PhillyDonut

iTrader: (3)

Would you know how many quarts are needed for doing a drain/fill (not a complete flush)? Also, is there a filler plug somewhere on top of the drain plug where I can use a siphon pump to refill or do I have to refill through the dipstick?
Thanks.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

I've drained anywhere between 4 and 5.5 quarts when doing a drain and refill. The amount of fluid you drain out depends on a number of factors including temperature of the fluid, angle of the car, length of time you let it drain, etc.

Refill is accomplished through the dipstick tube.

addicted2pain

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone have experience with Royal Purple Synthetic ATF? I know that everyone raves about the Amsoil, and indeed talkinghorse can get us a good price on Amsoil products. I am curious about the Royal Purple because it is available locally albeit more expensive than our Amsoil prices. Maybe this is a good option if I ever need a single quart or get in a pinch.

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

I'm sure RP is a good product; however, unless you've developed a leak, there should be no reason why you would ever need to top-off your system. However, if an emergency situation were ever to arise where you needed fluid while you were waiting to make repairs, AMSOIL is fully compatible with other synthetic and petroleum-based fluids. Also, as many will attest, I can often put products on a customers' doorstep overnight....so availability shouldn't be a concern.

I've been using AMSOIL ATF since the mid-80's and have sold a ton of it to our members and others, in all areas of the US and Canada, for use in a wide variety of applications. Its a fantastic product...reduces wear; lowers operating temperatures in extreme conditions such as high performance application, towing, etc; extended service life; and for those up north, it will flow in sub-zero temperatures...all of that translates to increased component reliability, fewer repairs and longevity.

Let me know if I can help...

addicted2pain

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, talkinghorse. Amsoil is also ~$3 cheaper through your hookup, too.

When next payday comes around, I'm going to get prepared for a transmission flush or drain/fill. Not sure which yet. It seems to be a matter of opinion which is better from reading this thread. I have an 04 with a 5 spd AT which I understand has a heatsink type method of cooling. From some of the diagrams I have seen, this system does not have transmission lines running to the radiator which are used in the method of completely changing out the fluid. So, the best I'll probably be able to do is drop the transmission pan and at least swap out 3-4 qts. <Shrug> Better than nothing. Then I can repeat every 30 kmiles.

The heatsink type method of cooling appears to have the coolant lines actually running to the transmission to keep it cool. Can someone confirm this for me? (Forgive me for the noobish questions, it is the only way I will learn). If there are transmission lines in this system, I would like to add a cooler.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I'm not 100% sure but I thought the Heat sink cooling method started in the 2005 model???

addicted2pain

iTrader: (1)

I believe the heat sink method started with the 5 spd AT which some 04's have and some do not.

i30dvr

iTrader: (6)

ok guys, i have like 5 qts. on amsoil atf laying around and need to flush my trans....my question is the fluid in the trans is not synthetic so there would still be some fluid left in the tq converter and what not with a drain and flush. Is this ok to do or is it not recommened to drain and refill with synthetic atf....? thanks

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

AMSOIL ATF is fully compatible with petroleum fluids. While only 5 quarts of AMSOIL added to your total system will not provide the maximum benefits of the product, it will help some and it will definitely not cause any problems.

DrivenToTheMAX

I'm thinking of flushing out my transmission. I have been told twice not to replace the current fluid once I have replaced the transmission filter/screen. To simply reuse the old fluid, if not it will ruine the transmission. I'm thinking this is not right. This is one of the last fluids that I have not changed. Looking on some advice here and also what fluid to use if I decide to flush it. Thinking of an intercooler too.

redlinenurmaxima

ok sry guys, but i dont really have the time to look and read all the replys on the thread so here i go. I have a 2005 maxima sl with 63,000 miles on it. So I really need to flush my transmission and radiator fluid. But I like to accelarate and switch it to the cvt a lot and I wanna get good fluids for that. I live in New Jersey so weather kinda unpredictable and gets pretty cold in winter. Any suggestions?

