Ok, I have read everything on this board that I could search for on this issue. I just hit the 100k mark and bought the car at 41k miles. I know that since I bought it, I never had the AT flush done. Some say to leave it alone at this mileage? It's a 2000 Max SE

When I pull up to work I can smell a small rotten egg smell coming from my car. Not sure what it is but with some saying "burnt" smell, could that be it? I am thinking of calling the Nissan dealership and checking the owner’s manual when I go to lunch to see what they recommend for it but wanted to ask the board as well your thoughts?

A. Should I replace the AT fluid, why or why not?
B. What could the rotten egg smell be?

 

A. Yes, because its part of routine maintenance.
B. A bad cat.

 

Rotten egg smell = sulfur

Sulfur = catalytic converter. Any SES lights? Possible bad cats that can be caused by a number f items.

 

I want to have it flushed because I agree that MNT is very important. Another one on here said their tranny died a week after the flush and he had high mileage, that made me think if it's not broken don't fix it. If you guys think I will be ok, I would love nothing more then to set up the appt to get it done today.

How would I check the CAT to see if that is the problem? Now that you mention it, I think it is but is there a way to know for sure?

 

____________

 

that is the problem

 

1. Yes.....
2. bad Cat

Follow my sig if you are going to do the flush yourself

 

Follow it to the tee. Make sure it's Budweiser though.

 

The reason you shouldn't flush an automatic transmission when it hasn't been flushed before for a long time, is that the old ATF has broken down, relying on the saturated metal particles to create friction for the gear plates. The metal particles are extremely abrasive and create large variances between plates.

Once flushed, these metal particles that were suspended in the old, broken down ATF is now gone. The transmission plates no longer functioning normally due to the metal particles being gone.

At 100k miles, I think flushing is still fine.

 

Your trans may have been flushed once or twice before. I think you're overdue for a flush.

 

I flush mine every 15k

 

Before I would replace the Cat which has a 7 year 135,000 kilometer warranty in Canada(check your owners manual under emissions warranty to get US specifications). The best way to check if the CAT is working is to check the exhaust quality with a four gas analyzer, chances are you don't have one. A couple of easy ways to check is with a vacuum gauge on the intake and see if vacuum drops as RPM increase or measure the temperature which I always do first since I use a digital infrared thermometer, it should read about 100 degrees higher right behind the converter from what it is in front of the converter. A rich fuel mixture won't allow enough Oxygen into the exhaust therefore not allowing the converter to function properly. I am sure that is what soonerfan was trying to say.

 

rotten egg smell = bad cat.
there is no reason to do that to check it...its bad

 

So a rich mixture causing the CAT to not have enough Oxygen to operate couldn't be a possibility. I guess a few of us are lacking in the Oxygen intake department.

 

Is the Warpspeed still the best way to go? I wanted to get a y pipe awhile back and I might as well just get the CAT and replace both now?? How does this look?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WARPS...spagenameZWDVW

 

Here is where 18 years as an Automotive Technician and not a parts re-placer counts.

 

funny smart guy...mine smells bad too if i get on it a little...i have 51,000 miles...my problem is i drive about a mile to work and the cats don't get hot enough to "burn off" the crap in it during the week....but if i take it for a decent rid and get it up temp for a bit there is no smell because all the crap burned off.

he may just need to take it for a long ride and romp on it a little to burn the **** off/out of it....have it check before replacing anything...if there is no ses light on have hte car scaned anyway because the light may be out.

no need spending allkinds of money if there is the chance you don't need to.

 

a rich mixture will cause a cat to go bad.
now the cat is bad which is obvious from the smell.
fixing the mixture wont repair the cat.

 

I still didn't hear a response and I might as well do this if I need a new CAT...

Is the Warpspeed still the best way to go for the y-pipe? I remember searching for this 2 years ago and coming to that conclusion for the price. How does this look?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WARPS...spagenameZWDVW

 

So on my 02 I bought the car with 104k and it now has 139k. I dont know if it ever got flush before me, do you think it would be ok to flush the tranny now?
Thanks.

 

You got a 100K on you maxima. Exhaust smells bad, but SES light is not on. I would just get a new cat. It's all up to you on what kind of Y-pipe you want, based on your research and what you can afford.

btw- ebay link don't work.

 

Based on the mileage, you should consider doing a flush. Check the color of the fluid. If it's any color other than red, then it's time for a flush. Your call.

 

How much should an AT transmission flush cost? I just bought a max with 90k on it and i want to get it done.

 

a y-pipe removes precats.
your problem is probably with the main cat (after the ypipe)

 

A. Yes, I would drain the fluid, replace the filter (should come with a new gasket), clean the pan (there 100K worth of stuff in there), replace the fluid. You will need about 6 qts of fluid.

2. Sounds like you need a new CAT. I have an OEM cat if you interested?

 

i would just drop the 19 mm plug, then add 4 litres of fluid. Worm it up go through the gears twice and recheck level. Then if you wish you can do it again soon after. You don't have to change these filters. They're metallic type and every tranny i seen unless completely shot there is rarely any debris or not enough to block the flow. These filter medias must be 2x4 inches wide.

 

^^Do what he says its the best flush to go with also the maxima AT tranny has about 10 quarts of fluid in it when you just unscrew the plug you should get out about 5 quarts. You can also drop the pan and change the filter it wont hurt