I am wanting to change the manual transmission fluid in my truck. I have never done a fluid change on a manual before. Is it the same as an auto tranny? Do I just unbolt the drain plug, drain the fluid and then unbolt the square cover? Is there a filter inside a manual trans? Also I take it you have to refill it at the fill plug on top the trans cause there is no dipstick...which fluid is the best to use also?

oh yeah...i was looking on autozone's website and checking the fluid capacity of the manual trans...after selecting 5-speed then the next set of options was "Mitsubitshi or Mazda trans" how do i know which one i have???

 

Youd be best to invest in a Chilton or Haynes manual to help you through it. Which ever one you get, make sure the book is dedicated to your model truck and doesnt encompass a whole sleuth of a manuafacturer's line.

TO answer some of your questions: manual trannies do not (generally) have filters in them. Usually there is some kind of filler bolt on the top and drain on the bottom. Make sure to loosen/ remove the filler hole 1ST before you drain!! This will not only help the fluid come out better, but will ensure you'll be able to fill the tranny back up once it's drained. As you guessed at, the tranny is full once fresh fluid runs out the top hole when you're filling it.

One way to find out who makes the tranny is to crawl under the truck and look for stamps/castings/ etc that might give you some indication.

Don't go by Autozone's sources. Do yourself a favor and get the book.

 

The Mitsubishi transmission has a stamped sheet metal pan or bottom cover. The Mazda transmission has a ribbed cast aluminum bottom cover or no bottom cover at all, just a round shaped bottom to the housing.

 

Does your owners manual say what type/how much to use? I know mine does somewhere near the back.

 

The Mitsubishi and the early (flat bottom) Mazda TK5 use 80wgt transmission oil that can only be obtained from a Ford dealer. Most dealers don't even have it. An 80/90 synthetic gear oil seems to work just fine.
The later model Mazda transmissions (round bottom) use Mercon III ATF. I don't recall how much oil they hold, probably 2-4 qts.

 

i guess i have the mitsubitshi tranny then because my cover is flat as a board...hmmmmmm

 

As I said above the Mitsubishi has a stamped sheet metal bottom cover. It is indented up into the bottom of the transmission. The Mazda has a ribbed cast aluminum bottom cover.

 

my mazda 5/man. holds 2.8 qts. on level ground owners man. tells it all. drain plug has magnetic tip mercon 3 atf yall take care now ya hear