Auto Trans FAIL!
 

Ok so long story short got a hold of an 04 miata auto that I use for work. As it turns out the transmission fluid is black as night. took it out to a transmission shop and they said that they refuse to flush it as the only thing holding it together is the fluid.

Isn't this something i should be worried about. Would it be ok to run on that or should i look into replacing the transmission?

i am honestly a complete idiot when it comes to stuff like this.

Well, fluid doesn't hold things together so I'm a bit perplexed by that. They must not want to do any work and be liable.

I'd just change it (not flush), drive a few hundred miles, and change it again. If it's black, you don't know how long it's been neglected, could've been years, could've turned black a month ago. So you don't get totally everything out, the idea is to reduce the overall contaminants floating around. I don't understand people who think driver's should just ignore the problem and keep driving. If it does fail, at least you'll be expecting it in the near future rather than hoping and leaving you in the middle of nowhere.

Could i possibly do a pan drop? Doing this wont let all the fluid out right?

Dropping the pan should be part of changing the fluid because you will want to change the filter as well. The filter lives inside the pan. You will find a coating of clutch material on the floor of the pan that you will want to clean out as well. Be VERY sure to use the exact type of ATF specified. There are some quirky differences between some of the formulations that can make life exciting.

Edit: The filter with pan gasket is $15 at Rockauto.com

i just looked at the first post and realized i forgot to mention that the car just rolled over 125k miles.

Could i replace the trans myself at home or is it something that i would have to take to the shop? is it a long process. (i currently work out of my car so having it in good shape is a dire need)

Do you want to replace the trans or just the fluid and filter? I've never taken out an auto, but I'm guessing with a trans jack, 4 jack stands, and lots of beer, you could drop an auto in your garage just like a manual. I'm guessing the auto is considerably heavier hence the need for the trans jack.

I'd start with just doing the fluid/filter myself. It requires less beer.

there's nothing wrong with a lot of beer though. and honestly with as high of mileage that it has it would probably be a better idea to just pull it

Start with fluid and filter and see how that goes. Trans replacement may be unnecessary.