I want to change the ATF in my altima (drain and refill for now). I do not think it has ever been done and I have some questions:

-Is it too late to chagne at 54k?
-What is this washer/gasket I am suppose to replace on the drain plug? Is it just preventative or do I have to buy a new one each time?
-I plan to use dino ATF, will I have to use the additive (lubegaurd?). What if use sythetic, will I still need the additive?
-I read in the ATF sticky that a Dexron/Mercon III lube is required. Same stuff as GM/Ford right?

 

Hmmm that is a lot of miles. I would never let any AT go more than 20,000 without changing it. Especially here in NY where stop and go driving is a part of life. I guess if your tranny is functioning properly and there is no internal issues you should be fine.

 

Well Preventive maintainence is the way to go and any number of miles should prevent one from doing it (BTW, 54K is not at all bad -- ATFs are supposed to last in excess of 100K miles).

Pl. go by dino ATF as syn ATFs have been found to have many pluses and few negatives (the neg is what concerns me anyway). Chevron Dexron III (H) + Lubegard Black is a great combination. You may/maynot find the latest H spec defined by GM but Chevron Dexron III (G) is good enough too.

Remember NissanMaticD is a friction modified ATF so you will have to add FM like Lubegard to bring plain old Dexron III to the Nissan spec. I have the above combination in my max and it works great.

I would suggest you go for a plain flush and not deal with it for another 60K miles. Let me warn you that dropping an changing gasket is a pain becoz I did that and messed up 3 nuts threads in the process of cross-threading, the aluminum threads is quite soft and prone to cross threading if you have less patience like me!!

Enjoy

 

Where are you getting this information??

In no way is a dino ATF more useful than a synthetic ATF such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil. Not only will you notice extremely smoother shifting between 1st and 2nd gear, but the synthetic fluid runs at a significantly cooler temperature than the dino, which in turn will decrease the chance of your tranny overheating.

I just completed the flush and fill with Mobil 1 ATF about a month ago and couldn't be happier. I would suggest you do the same.

 

I just bought the car at 54K.

I just wanted to remove the drain plug (and just drain for now, I can not find an Altima flush write up), I read that there is some type of gasket on the drain plug should be replaced.

How many miles did you have?

 

I had right at 50k miles when I did it. I just hit 51k on it last night and the tranny feels great.

 

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

 

Anyone going more than 30,000 miles on dino ATF is not smart if you want that tranny to last well beyond 100K miles. I was suprised how brownish (ie: burnt) mine was at 24K miles when I did my complete flush and drop the pan clean the (filthy) magnets whole deal this past spring. Cost me about $60 for a case of Amsoil and about an hour of my time. Just like with the motor oil you also enjoy extended drain intervals with the synthetic ATF (30K vs. 90K). With 255 horse that tranny is working its azz off so treat it right! Just my .02

 

I didn't mean you let your car go that long without changing the ATF. One of the biggest things about buying a used car is the tranny. Most people think you never have to change that fluid! WRONG

 

synthetic can mix with the dino correct?

 

Yes, as far as I know, there will not be any problem with mixing the syn with dino. However, as I stated earlier, I would highly reccommend completely switching over to the syn.