Classic advice would be yes. There is another line of thought that says if
the fluid is not discolored, and does not smell burnt, leave it alone.

The reason to pull the pan is that crud can accumulate in it. Same for the
screen. Metal screens can be cleaned, plastic ones -- it's probably safer to
replace -- don't know what the strong solvents might do to as plastic
filter. A shop might try to sell you a fluid filter process that connects a
unit to the tranny oil lines that go to the radiator. The fluid might just
be filtered, or it might be replaced with this process. The advantage is
that the fluid in the torque converter also gets exchanged. Pulling the pan
just gets most of the crud removed, and does not completely drain the fluid.
Naturally, you might do both the remove pan & clean filter, then flush,
remove pan again if you are a purist, clean, and refill again.

Another subject of dispute is to use a "conditioner", a chemical that causes
the rubber seals to soften slightly. This coupled with a mild solvent that
can be added, may or may not help a specific tranny. The stuff has saved me
a teardown on an old Olds. Don't know how advisable it is to use on a tranny
that works OK.

"Craig" > wrote in message
...
> Hello friends at rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata,
>
> I have a 100K mile Miata and I'm about to change the transmission fluid.
> The manual refers to a strainer rather than a filter. Should the pan be
> removed and the strainer cleaned or replaced with an aftermarket filter
> before adding fresh fluid?
>
> Thanks,
> Craig
>
>