I went to Kragen last night and picked up a box of Zmax for $40 (saw the infomercial).I figured it wouldn't hurt (hopefully) and it's not too expensive for what it claims. So I went over to the gas station, got a fill up, put the fuel, oil, and transmission additive in (I have an auto), and drove around for about 10 minutes like the directions say. I was driving around today, and I don't know if it's my imagination, but the car seems to be running a lot smoother, doesn't seem as hesitant when I go WOT and basically just seems to run better than before. Has anyone else tried this product?

 

Perhaps it works, but I find that when adding these miracle oils it tends to be more in the head than in the actual performance difference.

 

From page #7 of The Federal Trade Commission's filing for a permanent injunction against the makers of Z-max:

"In February/March 1997, an independent laboratory performed two modified CRC L38 tests on behalf of Defendants -- one test on motor oil alone and the other on the same motor oil treated with zMax. In these tests, motor oil treated with zMax produced more than twice as much bearing corrosion than the motor oil alone (185.7 milligrams of bearing weight loss for the treated oil versus 74.1 milligrams for the untreated oil)."

For the whole story, visit:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/2001/02/speedwaycmp.pdf (you'll need Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to view)


Btw, I put this crap in my crankcase a couple years ago & read about this after the fact. It's just another "miracle-in-a-bottle" snake-oil product backed by a crafty marketing plan, designed to separate consumers from their hard-earned $.

P.T. Barnum said it best: "There's a sucker born every minute."

(I, like you, lined up with the rest of 'em).

If I were you, I'd flush that stuff out of my car a.s.a.p. & just consider it a valuable lesson learned.

 

Well, it's been a couple days since I put the Zmax in. I checked my oil and atf dipsticks earlier today, and it's still the same color at least...think the oil might have darkened a little bit. I just got my 60,000 service a month ago too. The car still seems to be running great, but after reading that report that this stuff is just tinted mineral oil...I wanna flush this crap out. So how do I drain the atf fluid and what brand should I use to replace it? Also, should I replace my oil filter when I flush out the oil? What kind of oil do you guys recommend? This sux.

 

Go with Mobil 1 oil and Mobile 1 ATF. Get a tranny flush. Cost of the service range from $60 - $100. Make sure it's a flush and NOT (drain and fill).

 

What types of places provide the tranny flush service? Is there anyway I can do it myself or would it require a lot of time and tools? My friend was telling me to get redline mt90. Is this stuff good?

 

Any qualified service shop can perform a tranny flush (no more difficult than an oil change: just more expensive & time consuming), but it can pretty easily be done by the do-it-yourself-er, saving you a lot of dough.

It requires a large capacity drainpan, some sealable containers to pour the extra waste ATF into, ramps or jackstands, and a few basic tools (ratchet set, funnel, etc). To do a "flush" properly, you really need quite a lot of ATF (do a search for "transmission flush" or the like to find out how many quarts are recommended), so it's costly, especially if you're using the expensive stuff. On the other hand, preventative maintenance is more economical than transmission repair in the long run.

(Maybe some of you "automagic" drivers can chime in with specifics to help this guy?)

Redline makes top quality synthetic lubricants, although I think the "MT-90" is only for use in manual transmissions, hence "M.T." (I have it in my 5-speed).

I bought mine here: (you'll find the Redline ATF you need there).

http://www.myoilshop.com

(use Dealer code #675421 if ordering online for 10% off - you found this # online [you don't remember where], you didn't get it from me, understand?

Friendly suggestion:
If you use the "search" function on this site, many answers to your questions will emerge.

Good luck!

 

Ok, I'm gonna try to do the flush this weekend. I searched the forums and found this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=45742

It says that I need 12 to 16 quarts of ATF fluid for the flush. How much fluid does the system hold? I was looking at the Royal Purple fluid. Would you guys recommend Redline or Royal Purple (http://www.carparts.com/parts/newsea...utoidsearch=NO). They're both $7. Also, when I change the oil, should I change the filter as well? What's the best oil I can use and how much oil does the car hold? This really really sux. Since it's mineral oil, do I really need to flush the oil? This is an expensive mistake. Thanks guys.

 

The whole system takes ~10 quarts. ~1 1/8 quart is in the torque convertor.

I remember someone commended he didn't feel the difference between Mobil 1 and Redline (ATF). Just want to point it out if you want to save some money. My local Kragen is selling $4.99/quart for Mobil 1 ATF, while Redline is $6.99.

I did the flush ~6 months ago. I couldn't find a local store willing to take my own fluid. So you better check before you buy the fluid. Finally I found one local Jiffy Lube use synthetic blend Pennzoil ATF (they charge $10 extra). I went there do a complete flush, which to clena out all the oild fluid. I drove around couple months, then ask my mechanic to drop drop the oil pan, clean the magnets, change the gasket, and start putting Redline in.

BTW, once I came out from the Jiffy Lube, I already could tell the car was running smoother. You car is '97, like mine, and I think it is due for ATF change anyway, if you never change it. I look at the magnets inside the oil pan (when my machenic changed it) and there are lot of small metal pieces...

 

I went to my local mechanic and they wanted $120 for the oil and atf flush, if I brought in my own fluid. So I think I'm just going to do it myself. I went to Kragen and they sell some stuff made by Gunk which is supposed to flush out the oil system. The oil capacity is 3.9 quarts right? I ordered a new magnetic plug and got an oem Nissan oil filter from my local dealership also. I think I'll just go with Mobil 1 for the oil and atf. Thanks for you help guys. Never gonna make this mistake again.

 

Oil capacity is 4.0qts without filter, 4.25qts with filter. As for ATF flush, what I did was bring my own Redline D4 ATF to Jiffy Lube and did the T-tech flush there.

 

Yeah I think that all of those damn companies with those miracle oils are complete scams. I doubt any of them do anything good to any cars. I just dont like that kind of crap. Take Care