This might have already been posted but, I have not found it. MY transmission shifts very hard from 1st to 2nd. I have only had this car for about 4 weeks and it has 87000 miles on it. I am going to go ahead and change the transmissions fluid, filter and gasket (doing myself), but I was wondering if there could be any other issues that can cuase this. I figured if the fluid was that bad it would shift rough throughout. The fluid is burnt more of a brown than red, so I know it needs to be changed. What type of tranny fluid do you recommend, I heard that this type of transmission breaks down fluid quicker than most. Also on a different note, what type of plugs and wires do you recommend do get, I figured I would do a tune up while I am doing the tranny.
Thanks,
Matt

 

dunno what you are used to, but the trans is not the smoothest shifting. fluid is normal dexron. i dont think the trans "breaks down" fluid faster than any other. heat is always the enemy of trans fluid. i always put a bottle of lubegard in our transmissions. also, i flush trans fluid about once a year. if you change filter, you will have to drop the pan. it is glued on, so it will be a mess. you will have to scrape off a lot of stuff, and clean it really good. i dont do that, i have a pela 600, and i just pull out the fluid from the dipstick hole, and add the same amount that came out, plus the lubegard. if i were you, i would just drain it, put in fresh fluid and lubegard, then do it again in a few months. you will only get about half of the fluid out, the rest will stay in the torque converter. if you can afford it, get a professional flush done with a trans flush machine. make sure they have an actual machine, not a bucket.
have you ever changed plugs on this car before? you should stay with the factory plugs. also, there are no hi tension plug wires, it is a cop(coil on plug) system. most likely, the rear bank has never been changed because it is so labor intensive. also, be prepared to clean out the plug wells, some of them will have oil in them. recommended change intervals for plugs is 60k. dont cheap out, and dont get wierdo plugs like iridiums. watch your gap, it is .7-.8mm, NOT 1.1(-11). dont trust the parts guys at pep boys/autozone/whatever, the plugs are pre gapped from the factory, you are NOT supposed to regap them. the first time you change the plugs, the front bank is a piece of cake, maybe 30 min. the rear bank is a bitch, probably take you 3 hours. so, if you put in the wrong plugs, you get to do it again.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I think I'll go ahead and drain and fill, what type of plugs do you recommend, what are the OE?
Thanks

 

iirc, the stock plugs could be denso, champion, or ngk. i use the ngk PZFR5F. i think they retail around 16/ea. beware of an ngk plug with -11 after it(ie, PZFR5F-11). that means the gap is 1.1mm, way to big for the 2.3. both mazda and ngk say the plugs are pregapped from the factory. dont let some parts guy sell you -11 plugs and tell you to regap them.

 

Thanks alot, this has really helped me out