Ok, now I don't know how serious of a problem this is, but I know it's not good. I have a 2001 auto, and when accelerating normally (shifting at 3,000 RPM or below) the shift from 1st to 2nd is smooth as butter.. however, if I step on it a little more and shift between 4k and 5k RPM, then the shift is kind of rough.. like you feel the car kind of jerk as it shifts... now if i'm really stepping on it and shift between 5k and 6k, then it's smooth again. Shifts in the rest of the gears are smooth regardless of RPM

How serious of a problem is this rough 1-2 shift? I would like to switch to synthetic tranny fluid and perhaps get a tranny cooler. Will these things help?

 

I have certain shift conditions that are better than others, too, but the car doesn't "jerk" but some are quite smoother than others, but since this is all relative, it's hard to determine what is ok or normal for our cars unless it is really bad and noticeable. I will say that mine have improved and gotten smoother w/ my changes lately, and since I have not done the tranny line disconnect flush method, I do the drain/fills and have done 3 to try to purge most of the old fluid and I point to this maintenance as certainly helping my car. I will also change it via drain/fills every 6-7K miles to keep fresh...cheap prevention.

Sorry I don't have better help for ya. When was last ATF change? If you don't have history on it, change it via drain/fills like 3-4 times over a few weeks/monhts and you should see quite an improvement since the fluid may be old. How does it look?

 

well i got the car used at 76,000 miles... i then got a tranny flush at around like... 85,000 or something like that.. now its at 100,000.. the fluid is kinda dirty.. like it doesnt have that red color that new transmission fluid has.. so with the draining and fills, would it be ok to switch to synthetic ATF now?

 

You'll want to talk to others about the synthetic thing, I'm no expert on when to or not to do a switch. One thing I can tell you for sure is that if the previous owner(s) didn't change the fluid b4 you did, then you still got 50% original fluid in it that has 115K miles on it, if you mean a drain/fill as a "flush". If you did the T-tech thingy (that is NOT recommended), then all of the fluid should have only 15K miles on it. Since you say it doesn't look red like the new stuff, then you probably got just a drain/fill by whomever did it and what happens when that is done is that only 50% of the ATF drains out and is replaced w/ new but it takes a few drains to purge the old stuff out. So, after 1 drain, 5qts old is left; 2drains=2.5qts old left; 3drains=1.25qts of old still in there. So you see how I am thinking ya got a drain/fill since the fluid probably wouldn't look like you are saying in only 15K miles....mine surely doesn't. While you are researching the synthetics, I would surely do a drain/fill 2 more times over the next few weeks, giving time for the tranny to "adjust" to the new stuff, as is recommended on this site. Trans don't seem to like to be shocked w/ a bunch of new fluid when they got a lot of old in 'em. It'l cost ya like 10-12 qts of oil at maybe $4/qt to do 2 drain/fills (AT system holds 10qts)but it'll give you peace of mind that you are getting new fluid in there while you decide the whens, whos, what's of the world of synthetics.

Hope this helps a bit. You may just find that your shift issues go away or atleast improve alot w/ new fluid. Get a drain/fill done ASAP!! And don't overfill it! There are threads on this site for that, too. Try the ATF fluid section sticky in the "fluids and lubricants" area of the site.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=149056

 

yeah, i think i'll do a drain/fill.. because i was reading over the procedure for a full flush on that link and i'm not sure how comfortable i am doing it.. i would have to read over the proccess some more before i were to try it.. but i think i'll do a drain/fill with new synthetic fluid now.. then like you said in about two weeks do another drain/fill with the synthetic

yeah, i looked at the fluid again today, and i think you're right.. the nissan stealer probably didnt even flush it.. because it was still kinda dark after the flush.. and its still dark now (like a dark brownish color).. is it still ok to do a drain/fill with synthetic?

 

Man, the pro's will have to answer ya, but IMO from what I have learned...

I would get the old out w/ just the regular ATF to save money since syn is a lot more $$ and numerous drains/fills to get ALL the old out will be like tons of money wasted on syn fluid. You'll need like 3 drain/fills @ 5-6 qts each time just to get the old concentration down to 1/2 qt or so. I would do that w/ regular, but good, ATF. Then, I believe, it would be ok to switch to syn and I think others have said that it is ok to mix the two types and then after a couple of drain/fills w/ synthetic you'd have all new fluid and none of the old crap left and most of the new will be synthetic.

I'm w/ ya on the tranny lines and stuff...that's why I do drain/fills but they cost more but for me work just fine. Check other posts on the switching to syn for the tranny but I would certainly use cheaper fluid than syn to purge the old crap out...which will likely improve things just in doing that.

