any help or links so i can do it myself or how much it is to get it done proffesionaly????????

 

I would suggest if you have never had your tranny flushed that you consider that and take it somewhere and get it done properly. Drained, flushed, new filter, gasket and tranny fluid. I recently had my transaxlel gear oil replaced in mine, but its a 5-speed and only cost Cdn$29.99. Where I'm from a full tranny service like I'm describing would be Cdn$120 - $130 plus tax. Don't now what it is in New Jersey, but certainly under US$100. Given the age of your car, I would get it done right and not do it yourself.

 

k thanks a lot

 

You might also want to check out the conditon of: brake fluid (I recently had mine flushed as I still have the original pads after 10-1/2 years), power steering fluid (had mine flushed last summer) and radiator coolant (had mine flushed last May).

In my opinion, when a car gets older like yours and mine replacing the fluids is as important as routine oil changes.

I'm even considering flushing and changing my clutch fluid.

 

It's in the stickies in the fluid and lubricant section. If you wanna get by a mechanic its up to you. I recommend doing it yourself to make sure its done right and saving some money. I'm sorry for the mechanics reading this, but I just don't trust you guys anymore.

 

Don't you need the right machine to ensure the transmission is flushed properly? How would you know if its done right if you've never done it before? Changing spark plugs or oil is another matter, however.

If it were up to me I wouldn't be trying to save nickels and dimes when servicing the transmission on a car that is over 10 years old. You can make that back by washing the car by hand, rather than taking it through a car wash, or consolidating trips for awhile to save gas money.

 

I like to save nickles and dimes thats why I bought an 8 year old car with 120000 mi. If you follow the steps in the haynes manual or in the stickies provided by this site it will be done correctly. Often mechanics are working on several different makes and models and quickly performing repairs and maintance on cars that aren't theirs. Since its not their car they won't treat it like its their car. For instance I go to sears get some tires and I walk out of the mall portion out to the auto center and find the mechanic racing around the parking lot with my car.

I have a 5 speed so I highly doubt I needed a full flush. I replaced the fluid with Redline MT-90 which it GL-4 fluid which most people don't have including nissan dealers. According to the stickies if GL-4 rated oil isn't place in the 5 speed transmission there's a high probability of future transmission failure. Changing your tranny oil in a five speed is just as easy as changing your engine oil. It was my first time ever changing transmission oil and its all still in there after 14,000 miles. Changing your clutch fluid is also easy.

Most mechanics charge about $60 an hour for their services. So its a lot more the nickles and dimes especially considering I'm a poor college student.

 

I hear you on the transaxle fluid. That is why for Cdn$29.99 I had mine replaced with Quaker State GL4 75W90 gear oil. I couldn't find any Redline MT-90 in GL4, just GL5 as its not readily found in British Columbia. The Motomaster GL4 gear oil alone at Canadian Tire with tax was about 2/3 the cost of what I gave Mr. Lube and I didn't have to worry about disposing of the gear oil. So to compare draining a transaxle on a 4th Gen to servicing an automatic transmission that requires a filter and gasket replacement is not a valid analogy.

I've been flamed on the org more than once for not doing my own work, but I went to university for 5 years and took a professional accounting designation after that, so I could afford not to get my hands dirty, lol! Darn OCD.

For the work you can't do or don't want to do, it pays to find someone you can trust.

For example, I got my rad flushed, pressure tested and back-flushed for Cdn$40 cash at a small independent shop that had been in business for 22 years. The stealership wanted about Cdn$100 which is ludicrous. Given the cost of the antifreeze and the disposal problem, the decision was a no brainer. My friend would have done it but why bother!

 

Nother reason I tend to stay away from mechanics... I went to firestone to get a tune up and they charged me $60. I asked them whats included and they said all they do is spark plugs. Not to mention they put the cheapest bosch spark plugs they could find in the car. This was in my old '90 mazda 626 which means they pulled 4 chords (no coil packs) and threw in 4 spark plugs that cost them a whopping $3.50 and 10 mins of their time. From what I heard all japanese cars are supposed to be running ngk spark plugs and bosch are supposedly for german cars and champion for american. And after replacing them 12000 mi later and after purchasing a torque wrench they weren't even torqued properly. One was on a 5 lb/ft of torque, no wonder it was misfireing.

I've learned from my mistakes that's why I bought a haynes manual.

 

I'm not trying to flame you I'm just telling you about my experience I haven't found a mechanic that I can trust at least not one in or around this city. I looked over the sticky it didn't sound too difficult I'm sure plenty of people have done it for autos. Especially since changing their tranny oil is more critical to keeping it running.

 

More power to you Batxel!

I haven't had my 60,000 mile service done on my car yet as its only got 57,300 miles on it and I'm not taking it to any stealership. I don't have a Haynes manual but intend to get one. I have a friend who is quite mechanically inclined who has all the tools, ramps, etc. and his brother has a 99 Maxima that he bought 2 years ago and has done next to nothing to. He also is quite mechanically inclined. So maybe the 3 of us can get together and do a group Maxima servicing.

Much of what they do at the 60,000 mile inspection is visual checks. I don't need any belts replaced, nor do I need the rad flushed, transaxle gear oil replaced and the brakes are in excellent condition as I don't use them, lol! Perhaps the brakes can be cleaned and the calipers checked for adjustment.

So what I'm talking about is changing the spark plugs with NGK platinums or coppers, a PCV valve, throttle body and IACV cleaning if it needs it (never been done), toss in some Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner I recently bought, tighten the throttle cable if it needs it, change the oil and filter and fuel filter and thats about it.

The car presently runs perfectly and idles perfectly. The preventative maintenance I've done in the past 12 months hasn't cost much as I've shopped around and gone to reputable places who don't treat a car like they stole it.

 

is AAMCO trustable?

 

Follow the link in my Sig.. and save money......

 

Am I missing something here? Transmission filter?

 

auto's have filters

 

Did you mean auto don't have filters? The 4th/5th gen's dont anyway.

 

yah i coulden't find a filter on my 00 too....

 

go anywhere with a lift, do it yourself. i helped my boi do his mountaineer in school today. all he had to do was,

1. unbolt about 16 bolts that held his transmission oil pan,
2. pull off the filter (get the O-ring out)
3. let it completely drain,
4. clean the pan and gasket (gasket should be reusable)
5. put in the new filter
6. bolt the oil pan back on
7. fill up tranny fluid through the dipstick hole, start car, check oil, add more as needed.

result: smoother shifting =D