the fluids. I know a lot of you have made the swap. Anyone else got some info. on this claim?? I hope Mazda isnt just saying this for no reason.

 

You are confused - that wasn't "Mazda" talking, it was some ******** at a dealership; definitely not the same thing!

The dealer saying "it's a terrible idea" only means they don't have any synthetic, nothing more!
They don't get much call for it, and make much more profit if you would just take the stuff they got in "the drum" back there.

Take it to a local independant garage, the mechanic will respect you and your choice.

S

 

I've read about dealerships that actually say it is good thing to swap in synthetic. Some say otherwise. Mine said it would void my warranty if I did!

 

Void your warranty? Wow. I thought they had to prove that it actually caused a problem in the car in order to void the warranty. What exactly do the Mazda guys say can go wrong by adding synthetic tranny and diff. fluids??

 

They won't even know you've put it in there.

 

I swear, dealerships must hire people with a college degree in stupidity

 

Well, I just talked to the head guy at my local Mazda's service department. He said Mazda has not said yes or no as far as synthetic fluids, but that it is perfectly safe for the car. Quite a difference since yesterday when some other fella tells my mechanic that using synthetic is a "very bad idea". Oh well, time to order the fluids. Thanks for the help everyone.

EDIT: One last question. I went to the Rosenthal Mazda website to order the fluids and the washers. It only had the drain plug washers for the tranny and diff. Do I need to switch out the fill plug washers too? If so, are they the same as the drain plug washers??

Ok, EDIT #2: Called my mechanic back. (The one who talked to the stupid mazda guy yesterday) Anyway, he is very hesitant about doing the process, since the guy told him Mazda said not to. He also told me that the Mazda guy said something about having to add an extra additive from Mazda for the differential fluid because it is a limited slip? WTF? I've never heard anyone mention this before, and I'm hoping this isnt the case. Anyway, he gave me a $120 quote for just labor, so I think I will be shopping around for someone else to do it, or might even spring for buying floor jacks and jack stand.

 

as a followup, some of the RP (and others) gear fluids already have the additives for the LSD built in... but I think it only matters if you have friction plate style LSD, not gear type LSD's?

-C

 

Get royal purple.

I had both redline and royal purple in my car, and both function similar. I noticed rp worked better when cold, and the car shifted normally with it, vs a notchy feel with redline before it was warmed up.

 

This doesnt seem like it should be that big a deal.


Buy the fluid of your choice(redline, royal purple, AmsOil....etc), buy a jack and jack stands, buy the proper sockets and a ratchet, i suggest a 1/2" drive set or at the very least a long handled 3/8" drive set(just personal preference) and a pump. All things should be had for under $100. And yes the cheap wal-mart kind are fine. You can also get a craftsman set from sears for like $40 or so. and go to town. its really rather simple. I would also suggest a small bag of oil dry, kitty litter, or sometimes a hardware store will give you a bag or saw dust they are going to throw out for free for the fluids you are going to drip on your garage floor. and have fun. Its not like you are trying to pull a drivetrain out of a car from a muddy junkyard in the rain here or anything.

 

From what I have read on here and from people's results, RP is the way to go for transmission and differential. Max-Gear 75W90
http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/mgeara.html