What did you do to your Mirage today?

[7milesout]

I did the 5MT oil change on Saturday (9/23/23). Car had 35,182 miles on it. Oil change went well, I had the funnel jammed down in a clear vinyl hose, and then shoved into the fill hole (just like on the instructional thread). I was expecting that it would fill faster ... but the air inside the transmission reminded me about how fluid dynamics work. I had most of a funnel full and it was going very slowly down while I stared at it and wondered why. Then it burped and spewed oil back out of the funnel on top of the engine. And then I was like ... oh right, that air has to go somewhere. So I slowed down pouring it, and cleaned up the mess.

I used Redline MTL (I think it's called) 75-80. The trans shifting felt the same afterwards. The old oil draining out looked VERY cute. It was a shame to dump it, but I think I was 5,000 miles behind the schedule. Long trip coming up this weekend.

[Fummins]

I parked mine for now. It was too reliable and cheap to drive.

[Mark]

I did the 5MT oil change on Saturday (9/23/23). Car had 35,182 miles on it. Oil change went well, I had the funnel jammed down in a clear vinyl hose, and then shoved into the fill hole (just like on the instructional thread). I was expecting that it would fill faster ... but the air inside the transmission reminded me about how fluid dynamics work. I had most of a funnel full and it was going very slowly down while I stared at it and wondered why. Then it burped and spewed oil back out of the funnel on top of the engine. And then I was like ... oh right, that air has to go somewhere. So I slowed down pouring it, and cleaned up the mess.

I used Redline MTL (I think it's called) 75-80. The trans shifting felt the same afterwards. The old oil draining out looked VERY cute. It was a shame to dump it, but I think I was 5,000 miles behind the schedule. Long trip coming up this weekend.

Having the correct funnel is the hardest part of a manual transmission oil change. Outside of that, it's quite simple. I made a slight mess both times I did mine. I misplaced the drain pan both times. The oil shot out farther than I expected both times. Will I remember that next time? Most likely not!

I also felt the factory oil looked extremely good @ 30,000 miles. If someone missed the 30,000 mile mark, I wouldn't be overly alarmed. I changed mine a 2nd time at 80,000 miles (50,000 mile Redline MTL interval), & I felt it still looked quite good again. I am going to stick with 50,000 mile intervals for now. I don't feel like I am neglecting my car in any way by doing that.

I didn't feel that adding MTL changed anything when it comes to shifting either, but my car has always shifted just fine from day one. The soft clutch pedal was more of adjustment for me. A Mirage clutch is a lame left leg workout.

[7milesout]

I would have to bet with the MTL fluid, we're probably putting 1/8th more horsepower to the ground. Big time.

[Wallythacker]

I parked mine for now. It was too reliable and cheap to drive.

Smart move. Save it for $30/gal gas. You'll be glad you did.

[Fummins]

Smart move. Save it for $30/gal gas. You'll be glad you did.

I'm not sure about smart? I decided to drive the van that's gonna drink more than double what the car does. At least that's the way it's looking so far. And almost every day I drive it to work I come home with a handful of new parts to replace. I think I'm going backwards...

[Wallythacker]

I'm not sure about smart? I decided to drive the van that's gonna drink more than double what the car does. At least that's the way it's looking so far. And almost every day I drive it to work I come home with a handful of new parts to replace. I think I'm going backwards...

Been there with several cars. Drop parts wherever I went.

As for me for today with the Mirage I spend an hour with a giant 3 magnet antenna mount on the roof with a pseudo-antenna attached driving up and down the highway at speeds up to 90+ mph. WInters coming, I'm going to have an all band HF radio affixed inside and a Tarheel II (yes, really) as my antenna. It's a large heavy antenna, offers a lot of wind resistance and with winter headwinds of 40+ mph and highways speeds of 70 + mph I don't want this thing blowing off the car. This mag mount is impressive, and I'm not a great fan of mag mounts. Back in the day with light antennas they worked OK. Removing headliners and drilling holes, you get the absolute best performance and when done right, never any leakage. Antennas that use set screws and break the paint to contact the underlying car steel are 2nd best IMO, followed by mag mount.

Oh, nothing blew off.

[defensivetackle99]

Ordered, received, and tested the OEM LED fog lamps. Wow. It very bright lol



And the best part is that I DONT NEED a lift nor take out the wheels..at all to get the job done!!

Thanks to MrFixIt’s suggestion, I got me a creeper



and I love it! This route saved me $13+ from getting me an actual rental lift!

Will have it mounted soon. Can’t wait for the final result!

Link to video re: creeper: https://youtu.be/UtKae8mmqTQ?si=Dk6bVwn5n9J9nFde

[Wallythacker]

Ordered, received, and tested the OEM LED fog lamps. Wow. It very bright lol



And the best part is that I DONT NEED a lift nor take out the wheels..at all to get the job done!!

Thanks to MrFixIt’s suggestion, I got me a creeper



and I love it! This route saved me $13+ from getting me an actual rental lift!

Will have it mounted soon. Can’t wait for the final result!

Link to video re: creeper: https://youtu.be/UtKae8mmqTQ?si=Dk6bVwn5n9J9nFde

Creepers rule. Either that or a $3,500 lift. I'll take the creeper. Besides, I can sleep under the car and pretend I'm working.

[AyAyron]

Buffed out my headlights to combat some yellowing and fogginess. Turned out great for 5 minutes with a polishing machine!

Before


After