Speedometer Gear and Gear Oil Q

[Anand]

I want to change my tranny fluid. After going back and forth between my engine bay and my Haynes manual I think I finally found the speedometer gear. Is the cable coming through the firewall near the brake booster the speedometer wire? That's the one I followed down to the transmission that looks like the it's what I'm looking for.

Anyway, holy crap is there alot of stuff in the way! How the heck do you guys get to the thing to take it out? Do you guys usually get at it from above or from below the car? Besides take off the air intake piping and battery what else can I safely/easily remove to get to it?

Also, regarding the oil. The Haynes manual says I need 75/90 (I've got a DX) and I picked up a container of Walmart's Supertech brand. While searching here for hints on removing the speedo gear I see alot of you guys actually run ATF in there. Will it hurt anything to use regular MT gear oil or should I pick up a container of ATF?

[Turpro]

i always use mobil 1 synthetic 75/90. mines a lx but i think its around the same location. undr the intake hose,brake master cyl.

[Jho]

I want to change my tranny fluid. After going back and forth between my engine bay and my Haynes manual I think I finally found the speedometer gear. Is the cable coming through the firewall near the brake booster the speedometer wire? That's the one I followed down to the transmission that looks like the it's what I'm looking for.

Anyway, holy crap is there alot of stuff in the way! How the heck do you guys get to the thing to take it out? Do you guys usually get at it from above or from below the car? Besides take off the air intake piping and battery what else can I safely/easily remove to get to it?

Also, regarding the oil. The Haynes manual says I need 75/90 (I've got a DX) and I picked up a container of Walmart's Supertech brand. While searching here for hints on removing the speedo gear I see alot of you guys actually run ATF in there. Will it hurt anything to use regular MT gear oil or should I pick up a container of ATF?

I'd take it out from underneath, and fill it from up top with a long funnel.
You can run ATF in there, but personally, I would use the recommended 75W-90 gear oil. It is crucial that you use API service GL-4, because it is safe for the bronze in your synchros.

[bmikedaman]

For some stupid reason Ford specs ATF for their mazda built gearboxes, and I can tell you switching to a 75/90 like Redline MT90 is a HUGE improvement. We just pulled the intake piping out and you could slide your hand down there no problem. My buddy who is a mechanic said the only way he has had any luck getting the speedo drives out is tapping them from the bottom with a long chisel, pulling just breaks them, YMMV.

[EricM]

you dont even need to do all of that - just get a 3 foot long piece of 1/2" hose and put a funnel on the top of it. Then, have one person feed the other end of the tube into the transmission and the other person pour in the oil from the top of the engine bay - theres really no need to take anything off the car.

oh - and try out the redline, it really is an improvement.

[lscrx]

you dont even need to do all of that - just get a 3 foot long piece of 1/2" hose and put a funnel on the top of it. Then, have one person feed the other end of the tube into the transmission and the other person pour in the oil from the top of the engine bay - theres really no need to take anything off the car.

oh - and try out the redline, it really is an improvement.

but you need to pull the speedo-gear out before you can fill the tranny... that's the hard part. After unscrewing the speedo cable I would lay under the car and put a small pair of vise grips on the speedo gear and twist it back and forth. Once you get some movement try pulling it up... the first time you take it out is always the most difficult IMHO.