I've never "changed ATF before, I have one car that leaked that I always refilled though. I've had the trans fluid in there since it was rebuilt, about 40k miles ago! How hard is it to change the trans fluid, and would it be a good or bad idea?

Anything bad that could happen? (my last trans went after a week of driving- dont want to chance anything, but dont have the extra $75 to get it changed)

 

well if you know how to change the motor oil, then you can do the tranny oil. drain the oil, if you want you can measure how many qt's you drained (I know for the ve its 5.5 qts) I think its a little less (around 4.5 for the vg, not sure), then use a small funnel and fill from the tranny dip stick. don't add the full amount right away, since you don't want to overfill it. when you get close (within a qt.) run the engine and go through all the gears, and put it back in park. let it warm up and check the level, if you managed to get the dip stick hot, then fill to the hot range on the stick. You just want to make sure you don't add too much.

It's really easy, and cheap too.

Rebuilt tranny's don't typically last long, so its a crap shoot, and depends on how much ganga the mechanic smoked when doing the rebuild.

 

rebuilt trannys dont last long? What could you do instead of rebuilding it, they still make brand new ones? It cost $2100 to get the tranny rebuilt, and want to make sure this tranny will last as long as the egnine might...
Thanks-

 

Its just a strange fact. Some do but most dont. Best thing to do is go to a junkyard and find a max with as little miles as possible. Ive got a tranny or 2 FS and Ill probably have them for a little while.

~Alex

 

eventhough it's rebuilt, its still has a ton of old components. also most rebuilds are a "soft rebuild", which is just seals and friction surfaces (band). So anything can go wrong, the internals will have 100-200k miles on them already.

 

I've seen many rebuilt trannies last over 8 years.

doomtoo, since an ATF change is so easy and straightforward on our cars, I just do a routine drain and fill every other oil change (i.e. every 7500 miles) with conventional fluid or Nissan ATF (I like OE fluid more). You only need between 2.3L to 2.5L for an ATF change depending on how long you let the stuff drain, but of course make sure the level is right before closing up the hood.

I've got about 139K on my 1993 and it still shifts smooth like butter. You can also help the tranny by installing a tranny cooler.

 

will,
Would you know how hard it is to put a tranny cooler on a VG? Any ideas on where to find one, I couldn't find a VG specific part. Thanks

 

Check FSM: 3gen's have two tranny types. One has 7L, the SE 9L , oil capacity.

 

Hi There,

It's pretty easy for the most part. It comes with installation materials and you may have to buy longer rubber cooler lines to run into it and more ATF of course. The most important thing of course ir running the return and feeder line into the corect port on the cooler. The unit you would want is a Hayden 403. I think I have an extra one sitting in my garage; if you're interested in it, let me know.

Wiking, my Scandinavian friend, I agree with you on those capacities since that is a total capacity, but I was referring to just a routine drain and fill, i.e. we take out the drain plug near the left side wheel, let her drain for about 15 min until it drips, and then close it back up!

 

Point is, cannot see any benefit in this; change oil, or dont. How car is used, ambient temp etc. define how often: if oil is 'burned brown', it still has inferior quality after 1/4 swap. Such operation is not worthwhile.

Newer cars have this maint light which take into account most stress factors. This shortens or lengthens [FULL] oil change period.

 

On the VE tranny you can get 50% out (actually I get more than half since I use an extra external tranny cooler). So half will be new. I do mine on regular basis, but for someone who does not should do two drain fills, then at least 75% will be new.

There are flush machines, that mix the old with the new (some media filtering as well), but in the end you get about 66% new (or less actually) that simply depends on how much original fluid and new fluid (and how the machine operates).

And Wiking, for burned brown fluid, I'd say three drain/fills, that way 87.5% would be new. Spacing them out a week apart, that way the detegents in the new oil can go to work.

 

There is also a filter, right? How hard is that to get to? (on the VG)

 

There is a screen inside the tranny, but you'd have to take apart the tranny case to get to it, which of course is too much, so usually you only do a routine drain and fill or take it to a shop to do a full flush.

 

Yeah, don't worry about the filter. The only other thing you can do is drop the tranny pan and clean it really well, there are magnets on the pan that can be cleaned as well. You just want to make sure you do it in a clean area, so that you don't let any sand get in there. If you want you can also use a couple stronger/new magnets (neodymium), but only use small ones since they are very strong (I only say that b/c of the solenoid pack is nearby, but its not likely that they will interfere). Also if you want you could install a magnet on the outside of the pan, and just use some RTV silicone to help prevent it from jumping off the car when hitting a bump.

 

Alright, so if u want to try and have your transmission live for a while, besides changing fluid fairly regularly, is htere anythign else that would be fairly easy and a good idea to do?

Would it be ok to change my oil in there, after having the same stuff for 40k?

Also, what would be the best ATF to use? Can I add synthetic?

 

I have another question.
Can the transmission in a 94 Max draw water/anti-freeze from the radiator due to a break in the coil... AND if so, wouldnt the fluid level of the radiator be diminished if this occured? Is there any other way water can get into the tranny?
I have water(or something foreign) in my tranny and am stumped as to how it got there and how to proceed in fixing it.
The ATF on the dipstick is about the color of coffee... with double cream... very milky looking and somewhat frothy. I have also just lost the overdrive, but everything else functions fine.
I am NOT driving it until it is fixed.

 

thats strange.. mine ocasionally has stuff that looks like coffee on it- black metal shavings .. I know it isnt good, but I always have black powdery stuff on the dip stick when I check it...

 

Keep it from slipping. How: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/15
...and check the Favorite Links at left.

Change/flush fluid if you have metal chips in oil. Start seeking new tranny...


Mildot9
My guess is that tranny has higher pressure: oil would seep into your cooling liquid. Brown oil = slipping tranny. See above.

The box is breathing all the time via air hose, some moisture gets in. But cream... I'd change oil now.

 

You may have had too much oil in there at some point. You need to do a couple drain/fills, and do them more often.