loxety

I have been using walmart brand Dexron III since I got the car at 165k miles and changing the trans fluid every oil change (hey, its $10/gal). I get hard shifts from time to time.. recently changed to mercon V and the trans now seems to shift smooth. I read at bob is the oil guy dot com forums that mercon v is a synthetic blend thats designed with friction modifiers, its compatible with dex III. Mobile 1 Synthetic ATF is hard to find in my area.. walmart brand mercon V was $3.75qt. btw this is an interesting read about trans fluid.. it lists several different types http://www.aa1car.com/library/atf.htm

jholley

iTrader: (13)

I own a 98 Maxima SE with 125,450 miles. I last had the tansmission oil flushed out at 90,000 miles. They also dropped the pan, cleaned the screen, and replaced the gasket.
I'd like to drain about 5 quarts thru transmission drain plug, then open the return line hose and flush out about 2 quarts per start.
I have 2 simple questions:

1. Is the return line the upper or lower hose?

2. Which end of the return line do I disconnect (trans or cooler end)?

Thanks,

John

jholley

iTrader: (13)

I went to a nissan dealership to buy the copper gasket for the drain bolt. I'm be reusing the drain bolt so I'll just add some sealant.
One of the serviemen told me that you disconnect the hose attached to the trans (not the cooler), but he didn't know off hand if the return line was the top or bottom hose.

After I get that answer I'll drain and flush out that transmission. There's no rush beacuse it's still pink with no burning scent.

I just flushed out the radiator several times with distilled water, cleaned the resevoir, then refilled with a gallon of Nissan OEM green coolant. It was $5 cheaper than the toyota red coolant.

fessa

you have 2 hoses going into transmission. There is a bolt on the transmission on the one hose - this is NOT return line, you have to disconnect another one.

Disconnect from the transmission side and connect it with clear tube (1/2 inner diameter).

jholley

iTrader: (13)

The return line hose for the auto transmission is the upper hose. This hose isn't bolted down but just requires pliers to loosen the clamp.
After draining the pan I filled it up with about a gallon of Castrol Import ATF. I was thinking of Amsoil or Mobil 1 but to save a few dollars I used a half synthetic ATF.
I then flushed out about 8 more quarts from the return line hose. The used ATF had over 34,000 on it but it was totally pink. I couldn't tell the difference from the old and new ATF so I changed a total of almost 12 quarts.
Since doing this last week she's shifting much more easily.

Thanks for the info guys,

John

JD4440

How much is K Matic at the dealer usually ?

RowzsMax99

Geez.... I have a 99 Max that I know hasnt had its tranny fluid changed yet and its up to 95K miles and I thought of just draining it myself and refilling with whatever amount comes out of it. After reading through all of this I am so freakin confused about what to do with it, what kind of fluid to put in it etc... Let the garage do it, but they'll use inferior fluid etc... Now I dont know what the hail to do..!!!

AJE

Ok, so after reading the entire thread and researching for the past couple weeks I've yet to find anyone with as many miles as I've got on my 98 Max - 215k. The fluid does have a slight burnt smell to it, but the color isn't bad still pinkish. It shifts a bit hard from 1 to 2, but always has and hasn't ever gotten any worse. I don't know what maintenance was done to the car before I bought it at 100k, but since then I have not once changed the fluid (groan...) because I was afraid at 100k doing anything might cause more damage than good. Now 115k later, the car surprisingly is still running strong but I'm concerned about the tranny fluid being so old.

I have no problems dropping the pan and cleaning it and the filter up, just don't know if it is wise. My original plan was to avoid having it flushed somewhere and just do a complete fluid change myself, but now I'm questioning if that is a good idea. Would it make sense to drop the pan and clean the filter but leave the rest of the fluid in and see how she handles it, then redrop and reclean the filter again in a month or so? My logic stems from a post that said most failures occuring recently after messing with high mileage unmaintained transmissions was due to the detergents kicking up sludge and blocking the filter/screen. So if that's true maybe I should just swap half the fluid and clean the filter once a month for a while?

Any thoughts???

Thanks,
AJE

stamar

theres a drain plug for the transmission fluid

i would from where you are now just drain out 4-5 quarts once a month for about six months

do two in one week probably. Just use cheap dino fluid until its cleaner, maybe throw in synthetic on the sixth one.



dont drop the pan. Not necessary theres no replaceable filter.

