I have read a lot about peoples transmissions doing random shet so I started thinking about mine. I have not changed the fluid....ever. 72K miles and it shifts just fine but do you guys think its time to get the fluid changed? Is that a flush? Reason for asking is because I also read that flushes can cause problems later on also. Just a little confused.

Thanks for any advise,

Alex

 

Id change it. Way past due.

 

That may be a 50/50 because of the high mileage. When a transmission has high mileage, it depends on all of the little particles in the fluid to run "properly"

 

hmmmm


well..............

 

change and have it FLUSHED... dont go cheap and just get a drain... i did mine 5 k ago... 40,000....

 

P.s. I paid around 120 ... didnt really shop around much... but the dealer wantd 240 so i figured i was ok ...

 

I found this online...

The Dangers Of Flushing...

Flush machines do what they say; they force high pressure cleaning solvents back through the engine and transmission and clean out some of the accumulated junk that has formed. Now engines have small passages and galleries through which oil or automatic transmission fluid flow and there are one-way valves that keep the fluids from backtracking for whatever reason. By using an aggressive cleaning procedure like flushing, large chunks of accumulated sludge are broken off and forced backwards through these galleries and valves and, more often than not, lodge tightly and block them. This cuts off the normal flow of the fluid and causes lack of lubrication in an engine and abnormal or no shifting in a transmission. The results are expensive repairs, or more often, engine or transmission replacement.

Thats what I am worried about.

Any other thoughts MUCH appreciated.

TY Alex

 

Dont do a flush but drain some of the fluid , run and and drain again. Out of the 9.4 quarts or whatever it takes whever you drain it you wont get all of it. Havent checked but if we have a filter but drop the pan, change the filter. That way instead of a flush and possibly putting said particles in you just drain it twice to get all old fluid out. There are people taking about it in the fluid section now.

 

I just follow what the manual says.......

 

That's what my tech did...he did that procedure 3-4 times.

 

i thoguht it was not possible to flush our tranny?

 

It's not...that's why my tech did the drain/fill/run x 3-4 times

 

I do appreciate everyone trying to help with their opinions but I do find it funny the different things which are posted.


FLUSH!
DON'T FLUSH!
It is impossible to flush.
Just drain.
Drain 3-4x.

 

Just drain all of it; you'll have less friction for more performance

 

i must be wrong ... i would listen to dan... he spoke to a pro ... i would try the drain and fill x3 method...

ps nice sig pic

 

Yeah, a Nissan tech for 7 years

My sig?

 

no alex's sig... i finallllly put up a pic of his car ... LOL

 

Well I didn't think I really deserved one until I got a few posts in. (still newb) Now the big 300 came and went so I think its legit.

Thanks for the advise, I will be going places tomorrow.

 

Flush isn't necessary and can damage the tranny, just drain and fill every 15k miles. In SickSE's case, check the dip stick and see if the fluid is black and smells burnt. If it looks really bad then you should get a flush. New fluid is red.

 

You just two things there by saying "Flush isn't necessary and can damage the tranny," and then said to get a flush...

 

that and 15k that's a lot of money and fluid down the drain, literally

 

Yes I did. SickSE went 70k+ miles w/o any service. So if the fluid is burnt and black, I think he should get it flushed once. If it's still redish and and relatively clean, then I think he can just drain and fill with the next 2 or 3 oil change. Does it make sense now?

 

When you drain, you can only get 4-5 quarts out at the most; and only fill pretty much what you drained and check the dip stick for level. When you flush, it will take 12-15 quarts to fill for auto tran. If the oil still looks red and clean on the dip stick, you don't need to do anything.

 

Sounds a little like I am sort of screwed....

If anything, I still have a bad feeling in my gut.

 

You can try drain and fill a few times and see how clean the fluid gets, but if chunks came out then you may not have much to lose.

 

Kinda late for a flush if you ask me. that should have been done proly not later than 50K and ideally around 35-40K. Just drain and fill same amount you've drained.

