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Atf oil

25K views 62 replies 11 participants last post by  Brody 
#1 ·
I would like to change oil on the automatic gearbox, I know it is premature at only 10,000km but I would like to remove any residuals from break-in, but I have the following doubts:

1) What gear box does our car? The initials Fiat AW6R31 which then pretend to be Aisin B400, while on the sister mx5 it is called j6a-el /1 now here comes the big doubt, from several searches on forums and spare sites for automatics it is not clear if it corresponds to TB65sn (320nm) or TB61sn (480nm). The Toyota gt86 and Subaru brz should also be fitted with the same TX6A-el gearbox

2) jws 3309 or 3324, fca it seems that on a vague document it has changed specification to 3324, here in Europe we have no knowledge of it, while Mazda recommends the 3309 and Toyota 3324. what a mess !! I understand that from 3309 to 3324 many things change, besides the flashiness, also the additives and the base, the first is mineral and the second synthetic, therefore two completely different oils, even Toyota explains that t-iv and t-ws are not interchangeable. So I wouldn't want to put a universal oil, I would like to stay on one of the two specifications but which one?
I would like to share with you my info, maybe im wrong or maybe some of you have direct experience on the ATF oil change, I hope it is an interesting discussion and manages to resolve my doubts.
 
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#63 · (Edited)
Just changed the ATF in my Lusso at 20,000 miles. It came out fairly dark and brown, so it was a good time to change it. Changing ATF is not a straightforward procedure due to the fluid trapped in the torque converter and valve body. I drained / filled in three steps:
  1. 2.3L cold; drove car for two days afterward
  2. 2.5L hot; drove car a week afterward
  3. 2.2L cold
By the third drain, the fluid was looking I'd say 85% new with a hint of brown left.

You can see that my total drained / filled was 7.0L, which is only 0.5L short of a complete fill. I'm calling it good at 7.0L. You should really drain it hot three times, as you can get more fluid out with a hot drain: 2.5L / hot drain * 3 drains = 7.5L = specified capacity.

Shout out to @CardigansFan for the tool tips on getting the fill plug removed. I should add for anyone attempting this: remove the fill plug first, to make sure you can get it out, before you drain the pan. It takes a flex ratchet with a T-55 Torx bit, and it only works in this position, as @CardigansFan demonstrated in the video tutorial:


I refilled with Mobil ATF 3309 using a pressurized ATF fluid pump I purchased on Amazon. Ideally need to replace the drain plug crush washer, but I forgot to order three new ones so I just kept flipping the old one over. It's not leaking.

Drain plug requires 14mm socket. There's also another drain plug labeled "CHECK". I removed it and inspected it, looked up into the hole. I'm not sure what there is to check inside it, but if you want to remove it you need a 5mm hex bit.

I also purchased an OBDLink MX+ code reader to check transmission temperature (it has to be a hot transmission for the chart to have any meaning) in order to use the official dipstick level tool. To my surprise, I did not find data for transmission temperature, just water temperature. The best I could do was guesstimate 200-205° F / 93-96° C, find the Min / Max on the chart, and use the level tool. It was within spec so that was that. In hindsight it's a waste of time and money. If your transmission isn't leaking, just put back in what you took out plus maybe a tad extra to account for spillage. In my case, I added an extra 0.1L to each tankful in my pump. I figured I left that much in the hose and bottom of the tank, so I dispensed the exact amount if not a little bit more.
 
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