Where to get transmission fluid?

[ds2chan]

Richard at Street Performance said I need to flush my transmission fluid soon (before the winter). He said he has some but I was wondering where you guys get your transmission fluid from?? Should I just stick with theirs or would you guys recommend getting it elsewhere (Mazda Dealership, Canadian Tire, etc)??

If somewhere else any brands you guys would recommend. I don't drive my car much so I probably won't need the best of the best (assuming there are different grades of course).

Thanks for the help!!

edit: sorry, it's not a flush but a drain and fill.

[Donutz]

Got mine from Speedtech in Markham. Seach and ye shall find the answer! I'm running redline in my tranny.

[TheMAN]

only need to flush if you are switching to synthetic... otherwise, drain and fill is fine

[ds2chan]

only need to flush if you are switching to synthetic... otherwise, drain and fill is fine

oh sorry. you're right. I'm not doing a flush. only draining and filling.

[Takumi616]

is this so?


only need to flush if you are switching to synthetic... otherwise, drain and fill is fine

[sarujo]

Umm...are you talking about an automatic or a 'real' tranny (manual)? :)

Many people here with a manual tranny use Redline MT-90 synthetic.

PS: Do ppl w/ auto trans really go and get work done at Street Performance? :chuckle


Richard at Street Performance said I need to flush my transmission fluid soon (before the winter). He said he has some but I was wondering where you guys get your transmission fluid from?? Should I just stick with theirs or would you guys recommend getting it elsewhere (Mazda Dealership, Canadian Tire, etc)??

If somewhere else any brands you guys would recommend. I don't drive my car much so I probably won't need the best of the best (assuming there are different grades of course).

Thanks for the help!!

edit: sorry, it's not a flush but a drain and fill.

[prime]

A flush is required to switch to synth? Someone please confirm. Thanks.

[htc***]

I used Mobil Super Multi-vehicle ATF (Synthetic blend 5L bottle bought @CT for $29.99) for drain and fill. I might do it @ every oil change.

[Takumi616]

+1


A flush is required to switch to synth? Someone please confirm. Thanks.

[shu5892001]

I get lots of work done from SP, from intake, exhaust, to koni yellows and prokits, and I have an auto

Umm...are you talking about an automatic or a 'real' tranny (manual)? :)

Many people here with a manual tranny use Redline MT-90 synthetic.

PS: Do ppl w/ auto trans really go and get work done at Street Performance? :chuckle

[wmzda5]

I used Mobil Super Multi-vehicle ATF (Synthetic blend 5L bottle bought @CT for $29.99) for drain and fill. I might do it @ every oil change.

Huh??

for most cars auto tran fluid change usually done evry 100k for my MT Scarborough mazda told me need to change @72k

[ds2chan]

Umm...are you talking about an automatic or a 'real' tranny (manual)? :)

I have an auto (I thought I mentioned this but I guess I didn't).



PS: Do ppl w/ auto trans really go and get work done at Street Performance? :chuckle

lol.. hey, automatic are still real cars..


hmm, I guess I'll give their transmission fluid a try. it seems that it doesn't really matter.

[RedRaptor]

I used Mobil Super Multi-vehicle ATF (Synthetic blend 5L bottle bought @CT for $29.99) for drain and fill. I might do it @ every oil change.

Wasting your money unless you track your car hard on the weekends. Every 60,000km sounds good but not every 8000km.

[htc***]

Wasting your money unless you track your car hard on the weekends. Every 60,000km sounds good but not every 8000km.

If you use synthetic oil then you're oil change will be around 10K or 12K KM (I assume). The tranmission takes about 7/8L if you do a tranmission flush. You know drain and fill just take about 3L that mean it will mix a new fluid with some old fluid inside the crankcase (I assume what it call). I think every 60,000km to long for a drain and fill. A 2 bottles of 5L cost about $70 plus labour but it will last for you about 2/3 yrs, still cheap than replace the rebuilt transmission. That my .02.

[nsh]

I went to get my first oil change today (lol), and the guys told me I needed to get my transmission fluid replaced before 60,000km's, at that rate it'll be about 10 months from now since I don't drive often and I'm at 49,000k now. He quoted me $225 for that, as they completely change all fluids, and not just syphen (sp?) it out. He said my car takes the more expensive kind, I think he said synthetic - if that is indeed the more expensive one.

Isn't that a bit high? Should I be looking elsewhere for a cheaper deal?

