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Thread: HOW TO: Changing 5MT Gear Oil (Manual Transmission)

  1. #71
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    With the manual transmission fluid how are we able to "check it" that it is at the correct level?
    Check out post #76 of this thread. There's an "upper" bolt that is used as a Filler Plug to add transmission fluid, and a "lower" bolt that is the Drain Plug to drain the fluid.

    In order to check the fluid level, you remove the Filler Plug bolt and stick your finger in the hole. If you can feel the fluid level, you're good. If you don't feel anything, you may need to top off the fluid.

    There is no fluid level dipstick in a manual transmission.

    Here's how the Mirage Service Manual describes checking the fluid level in a manual transmission...

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    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 06-09-2020 at 06:17 PM.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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  3. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    With the manual transmission fluid how are we able to "check it" that it is at the correct level? or to see the condition of the fluid?

    Is there a reservoir or a dipstick?
    Nope! Fill hole & drain hole. Both with screw in plugs. Drain it & refill until it drips from the fill hole. Unless you drain it, you would have to suck some out to look at.

  4. #73
    Senior Member benwerks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    With the manual transmission fluid how are we able to "check it" that it is at the correct level? or to see the condition of the fluid?

    Is there a reservoir or a dipstick?
    to check it i think you would have to take the fill bolt off and use an auxiliary dipstick. also i thought rhe fill line was right underneath where the fill bolt was so checking the level should be pretty easy

  5. #74
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by benwerks View Post
    to check it i think you would have to take the fill bolt off and use an auxiliary dipstick.
    I learned something new today - I've never heard of an Auxiliary Dipstick before.

    Fill it 'til you spill it.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    Fill it 'til you spill it.
    Yup, drain and fill until it runs out the side. I always use a squeezable bottle with the cap you can place a hose on. Run the hose into the fill hole in the side and slowly squeeze the contents into the transmission. I just watch carefully when I'm getting close to the stated capacity and stop when it's full.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


  7. #76
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    First... Thanks to Cani Lupine and everyone who contributed to this thread!


    I just did this job...so I'll add a few tips for anyone who may have never done a manual transmission fluid change before. I'm also adding pics...because posts can never have enough pics!

    To give you a visual representation of what a manual transmission fluid change is, here's a simple drawing below. A manual transmission is a sealed unit that's only partially full of oil. There's a drain plug at the bottom of the transmission case that allows the fluid to drain out. There's also a fill plug about half-way up the side of the case. This is where you add fluid to the transmission. The transmission fluid level is "full" when the fluid level reaches the fill hole...

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    Here are the instructions from the 2015 Mirage Service Manual on checking the fluid level...

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    Funnel

    You need a special funnel to get the fluid into the fill hole. There's no clearance to get a traditional funnel in that hole or a bottle of fluid between the transmission and radiator. You're going to need a funnel with a small opening...and a piece of flexible tubing connected to the end of the funnel. This one from Walmart looks good and it's less than $5 (suggested in post #11)...

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    I made my own funnel because I already had the pieces on hand. Here's what I used. The clear tubing can be purchased by the foot at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. for less than $2. You only need about 12 inches of tubing if you're using a long funnel like the one I have pictured...so don't buy a 6 foot roll of tubing or you will have a lot left over!

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    Drain and Fill Plugs

    It took me a couple of minutes to find the drain and fill plugs using the pics in the first post. I think it was because the plugs are the same color as the transmission case...and you really need to be up close to the trans to see what you are doing. I painted both plugs red before I reinstalled them so I could show you exactly where they are on the transmission. If you've never done this before, you might be confused.

    Here is a photo of the transmission looking at it from underneath on the driver's side of the car.
    The lower one is the drain plug and the upper is the fill plug...

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    If that photo still doesn't make complete sense to you, notice that the drain plug is a few inches directly below where the driver's side half-shaft goes into the side of the transmission...