BTW, I use Castrol Import ATF...not some cheap wallyworld off brand. ATleast use some decent stuff while purging the old out. Check your manual for your grade fluid for your car.

 

My experience was using the Amsoil ATF.

I had original fluid in my tranny for about 135K miles. It was brown and the shifts were not so great. i did the drain and fill using about 1 case of the Amsoil ATF following the procudures here on the org. I was a little nervous at first but i got lots of advice that led me to go ahead and do it.

Anyway, the tranny shifts great, and no problems to date. i now have 161K miles on the car and the ATF is still a nice red color. I think this stuff is great.

Good Luck with yours.

 

I thought tranny flushes were actually worse for your transmission because they cause deposits to accumulate in the tranny. There is a link on nycmaximas.org that actually has the pros/cons of the process.

 

I just changed my tranny fluid and filter. I used the Castrol Import ATF and the shifts seem smoother. There isn't really much to the filter so I don't know how much differnece it makes replacing it.

 

Which auto parts chain store sells Castrol Import ATF?

I know Advance Auto sells Valvoline AFTs, but I'd like to try Castrol on the next change.

Thanks!

 

To the OP, change the tranny fluid for sure, but if you don't notice much of a difference, inspect the rear motor mount, it likes to tear, and can cause similiar symptoms.

 

They are worse in only certain senarios. Look at it this way when you have high mileage unchanged unflushed very dirty transmission, there are small deposits/particles that have built up and grown accustom to all of the nooks and crannies in interior of the transmission. Sorta like resin sorta speak. Now when you go and flush this dirty fluid and replace it with new it breaks those "caked-on" deposits away and now you have all those nice deposits in your fluid.

From what I know it typically only happens with an completely unmaintaned transmission 100k+ miles later.

 

to the OP, i am having the same exact symptoms in my 2000 SE auto. I have around 78000 miles. I just flushed the oil and didn't notice much change, still jerks and all when it switches gear as I floor the pedal.

anyone know if this is normal? or is it a sign that the tranny is about to go?

 

wyche89, I've had the same problem as you. Fine under normal speeds but when stepping on the gas, somewhere between 3500 and 5000 rpms the car would jerk into gear. Turned out I had a bad MAF (mass air flow sensor). Swapped it out and it hasn't done it again.

 

wyche89 - If you're comfortable enough I recommend you drop the pan and clean the magnets. Your fluid still being brown could be that the magnets are packed with metal shavings. When I dropped my pan the magnets were moderately packed. It's not necessary to drop the pan but if the magnets have never been cleaned or has not been clean for awhile then you may want to consider doing it.

 

dan,

is i hard to change the MAF? I want to do i myself and don't want to pay the stealership to do it for me.

 

Hey,

It is easier than doing an oil change!! If you wanna do it, get one from Dave B. or other excellent source since my local dealer wanted like $450 or so just for the part so I got it from Dave for like $110 or so. Takes a special torx wrench (like allen wrench) and can get it in pack of bits for like $10 at auto supply store. Takes like 10mins or so to change...really easy.

Don't pay stealership to do it...mine wanted like $600 to complete the job. Total ripoff.

 

thanks! do you have Dave B's #? And should I say i am from the org?

also if its the MAF sensor, wouldn't my CEL light come on? It hasnt been on, and is there a way to confirm that it is indeed the MAF sensor?

 

tranny cooler and synthetic fluid are always good things

 

Not sure about the SES light, but I believe the MAF can act up and not exactly trip the code unless it is really bad. W/ mine, I would punch it and it would do nothing unless given sips of gas...no response at all and then later the SES light came on and tripped a code. The code pointed to a O2 sensor but they tested fine and then I learned of this site and Dave B and told him the way it was acting and he said prob was MAF but not exactly sure but said he was pretty sure it would fix it and it did.


Dave B.: 888-254-6060
Yes, tell ya from the .org to get a discount as well.

 

anybody tried to use Pennzoil® Dexron®-III Mercon® ATF for flush?
if yes, how does it fill while shifting?

