I bought my 95 Maxima around this time last year, it had about 141k. Just recently went to get my oil changed about a week ago and was told that my transmission fluid was brown and burnt. When driving i noticed it smelled like burnt toast. It now has 145k on it, not exactly sure if i should get the tranny totally flush or what. Any advice?

 

you should have checked the fluid when u first got the car, you might need a new tranny

 

this, also check the fluid yourself to verify if it smells burnt (can't always go by what you are told). Check the color as well because it sounds like you haven't actually done this yourself. Make sure you don't have a lot of impurities in the fluid as well, do this by just sampling some of the fluid between your fingers by rubbing them together.

If your unsure of what it should smell like, smell a bottle of tranny fluid first and then smell the fluid on your stick.

 

Just checked it again. It smelled burnt, mild discoloration but it's still orange. I did see some debris in the fluid. Wasn't a terrible amount of impurities in there.

 

just for clarification you have an auto correct?

Tranny fluid should be red not orange or brown(only when its time for a change). If you are seeing impurities in your fluid and its smells burnt I would start looking for a replacement tranny with low mileage. http://www.car-part.com/ is a good site to find a used tranny.

I think a flush will make it worse and pretty sure and drain and refill will not help either

Always get a second opinion on large repairs such as this.

 

In response to the original question and thread title, never flush an auto trans. Just drain and fill.

 

Drain and fill once or twice or until the fluid on the dip stick is nice and red/clean.

 

If you have no issues with your tranny, just do a drain and fill. Just did mine two weeks ago. If you jack up from passenger side and open drain plug, you will get at least 7 quarts out. If you want, remove the tranny oil pan after and clean off magnets and refill.

 

typically, by just opening the drain plug (with car level) you get ~ 3 quarts out of the pan. are you sure that you got ~ 7 quarts just by having the passenger side jacked up? thanks for the confirmation in advance.

 

Don't flush. Are you having any shifting problems? If so, better start looking for a replacement or a place to have it rebuilt. I've had issues with high mileage transmission developing shifting problems after fluid change. The reason for this is the loss of friction between the plates. But you might consult a trans expert for advice.

 

Just do a drain and fill and drive it until the next oil change, then do another drain and fill, let the trans get use to small amounts of clean fluid

right now all that burnt fluid is what is keeping your trans sealed, just one drain and fill is all you need

 

just to clarify, i did 9 quarts of d-matic fluid ( non-nissan ) and i drained as much as i could. 2 different times and 9 quarts total. we have if you add the torque conveter 16 quarts of tranny fluid all together. that was last winter, 6 months ago. still nice and red.

 

Yes this is confirmed. Had a 7 quart pan that I got from AZ and it filled right up to that mark. 7 quarts Nissan Matic-D and its back to normal after screen replacement.

 

drain and refill.

do not flush

 

OMFG the word FLUSH just gets people's panties in a wad! Jesus.

There are three ways to change your transmission fluid.

Drain and fill.

Power flush (what all thes "do not flush" posts actually refer to)

fluid exchange.


drain and fill is simple, drain the pan, and refill with same amount of fluid lost. Doing this multiple times over several days / weeks / whatever will give you about 80-90% new fluid in the trans when all is said and done

Power flush...this is the one that is bad. They drain the transmission entirely of fluid and then they force pressurized, harsh chemicals that break down the innards of your trans, then they refill

FLUID EXCHANGE METHOD is the third, and it's Completely safe. It's basically a continuous drain-and-fill. The plug is pulled and old stuff comes out. New fluid is added during this time, and the trans is being shifted during this time as well. Using yoru own trans, your own trans pump, and nothing else. Process stops when the fluid coirng OUT of the trans is the same as the fluid going in.

Fluid exchange has been done on my Grand Am with 195K original miles (and no prior trans services), the wife's 97 Outback (220K miles, with 160k since last trans service) and my 99 Maxima (142k, no prior trans service), with NO ISSUES whatsoever since.
Go to any reputable trans shop (local prefferred, NOT aamco or ******* juffy lube) and they do the fluid exchange method.


All the people who say flush is bad need to clarify that they actually refer to the power / pressure flush...and not the fluid exchange method, which is simply dialyisis for your car.

 

 

OMFG people need to get the idea that flush ever meant drain and fill out of their heads.
Flush implies forcing old fluid out with new (like flushing brake fluid).
DRAIN AND FILL IS NOT A FLUSH, NEVER HAS BEEN!

 

I will agree with you on that

However, the term flush, really just means taking old out and putting new in at the same time. Look at your toilet next time you drop a deuce. Old goes out, then new comes in.

Somehow, the term flush became a term synonymous with the power/pressure/bad procedure.

 

term flush means with the power/pressure/bad procedure. This is the fact and the truth, always has been.

Is changing your motor oil a flush? No, unless you add engine flush and even then its not a flush, but a cleaning agent. Do you flush your transmission when you change gear oil? No. When flushing a toilet, do you spoon the old pooh water out and refill? No, new water from the tank displaces (forces out) the old.

If I EVER say the word flush, rest assured that I mean with a POS "force fluid through and fukc up your transmission machine"

Do not be confused. If they say flush, believe they MEAN flush, and then spell it out for them.

I used to run these machines as an ASE certified mech, people are mixing technical terms and it pisses me off to no end. / rant

 

I stand corrected then.

We're both basically saying the same ting though, you notice that?

 

Yup, I guess its up to us to educate the (M)asses.

 

nice

 

i must be tired cause i dont get it...

 

Ok, so from what i gathered from this thread is that the force flushing method
is just plain bad and not recommended even for a new trans.

Also, on a side note, is a rebuilt tranny as good as new?
Are all rebuilt trannies not rebuilt the same?

And yes, i still linger around on the org and post (out of habit).

 

not just a new trans, but any trans.

rebuilt tranny can me as good as new it just depends on the person doing it(their knowledge and experience plays a huge role). From my understanding a rebuilt tranny just means the person doing it is replacing just the parts that are defective with new ones.

Like I said it depends on who is doing the rebuilding, the only way you get the same rebuilt tranny everytime is have it done by a machine(not sure if this even exist lol)

Remanufactured transmissions are "supposed" to have all internal components replaced that are not within spec, show signs of wear, or have an updated replacement part available.

hope this helps

 

If you plan on draining out the ATF then read this thread

http://forums.maxima.org/fluids-lubr...eck-level.html

It's a long thread that NJMAX started back in 2002 but it contains all the answers on how to drain out every once of ATF. After you get about ~4 quarts out thru the drain plug refill that same amount. Now disconnect the AT return line hose. The AT return line hose is the upper of the 2 hoses connected from the AT to the radiator. Start the car and quickly shift gears until it kicks out 2 quarts of ATF. This takes about 10 seconds. Add in the same amount of ATF you drained from the hose. Repeat this procedure until you see clean pink ATF coming out of the return line hose.

 

yes.