Do you guys think i should do a tranny flush on my car? Lately I feel it gears are going in hard. It like it pushes me back in a way. Im not even flooring it or anything just cruising. It only happen when it goes from 1st to 2nd (under 2 rpm) higher it shift normal, the other gears are like butter. Also it doesn't happen all the time.I checked the tranny fluid Sunday it was kinda of dark red. I purchse the car in May 09 with 102k now it has 110k (75% highway). I don't know if the last owner changed it or what. Also Im not a big fan of flushing the tranny fluid just because some people say it made things worst for them. So you guys think i should do?

Thanks-Melvin

 

I won't flush the transmission, but I would replace the tranny fluid with a better brand first.

 

Drain and fill, do not do a flush.

 

What brand should I fill it up with? Nissan,mobil 1 or what? I don't know much about tranny or the fluids. Also if I flush the tranny it would mess up my tranny even more?

 

It is hard to say. Find out if the tranny was serviced before. normally you should flush every 30k miles. If the tranny has never been flushed, this is a bad idea since all that crap floating inside can clog something once its forced by a flush.

Drain and fill is less dangerous and will help somewhat. I used Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF which is compatible with any other ATF so you can mix and not worry. If you don't want to spend that much money, just go get some Nissan Matic-D from the dealer.

 

Pretty much everyone is going to tell you to just "Drain and Refill" if you were to drop the pan and clean it you would understand why, it is normal to find very fine metal shavings in the pan, when you use a pressure flush you push all those metal shavings back up into the tranny housing

These a few pictures from another thread just to show what can be found when one drops the tranny pan.

Visuals are worth a thousand words:




and all cleaned up:

 

Drop the pan and check for buildup (pl. take pictures to reference the above post). Clean/replace magents and new gasket and then if the buildup is not a lot then a flush will be fine.

A few drain/fills over 6 months followed by flush will bring new blood to the tranny!!!

 

The best way to get a handle on the condition of your tranny is to drop the pan. Not that difficult either. Need a new gasket and either thread sealant for the existing pan bolts, (21 of them), or buy new ones. They're about a buck a piece give or take- probably give.
Hopefully there's only some grey powdery muck stuck to the magnets. Clean 'em off, re-install pan and refill with same quantity of fluid as drained. I used Mobil1 semi synthetic. Man, that stuff stinks! I mean literally. Start engine, run for 1 1/2 to 2 min. while shifting through all gears with foot on brake, of course. Shut down, drain and refill again. Drive it for a week then drain and refill again. You should replace a good 80% of your fluid with this method.
While I was at it, I also syphoned out my power steering fluid reservoir and replaced with the Mobile1 fluid 3 times.

 

I'm not sure whether I should flush mine either. My car is right around 92K, and has most likely never been flushed. I have noticed over the past couple of months there is a slight rev up between my 2-3 shift (auto). I'm not sure if this is something simple enough to atribute to the cold weather, or possibly a worsening tranny slip problem. Am I better off leaving it, doing a drain and fill, or full flush? Any opinions?

Thanks, Steve.

Here is a good write-up: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/335521/3

 

First off Definitely get the pan off and check for contaminant.Fluid drain is a "PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SERVICE" only. It wont make a good one bad,or make a bad one good again. If your pan looks anything like the one pictured above it is already dead ,just hasn't fallen into the coffin yet. I prefer the complete drain and dialysis method.

1. Drain pan,( measure what came out) Remove pan to check for contaminant, clean magnets. As a general rule with all automatics, A small amount of "soot like" material that can be viewed when you wipe your finger on the bottom of the pan is OK. As soon as there is a measurable depth to that amount , then it's all done.

2.Put pan back on , pour in the amount that you drained from step one of fresh fluid ( maybe 1/2 to one quart extra).

3.Take the return cooler line off after the radiator , place in jug.

4. Have a buddy start the engine,while you pour fresh fluid in the dipstick tube at about the same rate that it is pumping out of the cooler line.

5. Stop pouring in and shut engine off when fluid starts coming out nice and red on the return side.

6. Reattach cooler line ,start engine correct the fluid level by adding or draining to get to about the middle of the full cold.

7. Road test and recheck when hot.

On a final note , this method is minimally invasive. Your not flushing, power flushing, reverse flushing or anything like Jiffy lube and others advertise. You are simply using the pump in the transmission to move the fluid out of the transmission just like it normally does.

As far as the harsh shifting all of a sudden, It may have broken an accumulator spring or is in high line pressure mode for some electrical fault. The TCM commands high line pressure when it sees something wrong to keep the transmission from slipping. For some reason usually only the 1-2 shift gets more noticeably firmer. Scan for codes or take to a reputable transmission shop for evaluation.

 

Follow mi sig, it is all there.. a HOW To.. good luck

 

Alot of great info i got here. Since I am no mechanics, I am going to take it to my mechanics (family member) and have him do it. I make sure i stay there and try to take pictures.

 

my car is an 02 and im having the same issue, I got it in july with 82,000 and it has 90,000 now and i just started noticing it a couple of weeks ago.....im hoping changing the fluid will help

 

Drain and fill with oem fluid

 

For my first post here (and someone who paid for a big chunk of college working as a mechanic), I'll say:

Flushes are pushed by mechanics because they'll usually expose borderline components. The point is to not let that money walk out the door. I won't ask "flush it with what?" since much of the kits sold use either automatic transmission fluid (at twice the price) or a solvent (which thins all the ATF in there you can't drain now).

Depending on what's used, it'll likely do:

1. what other posters have said - push all the crud that was on its way down back into the transmission.

2. Push some of the said crud into some of the seals

3. Push on some gaskets the way they're not used to being pushed.

Result: Something will likely start leaking.

AT fluid has a LOT of detergent in it already, so flushing is pretty much a waste of money as it is. ATF is also designed to run hot, and under pressure (being a hydraulic oil and all), so flushing the transmission with COLD ATF will do almost nothing too. Drain, change filter, look for bigger bits in the filter and on the magnets in the pan and mull over if they're worth worrying about while you drive a few hundred miles on that change.

If it makes you feel better, change it again. You'll have changed 70-80% of the fluids without thinning them with the flushing agent - the new ATF on the first change will have removed everything that ought to be removed.

For manual transmissions, the same applies, although you can sub half a quart of ATF (again, for the cleaning action) for the intermediate change (but don't run that permanently).

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible if you wreck something on your car because you read this.

 

Drain and fill every other oil change. Works for me for all cars I have. Keeps te fluid fresh and working like it should. Not that expensive, too.

 

Like every 8 to 10K. For my 00 Max, I think it is 4 quarts. Dexron III/Mercon.

 

You flush 8-10k or drain n fill?

 

Drain, fill the tranny every 8~10k.

 

So just to get this right because i dont want no mishaps when I change my transmission. So the reason people dont recommend flusH for a high mileage car is that the pan never gets dropped and cleaned?? Can I do a flush while the pan and is cleaned out? Or its some internal issues?

 

How much fluid should I buy for the job? My fluid isn't too dirty but ive had my car for over 50k and haven't seen a reason to change it looking at the fluid. But I believe its time to change. I Really don't think ill have to pull the line to the cooler. With that being said...how many qts to purchase?

Thanks

 

If you drop and clean pan. Then follow Instructions (Post #11) in Lontar1 sig you should be good to go.