So I'm just unsure of what to do, My car is a 2000 gle auto and has 142xxx miles but I've only owned it for 3k of them. I'm unsure if the trans has ever been serviced, but based on the color of the ATF it looks as though it has. It looks darker on the dipstick, but when I wipe it on my finger, it looks more like a bright red. ( not new looking red, but brighter than it looks on the ds). So my concerns are will a simple drain/ fill hurt it at all? I've heard that with higher mileage cars, it will drain out all of the debris that is currently making it work properly now. But since you don't drain out all of the fluid with one drain/flush you won't remove all of the debris right?? I would also change out the filter of I do it.

My reasoning for wanting to change the fluid is due to slight erratic shifting problems up and downshifting. Not slipping at all, just jerks a bit.

Does anyone know how much ATF I'll need with one drain/fill.

 

I drained about 5 quarts when I did a drain/fill on my 02.

 

I changed mine at about the same mileage you have now and have no issues as a result of that. I put in the same amount of fresh fluid as the one that was drained. I assume the amount of ATF drain/refill is in the manual.
I also took the pan off and cleaned it, along with the magnets. I did not replaced the metal screen (or filter), mainly because there was one bolt that I couldn't remove. From what I've heard, it is not really necessary to replace that screen anyway.
Your slight erratic shifting problems, up and downshifting, and the jerking could also be caused by worn engine mounts, specially the transmission and passenger side mounts.

 

As previously stated you will get about 5 quarts each time you drain the fluid but your problem will still remain if it is in fact your tranny.You sure its not an ignition related problem? I started draining/refilling my I30 around 110,000 with no issues.

 

My Maxima got around 73k miles and the ATF was in the same condition as yours but as I live in a hot place the change was obligatory. The best way to change your ATF it's do it all from once and don't just drain 5 quarters every time because the old ATF will contaminate the new and fresh ATF that you pour in your car.

Steps for a complete A/T drain

- Warm up your transmission, a 10 minutes drive will reach the working temperature.
- Drain your transmission and let it drain all night, it's better because you can drain a lot of ATF than if you only wait 1 or 2 hours. (it's the same that when you drain your oil engine).
- (Optional) Remove transmission pan and clean your filter. Only clean, not replace. Also you can clean your pan too and watch for debris like clutch material, metal shavings, etc. Reinstall pan using high temp silicone (Permatex rocks!)
- Disconnect the hose of the transmission cooler that directs the ATF into your transmission and connect it to another hose and put it into a bucket. SECURE THAT HOSE!
- Refill your transmission with the same amount of ATF that you drain. (Dex/Merc III or Nissan ATF)
- Start your car to drain the old ATF into your torque converter, all the old ATF will go into your bucket. Stop the car and refill your A/T until you see that the ATF that comes out into your bucket it's bright red.
- Reconnect your transmission cooler hose into your A/T. Refill to the recommended level.
- Enjoy your smooth ride.


BTW, I used around 7-8 quarts to fill up my A/T.

 

i wouldnt touch that tranny at this age/mileage and your symptoms. you might not even make it out of the driveway. new fluid is VERY slippery, and adding that into a tranny thats already acting up might over-lube some parts and cause slippage you wont know what to do with.
i would keep an eye on your tranny fluid, and how its working and just drive according to the shifting. sometimes the banging into gear is due to the TPS, as it might be sending wrong signals into the valve body, and your hydraulic system in the tranny is over or under compensating.

i added a tranny cooler and i simply added a 1/4quart of fluid to compensate for the additional travel and my shifting has been smooth as butter.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...on-cooler.html

 

This is pretty much the best way to do a proper A/T flush. Although, id replace the filter. Just as a personal preference.

Second, you should disconnect the hose that takes the fluid back into the transmission from the radiator, so you get out the old A/T fluid from the radiator as well.

 

The filter just can be cleaned. It just a metal screen that you can clean with brake cleaner.

Also you can install a in-line filter (like Magnefine) in the hose that go to the ATF cooler or after it. That's replaceable.

 

Oh, well not familiar with maximas A/T as i have a manual. Only flushes i did on A/T was on my old 02 mazda 626 which had an internal filter. Had to rebuild the transmission... The filter inside was very dirty only with 82k miles on it.

 

I've done this process twice on different vehicles... it does work and is surprisingly easy to do. Once done, draining the 4 or 5 qts in the pan every 30K or so is all that's needed to keep it clean and fresh.

I've also read of warnings about doing a fluid refresh on high-mileage AT's... they generally believe it's better to leave it alone. Their reasoning is that coked-on deposits will break loose, from the new fluid's cleaning action, and clog valve body ports. I'm not sure about that though... there are as many who believe it's OK and old fluid is bad so change it.

 

Yeah, I heard about that kind of comments too. But let's put in this way: Imagine that your body all of sudden doesn't renew your blood. Maybe you don't feel anything in the first days and your blood will fill with contaminants and toins but after some time you will feel sick and your organs will degrade slowly but constantly and in a few days you will get a critical condition in all your body that leads you to death.

Well, now let's think that our A/T are like a living creature (hypothetically) and someone doesn't change the ATF because the transmission it's old, that the debris help with the leaks blah blah blah blah... Maybe the transmission will become a little rough (not big deal, right?) but the internal components will degrade, the filter will be clogged, the valve body can't do the right functions because the debris blocks the ATF veins or the gaskets are sooo ruined by the nasty ATF that cause malfunction in your transmission (but hey, a little rough shifting it's ok and changing your ATF will give you leaks, right?).

More time will pass and more and more debris will form in your ATF, metal shavings and frictional material particles floating in it, all the gears becoming slowly destroyed by that particles, your shifts now are like a kick in the butt, overheating, the torque converter starts to make noise, but... hey no leaks... Hurra!?

And after all that slowly death your A/T will fail and you will need to be towed and spend a lot of money in rebuilding your transmission, getting a M/T or getting a A/T. All that for don't spend a bucks and time in changing your ATF correctly.

 

#10 &#11, I think I'm apt to agree with you. When I bought my 06 with 92k miles last year, the tranny fluid was brown, apparently it had never been changed before. Some members of the other .org and even my mechanic were of the opinion that all hell would be let loose if I drained and refilled (or even flushed) the tranny in view of the supposedly high mileage of the car. Because of the infamous reputation of the 6th gen tranny, I took the advice and hoped it'll last me sometime before any issues. Not to be. 3k miles later I began to have the bang, and erratic shifts. I did my research and also got the tranny scanned---P0780, valve body. There were opinions that if I flushed the tranny, the problem might go away. Flush at 95k miles! Well that was what I did. I did drain/refill thrice, the problem persisted. However, I noticed that when I did the first drain, even though the fluid was dirty, it had a smooth feel---no metal particles, no abrasive texture. To me, that belied the theory that high mileage trannies are best left alone unrefreshed.
After the third drain/refill, I got and installed a brand new oem Nissan VB. It's been smooth sailing ever since. As the fluid is usually degraded by heat, I intend to change the fluid every 20k miles, since I stay in a tropical climate---always above 30C (86F) for the greater part of the year.