I do alot of stop and go driving probably 300 miles a week which is stop and go. I was wondering how my tranny will hold up. I try not to go too fast and try not to shift back and forth from 1st and 2nd. How often should I change the fluids? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Nissan says:
If towing a trailer, using a camper or a car-top carrier, or driving on rough or muddy roads, change (not just inspect) automatic transmission fluid every 30K miles or 24 months.

Aside from this Severe Service recommendation, Nissan does not require any change of ATF. However, many owners like to perform this service with the 60K maintenance procedure. It seems like cheap insurance.

Heat is the big enemy of automatic transmission fluid. The ATF suffers most when the vehicle is driven hard (racing or towing), in mountainous terrain, or extremely hot climates. Owners who use their Maximas in this way should consider installing a Hayden auxiliary transmission fluid cooler.

 

Daniel Martin is correct in that Nissan does not specify a change interval for ATF under normal conditions. I personally change my ATF every 15k miles. My mechanic charges $25 for the job, and it involves a drain and refill of around 3 to 4 quarts. The way I see it, it is cheap insurance, since I don't have the highest confidence in the durability of the Maxima's automatic transmission.

But yeah, if you get it changed every 30k that should be just fine too.

 

Let's remember there are two kinds of ATF changes.

Method 1) An ordinary drain-and-refill may be done by the home mechanic. This method changes only about half of the fluid, but is easy and inexpensive. The cost is 4 or 5 quarts of ATF, plus your time.

Method 2) Most commercial service facilities use the Magic Sucker Pump which changes all 10 quarts of the fluid. The cost is about US$80.

My Maxima is a 5-speed so the issue of ATF change does not apply. I maintain a Honda Accord for a family member. On that car I do a drain-and-refill ATF change with every oil change. It is not a big deal, as the car is already up on jackstands and my hands are already dirty. This costs about US$8/year in ATF and the car is always running on almost-new ATF.

 

How difficult is the Transimission cooler to install? And what size do you recommend?

 

Greg Prete has excellent information for you at
http://grprete.jnet.net/Greg's%20Gar...n%20Cooler.htm

 

If you knew where this information could be found again.

I hate those pesky 404 messages.

Thanks

 

At last word Greg Prete was arranging for another ISP. His excellent Web site "Greg Prete's Garage" should be back on the air any day now.

 

the ATF in the 99 examined by Blackstone Labs at 32k. Their recommendation: replace the fluid.

In the next few days, I hope to update my Oil Analysis Spreadsheet with an ATF Oil Analysis page as well which will detail its condition.

Furthermore, I replaced the ATF in my 94 after an Oil Analysis by Oil Analyzers (affiliated with Amsoil), which analyzed my ATF after 30k when I had the "Trans-Matic" fluid replacement service performed as alluded to by Daniel. This analysis also revealed normal wear but elevated oxidation levels so fluid replacement was recommended.

I then proceeded with this method for replacement this time around (thanks Matt93GXE):

******************
Instead of doing the $100 flush, what I did was just buy 12 qts of tranny fluid and do the drain/fill thing 3 times, once a week..
to drain the fluid, just pull the plug at the bottom of the tranny.. a 1/2" drive ratchet end fits perfectly (the square piece)
let it drain for a good 20-30 min, then put the plug back in and refill.
the fun part is filling it.. you've got a hole about the size of a McDonald's straw to fill it! (you'd think carmakers would find a better way to do this, but noooo! almost every auto I've seen is done like this.)
you'll need to fill 2.5-4qt each time.
I suggest dumping in 2 qts, then check the level and add as necessary.
(you could also measure how much you drained form the trany then put just a little less than that back in..)
don't overfill, cause that can cause nasty problems. it's better to have to add small amounts several times than try to take some out!
that's about it.. usually I'll change the fluid, then drive for a few days or a week (whenever you have time to do it) and change it again. do this 2-3 times and you should be pretty well done.
******************

Now, I did this 3 times, replacing the fluid with Amsoil ATF. In my 94, I got about 3 quarts out each time (capacity according to the Nissan FSM is 7-7/8 qts for the VG automatic). When I went to drain the ATF for the 4th time, I took another ATF sample and sent it to Oil Analyzers, Inc. yesterday. In a couple of weeks (they are pathetically slow), I should know how 'new' the fluid is and how effective doing a drain and fill really is. Should be interesting.

Daniel's method is effective as well if you change your oil at a non-extended interval period (5k or less), especially at first. Since I went to synthetic, it's probably more important to change it all in a relatively short amount of time rather than if you're just replacing the ATF with OEM dino oil at 5k or so intervals.......