It would benefit from cleaning out the magnets but its not necessary to do to change the fluids.

very easy.


im in the same situation as you my 98 has 198k now. I changed the fluid twice. it was way dirtier when looked at in a pool as opposed to looking at the dipstick

AJE

Thanks for the input. I think if I drain the pan though I might as well drop it. It shouldn't take all that long and I already tested all the bolts to make sure they would come out easy. Are you suggesting the partial fluid change to be kind to the old tranny or just to save me time?

My biggest concern is what's best for this old neglected tranny, but if it was just about me I would do the full swap and be done with it. I've got the new ATF in the garage now, just need to decide what route to go...

AJE

Anyone??? Gonna head out to the garage in about an hour, any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

AJE

Decided to just go ahead and drop the pan and pull the screen... The screen itself was surprisingly clean, but it is nice to have the peace of mind that it isn't all clogged up. I am however glad I dropped the pan because the magnets were absolutely nasty, no big chunks just covered in muddy sludge. The old ATF was indeed alot darker in a pan than on the dipstick. The only 'trouble' I ran across was that I got almost 7 quarts of old ATF out when I dropped the pan and it filled my drain pain almost to the rim which made a mess on the driveway trying to empty into a milk jug. Autozone wanted $20 for a gasket, they only sold them as a package with a new screen so skipped that and went to Walmart and spent $3 on some RTV Black. Gonna give that a chance to dry before adding the new ATF, but so far the job was a piece of cake.

stamar

cool ya exactly

add a small amount of detergent at a time, dont loosen it all up at once


Thats just what would be recomended for a transmission that the fluid hadnt been changed in a long time.

Id also bet

AJE

Well, too late. I thought since the filter was clean and there wasn't much grime other than on the magents that I would be safe doing ALL the fluid. So far so good, my hard shift from 1 to 2 that I have had for the last 115,000 miles almost disappeared and other gears are smooth.

I did notice a very loud 'clunk' when shifting directly from R to D. If I go from R to P, then P to D it is fine. I did this several times hoping it would get better but didn't. Later last night I went out to the store it was fine, so either it went away or possibly it made a difference that I actually moved the car in R before shifting to D rather than shifting with the car stationary?

Sooooo,
From here out, would it still be advised to swap fluid again in the very near future? Possibly even recheck the screen and magnets???

stamar

ya do it once a month for a few months.

I wouldnt drop the pan again

I would figure its almost like you did it twice with the extra 2 quarts out.

do it about 4 more times and youre 100% new.

theres a lot of gunk to get out though... so the goal is not really to get as much fluid out as possible but to change it often as you can loosening up more crud.

if you had just changed 100% of the fluid it would still be smart to change it again a few times. it will get dirty again super fast because youre putting a lot of detergent in the system.

stamar

im on my third time on my once a month drain and fill.

now you would think you could be done after three times


theres 9 quarts in the system, 4 quarts gives you lets call it 40, then again should give you 60%..... well the third time it should be like 3/4 new about


only its not. Because theres brand new detergent its actually making a lot of gunk appear over the course of just a month.


So my third change the fluid is still looking dirty. Much cleaner than before when i got the car, when it was unknown when the last change had been, but its not 80% clean.

Now the next two changes arent to put it up to 90% clean because the truth is its not really 80% clean. I have no estimate but I think after two more changes ill consider it 75% clean and good to go about 40k miles. Then when Ive got the dirt out Ill put a gallon of synthetic ATF and be done with it

198four

Instead of flushing the whole thing can we just change the fluid like 2-3 times ?

nachy1

need help doing this

nachy1

need a flush where is the best place 02 max gle

SilverMax_04

In my newspaper today, Click and Clack (The "Car Talk" Guys from National Public Radio) had a discussion about the best way to do this -- see below:

Q: I asked an independent shop to change my transmission fluid when my car hit 60 K miles. They called me later to say that even though they had flushed it with 12 quarts of fluid, it was still coming out brown. They recommended flushing it with another 12 quarts, costing just over $100. Does it seem reasonable that it would need this second flush?