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    As discussed in other posts, both plugs are identical 24mm bolts with solid aluminum washers that can be re-used...they are not crush washers like on the oil pan drain plug. If you see a bolt that's not 24mm on the transmission case, then it's NOT the drain or fill plug so don't mess with it! I remember someone posting in another thread that they loosened a transmission bolt that was not one of the plugs.


    Draining

    When you remove the drain plug, have a full-size drain pan in place! The transmission fluid will come shooting out of the drain hole several inches just like when you are changing your oil. For some reason I was expecting it to come out more slowly like heavy gear oil. As a result, it looks like the Exxon Valdez ran aground on my garage floor. Unless you are doing this job when it's really cold, the fluid is not thick.



    Filling the fluid

    Place the end of the funnel tubing into the fill hole. Here's what this looks like from below. Note: If you use 5/8" OD tubing, it will fit perfectly into the fill hole with no room for fluid to run out.

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    And here's what it looks like from above...

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    Note: There are a couple of clips built into the radiator fan motor which are perfect for holding the funnel/tubing in place! It's strange but handy because you don't need to hold onto the funnel while adding the oil.

    Pour the first quart in. Then pour 1/2 of the second quart in. Now slow down and continue to add smaller amounts of the remaining fluid while watching the fill hole. At some point fluid will start running out of the fill hole...or it will start backing up into your funnel hose if you are using a 5/8" OD hose pushed into the fill hole. When this happens, the transmission fluid level is full. Remove the tubing from the hole (a little bit of fluid may spill out of the fill hole...which is fine) and reinstall the fill plug. I think I had maybe 1/2 cup of fluid left over...so even if you spill some you'll have more than enough to do this job.



    RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

    When I drained my transmission, close to 2 quarts of fluid came out by my estimation. Before I drained it, I removed the fill plug and stuck my finger in the hole to see if I could detect the fluid level. I couldn't get any fluid on my finger when I tried. So my transmission wasn't completely filled to the bottom of the fill hole like you would expect.

    When I refilled it, I was able to get about 80% of the second bottle added before fluid started running out of the fill hole. So the stated capacity (1.7 quarts) is pretty close to the amount of fluid you'll add if you just fill it until it runs out of the fill hole.


    I used Redline MTL 75W80 like many others have. It seems to be working well. I would say I got a slight amount of shift improvement after the change.


    I saved a sample of my gear oil which I sent to Blackstone Labs for analysis. The results can be seen HERE.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 07-29-2021 at 06:41 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    I saved a sample of my gear oil which I am sending to Blackstone Labs for analysis. I'll post the results when they come in.
    Like always - thanks for your detailed pics and description of everything. Painted bolts are a nice touch, too!

    At what mileage did you decide to change your manual transmission fluid?

  10. #78
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    At what mileage did you decide to change your manual transmission fluid?
    Guess I forgot to mention that! I have 75,000 miles. I'm actually behind the factory maintenance schedule...which I think calls for 50,000 mile fluid change intervals (oops...see next post for correction on this).
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 10-15-2019 at 06:34 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  11. #79
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    Guess I forgot to mention that! I have 75,000 miles. I'm actually behind the factory maintenance schedule...which I think calls for 50,000 mile fluid change intervals.
    It is 60,000.

    I did mine at just a shade over 60k, and it didn't look like it even needed it. That made me pretty complacent about doing it again at 120k. I am at at 129k now, and will probably do it this spring.

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    I got my change done and it went fine. One hint is that there is an 18mm plug up above the 24mm fill plug. I started to remove this first but then realized it wasn't the fill plug so snugged it back down. There was mention of the fill plug being hard to remove so to remove it FIRST in case it couldn't be removed so you wouldn't be stuck without fluid. The 18mm deal is definitely harder to remove as the fill plug came out easy and the drain plug came out easy. It seems to be shifting smoother after a few days of driving with the new fluid as well.

    Conor



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