Did I just make a huge mistake getting my original trans flushed with 257,000 miles for the first time? Is it really true that doing this may speed up the process of my trans going out? The trans was slipping so I figured to try this. As of now, it has not been slipping anymoree, but how much longer do I have before it goes out because of the flush? 3months, 6months, a year?

 

depends . it will probably be fine. the only reason it would be " better " is becuse tehre is metal flakes probably in ur old fluid becuase the magnets had to many shaving on them . but im not sure . just wait it out there isnt relaly a way to say how long its gunna last.

 

Na don't worry about it. If it feels better already it was probley the fluid. Most of the time if there is any type damage to the trans changing the fluid won't help it anyway. So if feels better than it may have been the fluid

 

I'd be interested to know how often you change your oil, radiator coolant, power steering fluid and brake fluid. No self respecting Maxima owner would go 257,000 miles without flushing an automatic transmission. Have you owned the car since day 1? It appears that way, if not what mileage did the car have on it when you bought it?

 

actually by doing this at the mileage and for the first time it is highly not recommended and if they did is because they dont know what they are talking about and/or they just trying to get your money.... you see the seals in the tranny are by now used to the tranny fluid that has been in their since day one. By saying this i mean, that the oil heats up rather quickly due to the viscosity of the oil... when adding flushing and adding new oil, the new oil will take that much longer to heat up, leaving the seals not to expand with the heat... which then means your gears will go a muck.... what they should of done is flush the oil, leave a quart of the old oil and replace the remaining oil with the new oil.... hope I made this clear... sorry if it is confusing.... but trust me on this...

jae

 

that makes some sense..i changed my manual trani oil and it leaked quite a bit but only with the new stuff.

 

Hey, if you've gotten 257k out of an original tranny, you're already ahead! There are so many urban myths about auto trannys that it's ridiculous. Fact: it was slipping. Options: change fluid & filter or bite the big one for an overhaul or new tranny OR sell the car. Result: tranny not slipping...today. So, what's the problem? Coulda, shoulda, woulda...don't mean jack. If it starts to go again, then your worst fears are confirmed. If it behaves, you're a fortunate man. I'd rather be lucky than good.

 

Thanks for the input on the trans. As to whether or not I changed the oil, I changed the oil every month on the car for 5 years straight dating from Sept 1999-Oct 2004. I averaged 3,000 miles a month in my commute to work. Changing the trans fluid was the only thing that I did not do routinely obviously, everything else was taken care of faithfully on this car! That is probably why the car is still running strong! This self-respecting maxima owner is not complaining!

 

My maxima had 46,000 miles when I bought it in 1999...........

 

So the car has a lot of highway miles on it, which one would assume given its got 257K on it. That's less strain on the tranny.

You haven't clarified whether or not (and if you did, how frequently) you ever did a drain and fill on the transmission. I see in the Haynes manual its recommended that be done every 30K or 24 months. I suspect the original owner had that done at 30K when it was on warranty.

I don't know much about automatic transmissions because I've never owned a car that has had one in some 36 years of driving. But as ed zachary suggests, consider yourself lucky. And if you still own the car in 30K and the tranny is still hanging in there, do a drain and fill. Good luck!

My 95SE is coming up to 58K. I'm only 200K behind you. The car may outlive me, lol!

 

I can totally relate to this... on my first car, this exact thing happened. I ended up getting a rebuilt trans but that was on a 70 cutlass. I think my '98 Maxima SE is a little better Anyway, I try and change it every 30k now. Good luck, 257k - DANG - I hope I see that # b4 she dies!

 

i need to flush my transmission with 124k.... dont think its ever been done..

 

i havent flushed mine out yet, and i have 109K miles, im going to do a full fluid service this weekend, including motor oil, tranny oil, and cooling system flush.

 

I have heard that before, and never knew if it were true or a wive's tale, that somehow after a certain point one should leave the ATF alone. It's also that thing about not switching to synthetic motor oil later in a motor's life, due to the lack of mineral spirits in the synth. Maybe there is something in the composition of the old tranny fluid that new fluid lacks.

I once had a Volvo (well I've had many 240's) that had it's own ATF recycling system, which wasn't approved in Sweden but was in New York. It leaked ATF on the ground so I had to add about 1/2 quart every 2 weeks, which ensured that any time the level were checked, it was bright pink.

But like others said, if you got over 200k out of the tranny, that's a lot of life and a rebuild isn't the end of the world. I think those Jiffy Monkey places tend to want to change every fluid way too often--why in the world would you top off brake fluid for example? The level will recede as the pads wear. No kidding, in our area we had places called "Grease Monkey," and now they were bought by "Jiffy Lube." Another one of those ideas where kids got an idea while in college and turned it into gold. Michael Dell is my favorite story like that. Ben and Jerry's totally sold-out........

 

Rather than do another flush, add Lucas Transmission additive. I got 300K on my transmission (in a 1992 Max) before I had to have it rebuilt, mainly because I added Lucas to the fluid.

BTW, OVERFILLING WITH LUCAS IS GOOD!

I realize that this goes against conventional wisdom (and I expect to get flamed), but when your tranny seals and clutches are worn out -- like yours -- the added pressure provided by the extra fluid will prevent slippage, especially on sharp turns.

If your goal is to prolong the inevitable overhaul, then doing it will achieve that end.

 

did you get your filter replaced also? cuz if you didnt, you just wasted your money

 

Well while I was in college I worked at all the "fast Lube" places and most "but not all" transmissions have a screen that backwashes grime and dirt out of the the filter. Ive seen filters on the ka24de altima and third generation maximas they are not like a screw on oil filter where debris has only 1 way to go.( im not saying dont change it , im saying its not as bad as you think) MY girlfriend has a 93 GXE she bought for 800 when her 89 se died. This car had 190k on it and a slight transmission slip, i flushed it out with 16 quarts until it turned red again. The transmission didnt get much better, it took a little bit of the shudder out of it but not much. Shes been driving it over a year now and everytime i get in it the transmision seems to shift softer. I think you flushing the tranny was a good thing, not a bad thing. It was slipping before and you had nothing to lose. If i had your mileage and it wasnot slipping I would have drained the pan and refilled 4 quarts every 1,000 miles then flushed it after 6000 letting the old fluid out kinda slowly. Good Luck