A: It shouldn't -- sounds to me like they did an old fashioned "drain and fill."

Basically automatic transmissions have 2 separate reservoirs: one houses the torque converter and the other houses the guts of the transmission -- the valves, gears, clutches, etc. When the engine is running, the fluid from these reservoirs mixes together. But when the engine stops, some fluid comes to rest in each place. So if you drain only one of the reservoirs -- which is all you do when you open the drain plug or drop the pan from under the car -- you end up changing only a little more than half of the fluid. The other half of the fluid, which was unreachable in the torque converter, remains unchanged. Then when you run the engine again, the new fluid you just added will mix with the old fluid that was in the torque converter -- and the mix will look dirty again. That's when your mechanic called you and asked you to authorize another fluid change.

We avoid that problem by using a system that changes 100% of the fluid under pressure -- using a machine that taps into the transmission's own circulation system to force out every bit of the old fluid, including what's in the torque converter -- replacing it all with new fluid.

Without seeing the state of your fluid right now, we can't tell if the fluid is really dark brown, indicating that something is wrong with your tranny. So drive it for a few weeks and then take it back and ask them to look at the fluid. If they come away gagging and holding their noses, there may be something wrong. But if they say it looks fine, just normally dirty, then just keep driving. And next time after 60 K miles, find a shop that can do a powered flush for you.

dragonle87

What about a generic local auto part store brand? As long it meets the standard or OEM requirements I should be fine right?

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

i wouldn't... but that is just me...






oem or a brand name synthetiic like amsoil...

dragonle87

im not gonna drive the hell out of it. its just my DD.

mtndewnut

Dang..... does no one have a newer Maxima? I have a 08 with that special tranny that doesn't shift into the different gears ... I think it's called CVT? I mean.... it revs up ..but you don't feel any shifting... it's pretty cool actually. I am at 31,000 miles now and wondering when and if I need to change my fluid and/or fluid-filter. I DO NOT WANT TO and WILL NOT take it to the stealership to be brutally raped and robbed of my hard earned money. I have the ability to do it myself.... I just don't know the specifics of changing this model/year. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? And anyone else with the same curiosity as I for that matter.

SilverMax_04

You should follow the instructions in your owners' manual for the CVT tranny.
You will probably have to go to the dealer to keep the warranty active on this trannie. Nissan specifies a very special fluid for this trannie and you should use no other.

This trannie developes a great deal of heat and the fluid has to be able to handle that heat without breaking down. Nissan specifies the fluid to do that job.

I will not buy a Nissan with this trannie because of the heat it generates.

Good luck.

nothruyet

Does anyone have information, links and such, on how to check and change the transmission fluid? The owner's manual states that it must be taken to the Nissan dealer; does that mean it is a closed system?

miillersickness

Anyone ever tried Redline atf? I have used Redline manual gear oil in my toyota celica for years and its really good stuff, but didnt know how well the brand worked for atf nissan maximas?

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=50&pcid=9

jholley

iTrader: (13)

During the 10 quart flush today I dropped the pan for the first time at 142k miles. The magnets were full of gunk so I cleaned them along the inside of the pan. I then dropped and cleaned the screen using brake cleaner.

I reinstalled that pan with a new gasket but I reused the 21 bolts. I applied permatex medium strength thread locker to all those bolts.

When I dropped the screen I had to take note of the bolt locations since there are 3 different sizes. There are 11 bolts and 1 nut.

A = short bolt

B = medium bolt

D = long bolt

F = nut



Here's a tip to make it easier when reinstalling the pan:

In different corners screw a few bolts halfway just to hold the pan up there. Don't use permatex on these bolts. Using a phillips screwdriver get the rest of the bolt holes lined up with the gasket holes. Apply permatex to about 4 bolts at a time. Tighten them in place using only 7-9 lbs of torque. Too much torque will split the gasket. Take out those first bolts you screwed halfway and reinstall them with permatex applied.

sasha87

mine is a 02 4 speed. im currently using castrol import atf. However since the original matic d fluid is very similar to dex/merciii that it calls for.Aside from a slightly diffrent friction modifier. Would there be a benefit or problem if i switch to dexron vi?