Trsupra73

Just wondering on how often I should change the transmission fluid in my '95 SE Auto. I did a search and they said I should not change it at all. The last time my trans fluid was changed was at 98,717. I currently have 130,767. I talked to the service rep and he said I should not change it at all...something about the debris helps shift the trans. Any advise.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

Have you read the spreadsheet? There are comments in there on tranny fluid as well.

finny

i'd agree with the dont change it at all. i changed it on my last car (pos pontiac) and the transmission went within 2 weeks

ny96max

I do a drain/refill every 2-3 oil changes, wich is around 6-8k miles.

ZEN

I have a 96 I30t auto. The manual says to change the trans fluid every 60k miles.

Steve Marsh

I do a drain and refill every oil change (6,000 miles) (regardless). Although it may be clean heat can destroy and or break down the protective properties of the fluid, thus turning the tables on your tranny.I also clean the pan/new gasket/new filter screen once a year. Also you might want to replace your drain plug, and change your anti-freeze(use distill water) more often, in addition you might want to try some Redline water wetter (coolant additive), whereas it helps keep high temps down. I flush/dump my antifreeze every 6 months, you can't beat the protection and costs. Good luck! 96se,Dunlop SP 5000's, Amsoil 0w-30, 156,000 plus miles (original tranny).

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

My advice is to read the link below:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=77101

I discuss ATF replacement in there.....

Eric L.

I think every 15k is fine, to the point of almost being overkill. If you use a good quality ATF, 30k intervals should be more than adequate.

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

For the lazy people....
That basically says that you should not use any conventional Automatic transmission Fluid for more then 30,000 miles....
Which is about 32k more then I've driven on mine Time to flush my ATF

SuDZ

I used redline and have seen posts where people have left it in there for over 90K with no problem. So the way I figure it is I put it in with 60K or so and shouldnt have to worry about doing it again.

SuDZ

Synki

Changing the tranny fluid is like changing oil, it should be changed. Car with high mileages usually shouldnt be changed ... or so they say. I change my fluid every 15k miles since i do a lot of local driving and hit the drag strip a lot. If you do mostly highway, change it about every 30k since it wont heat up as much as city driving would.

joe b

Just changed my '99's at 33000 miles.
Thought I felt the overdrive gear shift more abruptly for a short while but seems fine now.

I remember changing the oil on an '85 escort years ago.
the escort had 45000 miles on it and after the trans oil change the trans started slipping.$1000 later...
the new oil did too good of a job in cleaning the clutches.
I was told by many to either change often or not at all.
I waited till 33000 because I just decided to buy my lease after getting a bundle off my residual.
Felt her shifting at 35-40 a little rougher.
I thought I was screwed but am very happy she's back to normal.

98sterlingmist

I changed my 98 auto tranny fluid at 50K. Went to my mechanic yesterday for an oil change and he said that my trany fluid looked dark already (now at 65K). Lately my shifts from 1 to 2 has been very rough, so he flushed it completely and changed it. I think it helped. My shift are much smoother. I say change it at least every 30K. After 60k, I think you are suppose to according to Nissan.
My 0.02
C

BippuBenji

iTrader: (4)

I change my ATF every 3rd oil change, which to some people is very ****, but I just like to know that I'm running clean and confident especially with the trannsmission cooler installed. To this day I have 102K miles and the tranny has like new smooth shifts. Could it be the tranny cooler, or the drain and refills? I certainly hope it's one of them. I've heard many people say it is not safe to do the drain and refill or "flush" with high mileage cars that are already past due.

nizmo

iTrader: (1)

How many miles is too late to change ur transmission fluid. I have a 95 SE 5spd and the shifts arent that smooth. I heard from people that Redline Transmission fluid makes a difference. I was planning on doing that but my car has around 76500 miles so I dunno if I should do that.

Should I do it or not??

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Has anybody actually read the Oil Analysis sticky where ATF replacement and lab-backed recommendations are given, or are you all more interested in re-inventing the wheel?

Good heavens, people:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=77101

BippuBenji

iTrader: (4)

I actually did my first drain and refill at 80K miles, and made the biggest difference in smooth shifts. Now I heard a true "flush" could shock the tranny so drain and refills would be better which only drains about half the tranny fluid so do the drain and refill about 3-4 times to gradually so get it clean.

nizmo

iTrader: (1)

Arrite cool I'll do the drain and refill tomorrow. Thank for ur help man.

Trsupra73

I took a look at the spreadsheet and not being a techie, I did not understand it at all. If someone would be so kind enough to decipher it for me, that would be great. Put it in layman’s terms. I have a supra and take care of it religiously so I am trying to do the same with the max but I just bought the car with 115K. I am actually backtracking to see what service has been done. Therefore with the following replies, I think I will just drain and refill without flushing.

Thanks guys.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

I don't usually follow issues with Nissan's auto's because I got a 5-spd, but BMW has an issue with their automatics needing replacement around 100K. They also don't reccomend changing the fluid. Coincidence According to the BMW CCA's magazine there seems to be a high rate of failures shortly after the fluid is changed, which is why BMW reccomends against it. One theory as to why this occurs is that with overuse of the fluid sludge builds up, so when all of a sudden all that nice clean and very detergent fluid is introduced, parts of this sludge now start circulating through the system, causing problems. I don't know how this applies specifically to Nissan's, but it may be something to think about if your tranny is getting on in miles.

mlocke

From reading other posts, there's about 10 qts total and about 4 qts can be drained. If I'm doing my math correctly, it will take 4 drain and fill cycles to get about 87% new / 13% old fluid.

BippuBenji

iTrader: (4)

Your right, that's why I have been drain and refilling for the past few oil changes, and after every oil change my fluid tends look more reddish and cleaner.

SuDZ

Since I have a 5 speed I could be wrong because I have not tried this but I thought in Autos you could use a pump to get out more of the fluid from where you cannot drain?

SuDZ

max808

if you disconnect the atf return hose from the radiator, you can drain additional fluid. do any of you know which of the 2 hoses, and which end to disconnect? thanks.

Washington DC Maxima

I believe from my experience then backed up with Bill's report that the tranny oil should be changed every 30K. I have 111k miles on my tranny now. '96 Auto.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I think there may be a little confusipon here. Some auto maxima guys are giving advice to 5 speeders and vice versa. The tranny fluid change between auto and 5 speed maximas are quite different.

Here's the break down;

Autos, generally change the tranny fluid every 30K or so miles. The tranny fluid in an auto works MUCH harder than the tranny fluid in a 5 speeds.

5 speeds, if you don't tow a camper or anything like that, then you NEVER have to change your fluid. Now, the stock tranny fluid on the 5 speed is only adequate in terms of good feel, like cold mornings when you just can't get it into 1st etc. Try Red-line MT90. You can change it any time. I did mine at 60K miles. Just like an oil change, you drop the old fluid and fill up with the new fluid.

That's all.

DW

phatmax95

iTrader: (29)

i have a 95 with 114,000 miles and when i changed mine, it felt like a new car.. shifts alot better

SuDZ

Was it the first time it has been done?

SuDZ

phatmax95

iTrader: (29)

I have no idea, i bought it used when it had about 110,000 miles on it.