Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Auto trans Filter, Anybody out there...

Did I miss something or has nobody mentioned flushing the CD4E?

I flush it to get "most" of the crap out!

You should have seen the colour of the fluid before/after the flush!

Stephen

Something that may interest you!

http://www.filtertek.com/Ford%20Award%20Page.htm

Stephen

A quote from the web,

Which one is more trouble-prone?
Early versions of the CD4E piled up a fairly terrible repair record, some of it the transmission's fault, and some of it Mazda's implementation of it. In the '94 626 specifically, there appears to be a quirk in the speedometer gear set, and since the transmission's shift points are determined at least partially by reported vehicle speed, this can result in erratic shifting and the flashing of the infamous Hold or O/D Off light — without the transmission being necessarily at fault at all. The transmission has had other problems as well: early versions are prone to blowing out the pump gasket, the failure rate of the original forward-clutch assembly is high, and line pressure occasionally goes off the scale. (For more detail on these problems, see Gears magazine, January 2000, or its online version.) Mazda has an informal recall — um, a "Special Service Program" — of the '94s to correct the speedometer gear set. And Ford has been making running changes to the CD4E, revising the pump plate and gasket in November 1996 and redesigning the coast/forward clutch assembly in January 1998. Cooling capacity, another weak point, has been improved, though many owners are installing auxiliary transmission coolers to be on the safe side.

This is not to say, of course, that you can't get a lemon in the G/GF4A-EL line either, but during the middle Nineties, the GF4A-EL was somewhat more reliable than the CD4E. When ZF acquired 51 percent of the Batavia facility in 1999, one of the announced goals (besides CVT production, which is another issue entirely) was to beef up the CD4E for use in the Tribute/Escape; it's reasonable to assume that the 626 will also benefit.

What are Mazda's service recommendations for automatic transmissions?
Mostly nonexistent. The manual is silent on the question of when to change the fluid. And what's more, the old drop-the-pan method won't work at all on the CD4E, since it has no bottom pan to drop. There's a side cover over the valve bodies, but that's it. Still, either transmission can be serviced using the new fluid-replacement systems, and most of the Mazda techs I've talked to in recent years believe that the old two-year/30,000-mile interval that used to be considered the norm for transmission service is good for the 626.

Are Ford's service recommendations for the CD4E the same?
Ford says this:

"Under normal vehicle operating conditions, transmission service (transmission model CD4E) is not required unless 5,000 mile fluid inspections reveal either contamination or discoloration of fluid, or transmission exhibits functional concerns."
Definitely sounds like you ought to look at the fluid every 5,000 miles.

Stephen

My point is proven by the Filtertek article. I have a '96, which is before the transmission and filter were improved. But whatever the case, it can never hurt and only help to change the filter and fluid.
I have been draining my CD4E about every 20 to 25k and refilling with 4 quarts of Mobil synthetic ATF. Hopefully this will help.
Also, I have heard widely differing opinions on the flush procedure. Some say its oly beneficial where the trans filter is a screen and not felt since the debris on the screen is easily flushed away, felt it is not.

:rolleyes:

Stephen

Has any one tried on of these?
http://www.dxmarket.com/emergingenterprises/dir/index.html
Ive seen one with a ford logo on it.