[bman13]

I went to get my first oil change today (lol), and the guys told me I needed to get my transmission fluid replaced before 60,000km's, at that rate it'll be about 10 months from now since I don't drive often and I'm at 49,000k now. He quoted me $225 for that, as they completely change all fluids, and not just syphen (sp?) it out. He said my car takes the more expensive kind, I think he said synthetic - if that is indeed the more expensive one.

Isn't that a bit high? Should I be looking elsewhere for a cheaper deal?

I dont know what they quoted me at but they told me to get a transmission fluid flush (just went for my 64k).

What is standard transmission fluid used and how much would I need to buy if not getting it done at dealer? I rather drive to SP and get it done for 1/4 of price possibly.

[nsh]

I dont know what they quoted me at but they told me to get a transmission fluid flush (just went for my 64k).

What is standard transmission fluid used and how much would I need to buy if not getting it done at dealer? I rather drive to SP and get it done for 1/4 of price possibly.

What does SP stand for? I'd like to get it for 1/4 of the price too!

[S.F.W.]

What does SP stand for? I'd like to get it for 1/4 of the price too!
Street Performance

[nsh]

Oh... I'm nowhere near them. I'm in KW.

[Kevin@nextmod]

At our dealership, we charge $186 for a full tranny flush. It doesn't have to be at whatever km. When the techs check your tranny fluid, they look at the color and the smell. If they smell that the fluid is burnt then they would send in a rec and tell the advisors to tell the customer. Also, its always best to do a tranny flush instead of a drain and fill. Doing a drain and fill on a tranny is like changing your engine oil without pulling out and changing your oil filter. $186 is steep but you usually do it at around 50k or so and think of how many oil changes you already paid and been thru? It'll all add up the same.

[nsh]

At our dealership, we charge $186 for a full tranny flush. It doesn't have to be at whatever km. When the techs check your tranny fluid, they look at the color and the smell. If they smell that the fluid is burnt then they would send in a rec and tell the advisors to tell the customer. Also, its always best to do a tranny flush instead of a drain and fill. Doing a drain and fill on a tranny is like changing your engine oil without pulling out and changing your oil filter. $186 is steep but you usually do it at around 50k or so and think of how many oil changes you already paid and been thru? It'll all add up the same.

$186 isn't steep at all seeing how the mechanic was quoting me $225. :( He was explaining the flush instead of just draining it. I only bought my car second hand in October and when I did, shortly after I brought it to Mazda to have a going over before the warranty was up. So they did the oil changes there.

[Swerny]

At our dealership, we charge $186 for a full tranny flush. It doesn't have to be at whatever km. When the techs check your tranny fluid, they look at the color and the smell. If they smell that the fluid is burnt then they would send in a rec and tell the advisors to tell the customer. Also, its always best to do a tranny flush instead of a drain and fill. Doing a drain and fill on a tranny is like changing your engine oil without pulling out and changing your oil filter. $186 is steep but you usually do it at around 50k or so and think of how many oil changes you already paid and been thru? It'll all add up the same.

M of T told me at my 48K service last month I needed to do the ATF flush and fill.

I didn't get it done on the spot as I wanted to research it a bit. They also recommended a bunch of other stuff (fuel system cleaning, 4 wheel alignment, brake fluid flush, etc) so I didn't get the breakdown of the cost of the ATF service. Seeing how my alignment is fine and tire wear is even (unlike what they said), i passed on the $900 of suggested work.

I stopped by Gyro Mazda this week and they said it's $100 labour + $70 for ATF + disposal fee.

I asked if I could bring my own ATF and they said no problem.

I'll probably just pick up the Mobil 1 semi synthetic at CT mentioned above for $30 for 5 litres.

[TheMAN]

5 litres isn't going to flush a tranny, you need twice that
and why even bother with semi-synthetic... it's a waste of money.... you either go conventional or full synthetic... semi-synthetic is like buying a couple of bottles of cheap crap and then a couple of bottles of the most expensive fluid you can find and just putting it in.... it's only going to last just as long as conventional fluid because of this

and there's no point doing a flush if you're not switching to synthetic... a drain and fill works just fine and doesn't reduce the life of the tranny at all

[stock3]

I would be very careful with dealers claiming they are doing a "flush", a lot of them call drain and fill a flush, so be careful and ask what kind of flush machine they use, if they tell you the machine's name, or their reply is cooler line flush, that's fine, but if you get a blank stare, it's a drain and fill. Another indication is the amount of ATF they used, so ask for that and check your bill, if it's about 3L, it is not a flush, it's a drain and fill, full flush takes about 10L of ATF.


