Just wanted to get a general overview. I had the Nissan dealer do a flush service for $39.99 with a coupon, I really saw an improvement but the way I understand it they only did half of the work really required to flush out the entire fluid content. The fluid is not as clear as I want it to be, it doesnt have any metal shavings and its not gritty in any way, its reddish with a hint of Brown but it doesnt smell burnt (Smells like synthetic).

Just wanted to clear up what you guys think Nissan did and what should really be done for a complete flush. ( Something about filling it and draining it, filling it and draining it out until all the old stuff goes out). Thanks for any info.

 

Did they do a total flush (using a machine) or drain and filter change?

The total flush machines hook up "in-line" at the radiator connection and change out all the fluid. But, then you don't get a filter change.

Both have their pros. The best is to do both.

 

Actually what they did was the probably thebest possible way of changing the tranny fluid and it's something two people can do.
You can take one end of the return line of the stock tranny cooler off and temporarily put it into a bucket and then turn on the engine. While one person holds the hose with the brown tranny fluid gushing out the other person should start filling the tranny with new tranny fluid thru the tranny dip stick until there is red tranny fluid coming out of the hose.
By doing this you get to clean the torque converter, metal mesh filter, and all the internal gears. Taking the tranny drain pan off won't accomplish this. Just make sure that the fluid level is at the proper level. Oh yeah I think the dealers use a machine that actually has some pressure to it so you get a better flush. NOt exactly sure though.

 

For $40 all they did was pull the plug, wipe the crud off the magnet, put the plug back, and refilled it with about 3 qts of ATF. This freshened up the fluid. A full fluid exchange costs around $100. If you have over 50k miles on the car, and the fluid hadn't been changed before, I would do the following:
- Drive the car for 1000 miles
- Put 6 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil in the trans
- Drive another couple of days
- Warm the car up
- Pull the drain plug for the transmission
- Spray inside the drain hole with brake cleaner to rinse out as much crud as possible
- Get all the fluid ( 8 qts) changed to synthetic (Really takes about 10 qts to flush all the old stuff out, and most exhange machines use even more, but that's with out pulling the plug.)

You want to get the old fluid and crud out along with as much varnish as you can. The Marvel Mystery Oil is a mild solvent and will act as a flush agent. I've done what I've described and the MMO made a real difference in how the transmission shifted by disolving the varnish. I think any of the synthetic ATF is good. Mobile 1 is just easier to find.
Once you go though this full routine I think you can get away by just pulling the drain plug, and putting in 3 fresh qts once a year. This is with synthetic ATF, though, which won't cause varnish formation.
BTW, if you do the flush yourself, I would not try to pour in fresh fluid as the old fluid is coming out, to do the thing all at once, because the transmission pumps the fluid out faster than you can pour it in. I do it 2 qts at a time. Exchange machines control things so that the fluid level can't drop too low.

 

Brub, thats exactly what I figured, although like I said the $39.99 was via coupon at Bay Ridge Nissan (Meanwhile Kings Nissan wanted $100 for the same job). I still do think that they did exactly what you said which is what I suspected. BTW, I had it done in the middle of May 2000, just wondering why it was still a bit Brown, so now I know. Also, the car has well over 100K, original tranny with no signs of anything. Lastly, the thought of synthetic scares me a bit because of the high mileage.

 

Yeah for $40 they just pulled the plug and refilled,
not the best way to go on your car I would suggest
having it flushed WITHOUT them using the flush solvent
do as brubenstein suggested and use the marvel oil
however keep in mind that you do not have Nissan's
strongest auto trans so be carefull and don't use to
much (8oz should do it) and give it a couple of days
and take it to someone who has a trans flush machine
and have them flush WITHOUT the flush solvent (do
make sure they add the conditioner) and this should
take care of your worries. This is how I flushed my
trans and it is doing better now.

 

I contacted Marvel Oil Company and they stated that their product is safe to use in the fuel tank and in the engine oil crankcase. However, they do not recommend adding it in the transmission.

So I would be careful what you add to your transmission.

 

All flushing agents are solvents, and should be used with care. This is why I suggested putting some MMO in the transmission right before having the fluid changed. When used in an engine it is in there a relativly long time, so they were probably thinking in those terms. When I did my transmission I had 6 oz in for only 3 days, and maybe 75 miles of driving. Once I was able to feel the difference (shifts were crisper, because the varnish and gum were off the selenoid controlled valves) I knew it was time to dump it. I didn't drive it hard either.