 

Trying to change tranny fluid by doing a plug pull and refill is a waste of time and money. All you're doing is diluting the old crud with very expensive ATF, which you wind up dumping part of after a week. Studies by Ford have found that without a flushing agent added to the transmission, a fluid exchange machine is only about 75% effective at getting out all the contaminents.
Just pull the return line from the radiator and pump out 2 qts at a time, and refill the tranny. This will at least accomplish what the exchange machines will.
Now, with synthetic ATF you probably won't see oxidation anymore, because the fluid has a higher flash point, but that doesn't mean the tranny internals won't be cook by excessive heat. You still need a cooler.

 

Well, it sounded good until you mentioned the word Ford. As frequent as some people are talking about changing tranny fluid that 75% goes up real quick. It is probably 75% effective the first flush. They are talking about flushing it 2-3 times the first week and then after every oil change.

 

I am going to get a repair manual for my maxima soon but I was wondering. There is just a drain plug in the tranny of the maxima? I am not familiar with the auto tranny of the maxima. Does it have a filter?

The last time I changed fluid in a auto tranny was my wife's old olds. My previous car was a manual and I had the dealer change my wife's intrepid.

 

They are not talking about flushing it 2 -3 times in the first week. They are talking about doing a drain and refill 2-3 times. That only changes 3 qts., not the whole 10 qts in the transmission/torque converter.
I suggest you get the manual sooner, rather than later.

 

There is only a screen, and it does not require cleaning or replacement.

 

I just added a transmission cooler last night, and tried to flush out all of my old fluid myself using the drain and pump action. I purchased 12 qt of Amsoil, and by the time I was done flushing and replacing, I still have almost 2 qt left. I am not sure if I got all of the old stuff out or not, but at the time the fluid that was coming out looked really good.
Is it going to be necessary to run a diagnostic to see if I got everything out? Should I drain more of the fluid, and replace it with the rest of the Amsoil I have?

I would just like to day thank you Daniel B. and Bill99 for all of your help, both directly and inadvertantly.

 

with this, but I'm experimenting......

As I said, the reason I went with a drain n' fill method this time is because I had the machine flush n' fill done 30k ago.

I agree with the proposition that the first time you go to change the ATF it's best to let a machine do it. But the next time, especially if you switch over to synthetic, I tend to believe that a drain n' fill method would be effective.

I worry how effective a drain n' fill is on a 4th gen, though, because the first time I did it, I got a whooping 1-1/4 qts out of 10 which is its capacity. I consider that strange, as I expected about 3 qts. as I got our of my 94. Percentage-wise, that's 38% in the 94 vs. 15% in the 99. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence about its effectiveness on 4th gens....This was when I decided to take the machine flush approach on the 99 and then do drain n' fills with Amsoil ATF in subsequent weeks.....

I guess we'll see the effectiveness with the next set of lab results......

 

Hey Dan, It's great how you always pop up when needed. I'm glad you're a member of this this forum.

 

Greg's site is back, and better than ever. For his information about a Maxima transmission cooler go to:
http://www.greghome.com/Greg's%20Gar...n%20Cooler.htm

 

I know that it only changes 3 quarts per drain. You do it 2-3 times in one week and you will get a considerable amount of the "old" fluid out of there. 3 new quarts mix with the old and then drain and refill. 3 more mix with the old/new mixture and drain and refill. 3 more...well, you get the idea.

Like I stated before. I was with you until you envoked the name of Ford. Their transmissions aren't exactly the best in the world. Ask any Crown Vic or Tbird owner. Considering my employer has a fleet of Crown Vics I believe I speak from experience.

 

I'm considering using your method on my 4th gen by pulling the return line from the radiator to flush the ATF. When you say "pump" it out, what exactly do you mean?

 

Every AT has a pump in it for hydraulic pressure. Excess pumped fluid volume is what comes out of the torque converter and goes to the radiator heat exchanger. So when the engine is running, the pump is pumping. A good test for the pump is to see how long it takes to pump out 1 qt. A good pump, at idle, will do a qt. in 20 sec. This is the pump that is used with a fluid exchange machine. The fluid exchange machines are passive, and have no pumps in them. It's really just a box with two bladders/chambers. The old fluid goes into one, forcing the new fluid out of the other chamber and into the transmission. They also have some tubes and valves so the fluid can loop back into the transmission or go into the machine.
The only real advantage of doing a fluid exchange with a machine is that it's faster and neater.

 

so how are collecting the old fluid and forcing the new fluid in?

I'm assuming that you're holding a bucket under the return line (with clear tubing), but how are you getting the new fluid in?