How and Why to Change Your Manual Transmission Fluid

Your car's manual transmission fluid is more important than you think. Though it doesn't have to be changed as often as motor oil, fresh gearbox fluid keeps your stick-shift transmission from overheating and tearing itself apart. That's why Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained is here to show you how to change your car's transmission fluid right in your garage.

Since manual transmissions do their jobs through a lot of metal-to-metal contact, they need lubricant to soften touch points and keep everything running smoothly. Over time, that fluid gets dirty and worn out, and needs to be changed.

The first step is getting your car in the air and sitting level. This lets you access the transmission and insures you'll fill it to the correct level.

Next, find the fill plug on the upper portion of the transmission housing and unscrew it. Then, find the drain plug, and undo that to drain the gearbox. Make sure to have a catch pan ready.

After everything's drained, reinstall the drain plug with a new washer, and refill the transmission, using a transfer pump to get the fluid up into the filler hole.

Replace the fill plug with a new washer, clean up any excess fluid, and boom, you're done. Pretty easy right?

Fenske put together a thourough video walking us through how to change the transmission fluid on his personal Honda S2000. It goes into great detail, so if you're getting ready to swap out your own car's fluid, it's a must-watch.

edited by DNT Tools