 

exactly just like the guy above me said if you are so worried like me just do a drain and fill no worries about that if you are too scared do it at home thinking something will happen
just take it to your trusty mechanic ( no offense ) good luck

 

You're not screwed. You tranny hasn't been acting up has it? If it hasn't, don't worry about, just pick the method your going to use and get some fresh new fluid in there.

 

I checked the fluid tonight, it is on the dark side of red color with no visible solids pieces, not even specs. Maybe it HAS been changed...However, is the "dipstick" for the tranny fluid under any pressure which could pop it off while driving? Asking because I carelessly snapped the locking mechanism off during my checking. It is still nice and snug but not totally locked like it was before. Still changing the fluid but still not what I expected to find.

 

I doubt it's under pressure but I don't really know for sure. Your fluid doesn't sound real bad either, mine was definitely "burnt" when they decided to replace the tranny. I would still change your fluid though if I was you. Dealer recommended I change mine every 30k instead of 60k. I'll be following that advice.

 

Drain and fill every 30K

 

That's what I thought too, until I talked to my local dealer at my 60K mile maintenance. Since my transmission has been acting up, they had talked about doing a flush instead of a drain and fill, and I told them that I thought it wasn't possible to do a flush. The service adviser said that Nissan had just developed the correct nozzles (?) for the flush procedure about 7 months or so ago.

So, I don't know... I guess it is now possible?

I ended up just going with a drain and fill... tranny hasn't acted up since.

 

that is under "premium service" 60k for regular.

so i wonder what's going on...
if dealer says "30k" then they could likely want your $$$ for the service more often.

my dealer told me, "looks fine, wait til 60k"


soooo, is the preventative maintenance worth it to you? I have a 70k extended warranty, and i plan to extend it further once i get close to the end.

very interesting that "Nissan had just developed the correct nozzles" for a flush now. maybe i'll start calling around to see if dealers will beat each others' prices for either service. but i'm not even at 40k yet and no trouble.

 

Did it through the dealer and it was a flush with 12 quarts to fill. They way I understand was that they did the radiator flush at the same time and use the suction from one of the reservoirs (tranny or radiator) to "flush" the tranny. Did mine at 30K. I dont mind spending for maintenance.

 

DO IT! I did that and there was a significant difference between one dealer and another for ECU swap + program keys...which ended me with an even cheaper price because the tech used to be a 5th gen modder, and he is now my tech for difficult installs

 

ordered 5 qt fluid. i plan to drain and fill myself by 45k.

i almost laughed when the dealer tried to get $200 more out of my for a drain/fill. I begrudgingly went for my brake fluid since i couldn't get the ABS tools or anyone to help.

 

where did you order from,

I had my dealer do the 30k on my car and will probably let them do the 60k

 

i work in a local shop here and we had a sales rep come demo the tranny flush and coolant flush machines and the coolant flush blew the intake gaskets out of my bosses 99 sierra and we couldnt get the tranny machine to suck or flush, so im not yet sold on either. i think the old fashioned drain and fill idea is the best way to go. newer transmissions are getting more and more complicated these days....not to mention expensive

 

don't flush I was a victim of this flush crap. I did it to my pathfinder and not even a week later started to get shifting problems. I still have them which sucks but looking for a resolution. shifted like a dream before the flush. just had high miles and the fluid looked old so I figured it was time. Damn firestone swears by the flush. BS. don't do it. Drain and fill is the best way over and over till all fluid is clean. getting ready to do that with the max to see if it helps before tranny rebuild next week. I know I should just wait but I want to preserve what I can before the rebuild. Ohh and go with Royal purple transmission fluid. Compatible with Matic K fluid which is 14 dollars a quart at nissan. only 10 for royal purple and temp reduction is like 20 degrees or so. check their website http://www.royalpurple.com/transmission-fluid.html

 

I jus sent my car in at 30k, the dealer wants to change my tranmission fluid and radiator for $250. I told him to wait. So should i change my transmission fluid at 30k or 40k? And how much is the cost for changing the transmission fluid? Let's do a comparison so we will not be ripped off.