stas29

I have a 1997 Nissan Maxima AT with 100,000 miles on it. I went to Advance Auto Parts ant they have the complete kit for AT kit which includes gasket and filter for $16. Is it possible to replace trany filter on my car?

Thanks

sky jumper

Possible? yes. easy? not really. technically you have to drop the valve body to do it -- which i would not dare try if I were you. you see, there is a single bolt whose head is on top of the valve body, and you cannot access from underneath. you can, however, try to old the bolt by the threads with a vice-grip, and gently turn the nut off with an open end wrench. I myself had no luck with that technique and just left the filter in. it's not really a filter anyway - just a metal screen to catch large hunks of debris that might be floating around in your pan -- so if you need to change it, your tranny is fubar anyway.

bottom line -- don't worry about it. I would, however, drop the pan and clean the magnets.

question - have you done any prior AT service? how bad does the ATF look? really brown/burnt? or just dark redish brown? reason I ask -- many experts will tell you not to change the ATF on a high mileage neglected AT. reason being the neglect has likely caused the clutches to wear out, and fresh ATF does not provide enough friction for them to engage properly -- so your tranny slips soon after the ATF change. the old fluid, however, was so full of crud that it provides enough "bite" to keep the tranny going a little while longer -- so if you have never changed it, and it looks really really nasty, then you may want to leave it alone. soon enough it will fail anyway though.

alcatranz518

iTrader: (8)

Bottom line....basically no. Its a 'screen' and there is no REAL reason for your average person to access it. Goto your local NIssan dealer, or credible shop with a flush machine, and get the system FLUSHED. It will cost about $100. Give or take $5-10. This is what is recommended, and what is commonly done every 30-40,000 miles on most cars, including the Maximas.
Just get it done if you are unsure. Period.

Check your dipstick, if the fluid is reddish and does not smell burnt, it has been serviced. If it smells burnt and is darkish red/brown, it hasn't and you may be having problems at some point. (The tranny would probably be slipping if the fluid/tranny has been that neglected.)
It isn't a bad idea to do like 'sky jumper' said and drop the pan to clean the magnets either. Just to be thorough.

Love_00_Max

I too got the kit from Autozone, kept the filter (it is a screen and not a filter) in my garage, dropped the pan, cleaned the magnets with brake cleaner, sprayed the rest of the can onto the screen. Used the gasket that came with the kit. No need to open the screen since it is unnecessary!!!

andrei3333

define slipping on an auto tranny : ? what do u actually experience

kc10fish

iTrader: (1)

Ok then - I did mine and it was easy - BEWARE - there are different size bolts on the assy. so mark where they went. Once I had the nut off the one I used lock tight to secure the bolt in the hole and was very careful not to over tq. it. Take your time and do it right - i got mine from nappa - the good and informed people at auto zone said i couldn't do it - BULL.

sky jumper

^^you give it gas, rpms go up, but car does not accelerate much or at all. eventually it just slips and you don't move. there's a few tranny additives that you can dump in at the first sign of slippage that may delay the eventual death long enough to find an honest shop to do the rebuild.

andrei3333

ok oh just checking, NOPE im good, all the power straight to the wheels

thanx

what about when u can feel the first gear changing (auto trans) in COLD condition, and as she warms up while u drive it eventually becomes smooth, only the first gear and only when its like -10 or -20 C outside and at the begining of the drive ?

sky jumper

yeah that's just how these things shift. the 2-1 downshift when coming to a near stop is clumsy too. you can experiment with different ATFs (amsoil, M1, etc). when i first put Amsoil in the shifting was much better than with the original Matic D - but 20k miles later I'm not so sure it's any better anymore.

andrei3333

well i got my max 3 months ago, like a week after i got it i went to the dealership and changed the tranny fluid, not really changed but flush and fill i believe its called,
they said "U dont drop the pan on these cars, u just flush and fill" whatever, but they did that and i paid like $100 CAD with 14%tax or so, not a highway robery after all, some places i called before didnt know what they were talking about and asking much more than the dealer did, thats about ONE positive experience i had a the dealer

when i check my tranny fluid its nice and pink, i wipe it on the white paper towel and there are ALMOST no metal filings or other crap, very very little, but still there, compared to the tranny i had on my 97 Dodge neon this one is like made of Gold

that neon: the reverse stopped kicking in, or after like a minute or so of revving it would violently and unexpectedly kick in. oh and i could feel every gear shift while driving much like a standard tranny feels, but on an AUTO HAHAHAHAHAH

kcryan

iTrader: (1)

clean those damn magnets, they were quite dirty in my car


Also auto-rx it if you want to be a fancy pants

andrei3333

i don think we have this Auto RX stuff here in canada

what is it, how do u do it, and what does it do ?

Love_00_Max

Auto-Rx is a high ester detergent. Don't use it with the number of miles you have, I bet there is varnish and stuff in the VB and solenoids, but then putting Auto-Rx will stir things up and clog some part inside the tranny.

I would suggest drop the pan, clean the magnets and do a flush, not drain and fill. That will be good and safe, coming to ATF go with some quality stuff like Amsoil, M1, Pennzoil MV ATF, Chevron Mercon V etc.!!!

willard00

iTrader: (1)

yea plus you dont want to drop any of the check ***** when you take the valve body off and not know where they came from or you are F-ed big time.