 

ok... i'm back from vacation and i did the drain/fill with mobil 1 ATF while i was gone, and the fluid is still brown... any difference in the way it drives is slight/barely noticeable, as it still kicks into gear on the 1-2 shift between 4k and 5k rpm.. so i'm thinking the system is really dirty and i need to drop the pan, clean the magnets and flush the system with mobil 1 ATF.. good choice?? also... i noticed there were some little pieces of metal that came out during the drain/fill... is that normal?? i was kinda scared

i just have to buy the pan gasket, those 21 bolts that hold the pan, and about 10 more quarts of mobil 1 (i still have 1 left over from the drain/fill).. i'm also gonna buy 2 gallons of distilled water to flush my coolant systen while im at it, and use the empty jugs to measure the ATF being pumped.. so my car should be in good condition afterwards! (hopefully)
and i'm gonna do my power steering fluid with the turkey baster thing (nissan was gonna charge me over $100 to flush my power steering system)

i'm also gonna flush my brake fluid too as soon as i learn how

 

thats really interesting how a MAF could cause a problem like that, cause it would really seem like the tranny wouldnt it? i dont know cause i just got a new MAF when i got my stillen intake a while ago, but i cant remember if it was doing it before.. i still plan on flushing the system anyway cause the fluid is still dirty

 

ok so i jsut realized i kinda made a mistake... i put about 4 quarts of the wrong ATF in i put in mobil 1 Mercon V instead of mobil 1 Dextron III during my drain/fill, so yeah that sucks... but i'm flushing the system today with 10 quarts of the mobil Dextron III, so everything should be fine.. i dont think im going to drop the pan and clean the magnets today though, as it doesnt seem to be that important.. maybe i'll do it later if i'm bored one day.. wish me luck...

 

ok, well.. just did the flush.. not that anybody's reading or responding to these posts, but anyway.. lol.. ok, well the guy at autozone told me that the mobil 1 mercon V would be fine, because it exceeds the dexron requirements.. i also double checked it on mobil's website and it says its ok

but of course i disconnected the wrong end of the return line (the end attatched to the radiator) and fluid went spewing everywhere... but other than that the process went pretty smoothly.. i used 10 quarts of ATF doing 2 quarts at a time, and the fluid is still a little brown.. it IS more red than it was before, but its not that bright red that it should be.. the car seems to shift smoother, but im concerned that the fluid isnt the right color yet.. should i do another flush with maybe 4 more quarts?

 

I just did my tranny fluid flush at 30000miles. Is that necessary to keep tran at good condition or just waste of money?

 

just to update as well, i did the flush with the hose method, put in nissan matic D ATF. the fluid came out brownish color so it is probably the original fluid. now its nice and pink. i don't feel the hard jerk anymore thought. next imma drop the pan and clean everything out and hope that will help it some more.

also, according to the service manual, you can do a stall test to see if your gears are slipping or not.

this is what i did:

Do this in R,D,2,1

1)Let engine idle to warm it up.
2)Shift to D, stomp on the brakes, then open the throttle fully by flooring the gas. The rev should be between 2150 - 2450.

DO NOT HAVE THROTTLE OPENED FOR MORE THEN 5 SECS!!!

3) Put car in Neutral, let it idle for 2 mins to cool the ATF, repeat with the rest of the gears.

If the rev is higher than 2450, it is an indication of slippage.

This is my understanding of the test, you can get full description from the nissan service manual.

Do this at your own risk.

 

it's definitely necessary... i would say that since you did your first one at 30,000 then you should be ok with drain/fills for a while... unless you see your fluid starting to get dirty then its time for another flush.. i'm new to all this transmission maintenance stuff, and i'm pretty sure that you should be ok with drain/fills, not 100% sure.... but i am 100% sure that some kind of transmission maintanence is necessary to keep it in good condition.. anyone else wanna chime in?

 

isnt that how drag racers warm up their tires before a race? what kind of stress does that put on the car?

 

no, the tires don't move. don't think it'll stress it that much if u follow the steps. Mine runs fine after I did it. The motor is just revving. Just don't do it for more than 5 secs and you'll be fine

 

Say im rolling 35 mph in traffic, or rolling 65 mph on the highway,
If i let off the gas to slow down with out braking (ie when u anticipate people breaking ahead)....and start to decrease in speed,
When i repress the gas pedal, and reaccellerate its a very rough kick in/bang to the acceleration. Generally all other shifting expieriences are acceptable.
Just got TransCooler and Flush at 78k miles.

Please help. I have a warranty so...in the end I can get the thing fixed for free if the littlest things are wack.
I notice people talk about the MAF changing shifting feel? Is this a proven fact? or just mind tricks??
I bought the MAF cleaner and am going to clean this weekend.

TIA

 

i heard things on this site about the MAF cleaner actually screwing up the MAF.. so you might wanna do some research before you go ahead and do so

what does your fluid look like... is it red or brown?

 

anyone?

 

Are your RPMs shooting up fast? I've seen them do this with bad (sticking) solenoids.