Well that oil certainly appears to be OK

[mazdad]

Well, apart from not being able to get under the blooming thing , I finally got around to changing out all of the fluids and filter today.

I've got axle stands but I'm really not keen on putting them under the sills so I ended up jacking each corner and gradually placing large wooden blocks (4inch thick) under each wheel until I'd got three under each corner = 1ft off the ground. Still a very cosy fit though for someone of my slightly generous girth

Engine oil drain, no problem. Engine oil filter removal, bloody hell! I should add here that I have a 2002 Mk2.5 RSII with Bilstein's, so everthing is a bit lower than usual. Whoever decided to put the filter there was an absolute sadist! Naturally, last person had tightened it to within a inch of it's life, had to go get one of those filter removal tools with the three serated arms that operate through a geared movement from the ratchet attachment and 'grab' the canister and turn it - excellent bit of kit. New washer on the drain plug (after cleaning the trace of metal filings off the magnet), finally got the filter changed and filled her up with Valvoline Syngard 10W40

Moving onto the gearbox and it soon became apparent the oil filter designers skills had been put to good use again with the positioning of the filler plug. Another new purchase resulted in a oil pump (looks a lot like a greasegun but has a clear flexible spout) and three and a half of these full of Valvoline Duragear 75W85 GL4 from my super new oil pump and new washers on fill and drain plugs and we're cooking with gas!

On to the LSD. After the engine filter and the gearbox filler, this was an absolute doddle! Slightly less than a litre of Valvoline Gear Oil LS High Performance SAE90 GL5/6 and we're ready for road testing.

Was that gear change a little slicker and tidier than before? Is that engine reving a little easier? Is that rear end just a little less whiny?

Who knows, but I feel really great, and I know my MX-5 is enjoying the nice clean oil circulating around her internals

[dynofiend]

Good job, always satisfying to DIY. Regarding the placement of axle stands, I always find that the wishbone attachment points on the chassis provide an excellent location.

Last oil change I did on a Peugeot I had, I resorted to hammering a wheelbrace through the oil filter to get it off, and even then, I was literally pulling myself up off the floor and bouncing up and down on the wheel brace to get the thing to spin off!

[Stevo]

yes it is always nice to get fresh oil and a filter in their. I have boxed a pit into the floor of my workshop. Now just looking for keen volunteers to come and dig it out. lol. Cheers Stevo

[sprsta]

did you change the oil in the gear selector?
it is not part of the box and the oil in there if like mine will be bad (probably been in there since new)

you have to pull out the gear stick its well worth doing if you have some gear oil left the drain plog is not very easy to get at and oil will run down all over the casing but nothing some rags cant fix

not something you need to do often but if you want new fluids in everything thats the last thing to do

heres a how to:
http://www.blueridgemiataclub.org/techn ... /index.htm