zgrm100

So I bought the gasket at Nissan about 2 years ago lol thinking I would drop the pan to do the flush which I never did...

Well now I am goin to be taking my car into firestone and they will do the flush drop the pan clean the magnets etc...
I would like them to use the gasket that I still have...
So my question is.. Is this gasket still good? It has been laying around in my garage for 2+ years. It is still in its covering but some corner came out of the covering and were exposed to air or whatever for 2+ years. Is it still good enough?

And also I would like to get my own tranny fluid for them to use. They said they would use some weird named one (Dextron 3 and some other additive?) Any suggestions? My car has 80,000 miles I bought it new and only did a flush at 30,000 w/o dropping the pan.. I am now doing all the maintenance on it ie: changing spark plugs etc.. So Im doing all the research since I want to have this car until 200,000 miles. Thanks everyone for your help.

sky jumper

you can still use your gasket. make sure they refresh the thread sealer on the pan bolts.

tell them not to mess with the filter screen.

you don't need any additives (they are probably referring to Lubegard Black to convert DexIII to Matic D -- NOT necessary).

I recommend you buy a case of Amsoil ATF from Talkinghorse (see group buy forum) and use that.

Personally, if it were me, and depending on how they are charging you, I'd bring in 1 gallon + 1qt of Supertech ATF and have them put that in after the pan drop. Then go do a cooler line flush yourself with 10 quarts of your Amsoil. Why?? because I just don't trust shops to do this stuff right -- their flush machine could be contaminated, they might not run through all the gears to flush out the clutch packs, heck they might not even use the Amsoil you give them -- put no-name stuff in and take the Amsoil home with them, etc...

actually, if it were me I'd do the whole job myself (in fact I did).

After you do this, do a drain/fill every 15k (or 25k if you go the Amsoil route) and you'll never have to drop the pan again.

zgrm100

I just checked in the garage and realized that I have exactly 10 bottles of mobil 1 synthetic ATF and it says it is Dexron 3... So I figured I would go out and buy one more quart just in case...

Well they did have Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF But no-where does it say Dexron 3. It actually says Mecron V on the new bottle and the design of the bottle is a little different. So is it okay to mix this with the other bottles of Mobil 1 syntheitc ATF that I had or is this formulation different now?

I decided to do the work myself after some poeple said that it is dangerous to have the shop power flush it.
Any tips on the sealant that I will need to use on the bolts?

Also are the bolt sizes all the same?

sky jumper

yes mobil 1 will work fine. the new stuff is a mutli-vehicle formula and can be mixed with the other stuff. get permatex hi temp thread sealant.

from what I recall, the pan bolts are all the same. if you are not familiar with how to properly torque an oil pan, you should get a cheap 3/8 torque wrench. you have to go around the pan a few times, tightening the bolts in a criss-cross fashion at little each time to ensure the pan goes on straight and does not warp. do not overtighten (use the torque wrench).

see the other thread for general advise on how to proceed with your maintenance.

zgrm100

sky jumper thans! You are the man.
I will be getting a torque wrench for sure.
Also I can use just regular break cleaner to clean out the pan and magnets right?
And lastly, do I need to put any type of grease/oil between the new gasket that I will put on and the pan? Thanks.