palaman

I got my '98 Auto GLE with about 75K miles on it and around 90K I realized that I should change the A/T fluid and mentioned it to my mechanic friend. He said that in his experience ... if you wait so long to change the A/T fluid it might be better not to change it at all. He has had/heard of cases where the A/T fluid was changed well past the recommended interval and it caused the trans to have serious problems soon after.

Now I am at 120K and still have not changed it due to his advice. But now I am doubting this and would like to know your opinion. I have no clue what service was done by the previous owner.

To change or not to change ... that is the question?

jerrell22

Normally, you want to start looking at changing it around 30,000 miles, 60,000 max. You do not want to go over 60,000 without changing it. I had to have a tranny rebuild in my 93 Sable for that reason. I got the car at 58,000 and did not change it till about 70,000 miles and when I did that, 10,000 miles later it started slipping really bad, no matter what I did. Could be because it was Ford too, but who knows. With my Maxima, if it is over 30,000 miles since I changed it, it is getting changed!! So far I have a 148,000 miles on my tranny and she is still strong as the day I bought it. But to get back to your question, is the fluid a burnt color(i.e. dark red?) Either way now that I am thinking, if you got 120,000m on the same fluid, you better not change it cause more than likely the damage is already done and I would start saving up for a rebuilt one fast. That is my opinion. Going that long before changing it out is not good.

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

I change mine every 15K

Snypa

iTrader: (35)

doesnt sound good at all,if that same fluid held you so long, dont change it.

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

When I first got my Max I changed the trans fluid every 6-8 months.

Granted, that was each time I was replacing my trans...this one has survived almost 9, 10 months now, so no new fluid yet...

Spartuss

iTrader: (8)

this is pretty much a myth....

I'd change it ASAP before you do any more damage. Don't do a flush! That's where problems occur most of the time. Do drain and refills every 100 miles for the next 8 times. You will slowly convert all the old fluid with new fluid of your choice. I'd recommend Valvoline Maxlife ATF. It's a synthetic blend that is highly regarded. If you want to spend more $$$, you can dish out for Amsoil Full Synthetic ATF.

Don't listen to yur mechanic. Change your fluid asap. If you want to be extra careful, you can drop the pan, clean the magnets, and filter screen. Remember to buy a new gasket from Nissan as the old one should not be re-used.

grey99max

iTrader: (12)

^ ^ ^ ^ What he said.....

I use Mobil1 tranny fluid - works well on the street and very well on the drag strip in my VLSD automatic tranny.

I change it by taking loose the pressure-side hose going to the oil cooler, start the engine and pump out a couple of quarts, stop the engine, pour more Mobil1 in the tranny, repeat through 12 quarts.

The tranny is still spinning the slicks going into 3rd gear after about 100 passes on the strip using a 150-shot of nitrous. Good enough for me...
.

KRRZ350

iTrader: (29)

That myth is my pet peeve, I hate it so bad you have no idea. I've had personal experiences that were the exact OPPOSITE, changing your fluid ftmfw!

8X every 100 miles gets a little pricey though, just drive the car on the highway, than jack the front end up as high as possible and let it drain for almost an hour, you'll get about 6 nasty quarts out that way, than just change it every 20k.

dblair

iTrader: (1)

Well, I'm not sure about it being a myth. I changed the ATF in my girlfriend's 3rd gen a couple years ago, at about 120,000 miles. It was not slipping at all before the change. She bought the car used about a year prior to that. When I drained out the old fluid it came out black and thick...I'm guessing it was never changed before. I replaced it with new, genuine nissan fluid from the dealer. Within a month after the fluid change it started slipping like crazy. This was just a drain and fill, not a flush, and I did not overfill or underfill the new fluid. The rebuild shortly after cost over $2000. If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I would not change it. I think the bottom line is, your transmission will probably fail early if you don't maintain it, but it may fail even earlier if you decide to start maintaining it too late.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

^ ^ very true, if the fluids viscosity is allready broken down and its black and burnt your probably too late. but if maintained at proper intervals, the fluid and tranny should hold up. and, if you beat the crap outta your car ESPECIALLY after a flush your doin more harm than good.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

I think we should just say this:

IF THE OLD FLUID IS VERY BURNED(BLACK/THICK)----->>>DON'T CHANGE IT!!!

IF THE OLD FLUID IS SLIGHTLY BURNED(DARK RED OR EVEN ORANGE...aka NOT PINK)-------> NOT ALL IS LOST, YOU CAN STILL CHANGE IT VIA THE COOLER RETURN LINE GIVING YOU A NICE AT LEAST 90% CONCENTRATION. IT WILL ACTUALLY BENEFIT WITH FRESH LOW-FRICTION ADITIVES & VISCOCITY & STUFF

sorry for the caps, just wanna let it stand out.

97SMG

iTrader: (23)

Damm, it took you 30K miles to start doubting? I have heard the same thing about changing the fluid, but its been on vehicles with double the mileage of yours. I understand why people would believe that, but its pretty much just what gets spread around. I would change it too!