For anybody looking for a very good, synthetic ATF, check out Petro-Canada Duradrive Multi-vehicle ATF. The only catch is that it's not easily obtainable. You have to locate a Petro-Canada fuel distributor near you, from their website, and there are not a lot of them in GTA. I found one distributor in Rexdale:

http://www.online.petro-canada.ca/bulkplants/Bulk-Details.asp?l=&site_id=04048

I paid around $75 with taxes for a 12L case. I flushed the transmission and power steering with this fluid.
Look up the specs on petro-canada website, this ATF beats Mobil 1 ATF in some areas and equals in the rest for almost half the price.

[TheMAN]

According to the MSDS (http://www.online.petro-canada.ca/datasheets/en_CA/ddmvatf.pdf), the low temp viscosity is thicker than either the Red Line D4 ATF or the Amsoil ATF, but the high temp viscosity is thinner than either of those... this characteristic is more in line to the Mazda ATF M-V (again, not Mercon V) which makes this fluid pretty compatible with our trannys... BUT don't get excited yet... the pour point and flash points aren't as good as the Red Line or Amsoil

For 75 bucks for a case, you can't complain though :)

the Red Line D4 and Amsoil are known to work very well for our trannys and listed as "compatible" on their websites... I have the redline in both the tranny and power steering... smooth as baby's bottom... the pump hardly makes a sound anymore too, it's quieter than stock!
it's too easy to find something better than Mobil1 for a better or same price, just like their motor oils, it's all overrated hype

[stock3]

Here is a quick comparison between synthetic ATFs:

http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/ATFComparison.jpg

As you can see, the difference is not that big, RL has superior pour point and Amsoil superior Flash point.
I truly don't understand why Mobil 1 is priced closer to RL and Amsoil when you can clearly see that it's basically the same as Petro-Canada and there is nothing in it to justify the premium price.

That's why I mentioned PC ATF, it is truly a great alternative to Mobil 1 ATF. RL and Amsoil are in their own league, but for anyone considering Mobil 1 ATF, why bother when PC is the same at almost half the cost.

[TheMAN]

nice chart
FWIW, 34 centistokes (@ 40 degrees) is the lowest you can practically go to maintain ATF M-V compatibility... if it gets lower than that, it becomes a Mercon V... similarly, for the "hot" end, you don't want to go below 7.0 because basically it becomes a Dexron VI/Mercon LV then... below 7.5 brings you away from Mercon V spec also

the Idemitsu made Mazda ATF M-V fluid has a spec of 34.37 cSt @ 40C and 7.0 cSt at 100C... specific gravity of 0.8536... no boiling, flash, pour points are published

edit: bear in mind that I don't have the official spec data (that requires paying for them!) and I'm just going by available data and speculating based on such info... I go by "official" sources, such as the Mazda M-V fluid, the Motorcraft FNR5 fluid (M-V clone), and Motorcraft Mercon V.... I don't own any vehicles that specify Dexron/Dexron VI, so I don't care to hunt down the GM info because looking at Dexron VI "compatible" fluids on other sites has given me enough insight to the properties of that fluid.... obviously there is no data on the additive packages, so viscosities should be taken only with a grain of salt!

[Swerny]

5 litres isn't going to flush a tranny, you need twice that


I realize that, I would pick up 2 x 5 L bottles

[Chris222]

So if I'm switching to the redline MT90, then i need 7/8L? Anyone have an exact amount? I looked in my manual, and said 2.78L. But i guess thats for only drain and fill only.

[Harbour Rat]

If you're switching to MT-90 you have a manual transmission so 3 L is enough.

Manual transmissions aren't like automatics which have pumps and torque converters and all sorts of passages and hydraulic systems where dirty fluid remains trapped if you just drain what is in the pan.

With a manual you just drain and refill, no flush, no filter, very simple.

[Olestra]

If you're switching to MT-90 you have a manual transmission so 3 L is enough.

Manual transmissions aren't like automatics which have pumps and torque converters and all sorts of passages and hydraulic systems where dirty fluid remains trapped if you just drain what is in the pan.

With a manual you just drain and refill, no flush, no filter, very simple.

Yay thanks for the clarification. Time to hunt down some MT-90.