JwaxMax99

iTrader: (14)

I have read this myth on the org. and on other forums. Is it a myth? Does anyone have any explanation as to WHY to not change old, burnt fluid with new? Not that I have ever let mine go that long.

andrei3333

yes i have read a very clear explanation of this someone on this site, something about all the little fine debris filling the proper holes in an old tranny and not allowing slippage

basically, if the fluid is not too dark, no matter the mileage, just drain it and refill

palaman

Thanks for the tips ... since the depth of color and thickness seems to be very subjective I thought it is worth hearing your opinion ... I have no experience which is obvious since I waited this long.

Note: The engine has not run for about 2 weeks.

andrei3333

Thats very dark for a tranny fluid i THINK, i have never let any of the cars tanny fluids ive driven get this dark

I still think the myth is just that - a myth.

Look at it this way, you replace the fluid, the tranny starts slipping and you need to replace it

If you dont change it its only delaying the inevitable

So: put it this way, can you afford another tranny today ? Yes - then replace the fluid, NO - then dont if its not giving you any problems. So, choose your poison!

Think logically and use your mind, and go from there, dont solely rely on any one person's opinion, but personally, i would do a drain and fill to gradually ease the tranny to the new fluid, see what that does, drive a few thousand K to make sure and drai nand fill again.

after that you can drop the pan and clean the magnets and thus do the 3rd drain and fill and get 90% (or so) of the fluid replaced...good luck with your choice

nick_auto96

I think it's a normal color for the car with that mileage. I've had replaced tranny fliud @170k and it looked a lot darker than this and I don't think previous owner changed it all. Imo just get 10-12 qts of ATF of your choice and change it. Transmissions dying after a fluid change could be just a coinsidence sometimes.

andrei3333

r u kidding me ? ^^^^ "OK " for That mileage???

ATF is changed at a certain mileage interval, it has nothing to do with the total mileage on the car. if you think it's the normal colour then you have never seen a normal ATF tranny fluid in action, cause its supposed to be PINK!

ROCKART

iTrader: (23)

yea its way too dark.

and from what i understand, the reason ur not supposed to flush it after a certain period is that carbon deposits and other debris that have caked onto various parts inside the tranny will dislodge and find another place to catch. kinda like a heart attack. fatty deposits build up inside ur arteries and then one day ur a bangin a hooker and that fat comes loose and gets caught on something.

KRRZ350

iTrader: (29)

There are actually THREE different "theorys" that play into this whole mess!!! the one rock-art just mentioned, and the one that someone else touched on., which is that dirt and metal particles get stuck in the fiber clutch plates and 'hold it togethor', the third theory is that the friction modifiers in the fresh fluid have an affect on the old clutch plates and bands and cause them to slip.

The first one, I suppose it's possible, most people generally say that is only caused by flushing.

Now my thoughts on the 2nd and 3rd.......... I've heard people who I believed talk of personal experirience with this, but I can't swallow it as justification to not change your fluid for two reasons........
1: I've had several personal experiences with car tranny's that were the exact opposite, changing the old junk fluid & filter allowed a brake band to lock up for another 30k in my first car actually.
2: I have alot of experience with race bikes that use a wet-clutch system that is very similiar in design to those found in an automatic trannsmission, except they see alot more abuse and live alot shorter life. And it's as simple as this.....if you're clutch was beat-than it was beat! nasty gear oil that looked like house-of-kolors silver metallic wouldn't help the situation and hold a damn thing togethor, and fresh gear oil sure wouldn't cause your clutch to last one less race. If it was slipping than it had excessivly worn friction discs beyond what you could adjust for, or maybe weak springs.

descent

iTrader: (1)

I was a little unsure about changing mine about 5K miles ago (at 135k). My max was suffering from vibration when going into gear, before it was warmed up, and sluggish shifting. When I got the oil changed last spring the mech's told me it was very dark and needed to be done, that it should be light pink in color and blah blah blah. I said go ahead... if the tranny breaks i get a new car if it doesn't it'll run a hell of a lot better. After they changed i drove really easy for a few hundred miles and everything seemed fine. I never get random vibrations anymore and my car is running better than when I bought it.

max4evr

All this discussion is interesting as the Nissan FSM and owners manual both say only to inspect the fluid (they don't specify if that means fluid level or condition, or both.) But an asterisk leads you to "If towing a trailer, using a camper or car-top carrier, or driving on rough or muddy roads, change (not just inspect) oil every 30K miles or 24 months." The Haynes manual just says change every 30K miles.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

yeah, but that doesn't mean that unless you're towing a trailer, you shouldn't have t touch your ATF @ all.

palaman

So, since I am having trouble getting a left side halfshaft that fits my car (see my other post), I drew about a pint of the gear oil out through the axle opening.

This is what it looks like ... dark and muddy ... so I put that much of fresh stuff back in ... I'm not sure if I am going to do a drain and refill.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

umm...yeah, it's very burned