Hey all, today I got around changing my axle shaft and that requires draining the pan, so I drain it and add about 5 quarts of nissan o matic atf after 89k mileage of not changing any atf before... all seemed smooth and no leaks, I drove around at first and shifter was very smooth. Then I drove another 50 miles. Parked, came inside and now the shifter when I press park, reverse, or whatever, the shifter is very STICKY, it feels like it s barely moving... I check the fluid level and it seemed very low and I guess it was leaking during the trip... I added some mobil 1 atf at local station (1 quort)... still now the stupid shifter seems horrible... what is axactly causing this? Before I changed fluid, I went to nissan dealer and they charged me 30$ for 5 quorts, and I asked him to give me new drain plug, but he told me I dont need it and I can reuse the plug(looking like im a moron). I also asked him if I could clean drop the pan and clean it and clean the filter... again looking at me like i am a moron, he tells me that technics dont do that and it is highly not recommended to clean the filter or drop the pan... he almost laughed at the idea... so now cause I took his advice and didnt get a new drain plug, I dont know what my fluid level should be like (i matched before the leak perfectly)... I think i overfilled it with nissan atf and mobil atf... anyone know the level it should be on... my dipstick is freaken weird i swear... I got hot on one side without any indication and cold on the other side with no line indication... i know it has to be between hot and cold

 

also i saved the old fluid... should i just remove the new one and put the old back in?

 

When the fluid was low, were you checking while the car was running and warmed up? The car must be running and warmed up when checking.

I'd look to another dealer, preferably an independent mechanic who works on foreign cars. These days the transmission is not a servicable piece of equipment and a lot of dealers would love to grandfather in all the transmissions ever built.

At most, you should have had to add only about 4.5 qts...not 5qts. You may have too much. Warm the car up (drive around the block until the temp is in the normal range). Park the car on a level surface (must be level) and check the ATF fluid while the car is running.

You say you think you may be leaking fluid. Are there any signs of leakage around the drain bolt? How about the 15 to 20 bolts that hold the pan on? If you suspect a leak from the drain bolt, there is a gasket that PepBoys sells for the drain bolt. I bought one for my wifes 93 Sable that had a persistent oil drain bolt leak and it worked. The one I bought was blue in color and made from silicone/plastic (I beleive).

 

Whatever you do, do not reuse the old ATF. Mobil 1 ATF is compatible with Nissan OEM fluid. Like 2002 Maxima SE suggests, make sure you are following the right procedure to measure the ATF (it is in the owners manual).
To avoid guessing how much fuid is needed, it is preferable to measure the ATF drained from the transmission and fill it with *exactly* the same amount.

 

yeah i measured exactly 5 quarts drained from pan but after a 50 miles of active driving I get this sticky shifter problem... but i have never got owners manual that suggests how to check the fluid... but the dipstick is so damn difficult... they marvel in engineering but they cant figure how to make a dipstick that can be read easily? I mean all i see is hot on one side with xxxx thingies... then flip it to other side i see cold and no indication where it is...

 

also i noticed it was actually leaking from the pan when the shifter got sticky... cause i put mny fingers there and had oil on them... so i checked oil fluid and in fact the level was barely touching the tip of the stick... so i added 1 quort of mobil 1.

 

The "xxxx thingies" indicate the operating range where the oil level should be. Concerning the plug, you generally don't have to replace them; however, it's always a good idea to install a new washer to prevent leaks...

 

I have a sealant tubing paste, so I will have to drain it anyway again when I remove the cv shaft once more and try to get the two nuts past the axle nut out. Would this sealant tubing paste be good enough if I decide to drop the pan, clean it, and then clean the filter? (to paste all the bolts that hold the pan)

 

By the way, from now on i m sticking with mobil 1 atf instead of the nissan o matic. It is way overpriced. I payed 30$ for 5 quorts. Mobil 1 was 12$, especially in my case since I have to continually drain the fluid out each week and clean the filter to make sure no gunk is blocking the filter (never changed fluid for 89k).

 

you can get 5 quarts of Mobil 1 syn atf for $12?!

please tell me where cuz I just spent $60 on 12 qts for Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. $4.99 qt everywhere here.

 

I dont know if it was synthetic or not but I had no choice since it was almost midnight and my car needed some fluid, so I just ran in bought 5 quarts of some bottle saying mobile 1 atf and ran out. If it was not synthetic would that be bad for the car since I used nissan o matic atf in the afternoon... (damn thing leaked out... 30$ waste)... Also I got broken boot/axle and that probably causes the leak at high rate...

 

also if it is not synthetic would it be bad for the car? I mean I got to spill alot of fluid in the next month to drain ll the dirt out and clean the filter every week till no gunk is existent... so I want to use mobil 1 atf non synthetic... would this do any harm to the car?

 

no it won't harm your car as long as the fluid u have is dexron III compatible which mobil 1 is, i believe. yea, it sounds like u didn't buy synthetic atf, thats ok. syn atf is just supposed to last longer and contain more additives- to my knowledge. Im using syn atf to increase my drain intervals.

your cv boots being torn would not cause you to lose tranny fluid. while the cv's do go into the tranny, the actual boots are self-contained. *hence the protective boots around them. The special CV grease inside those boots will make a mess underneath your car, and the CV's will fail eventually. check out www.motorvate.ca for more info on CV replacement.

 

Yeah tell me about it, my entire wheel, rim, and everything else down there is greased, and the boot is torn so badly that half of it is missing. I m going to fix it in 2 days though. Cant stand my car's clunking noise all the time. I couldnt even clean out my hands for 2 days. Next time will wear gloves. My body is aching too from that damn axle nut and strut nuts which I couldnt get off. What are they torqued at anyways? I m going to buy another breaker bar for them.

 

176 ft/lbs for the axle nut I believe and I don't know for the strut bolts. Those aren't torqued nearly as much, because I was able to get those off easy. You might want to clean off the area you're working on with some wd-40. Also, buy some fast orange cleaner for your hands. works wonders.

 

the "cold side" of the dip stick isnt supposed to have markings like the little xxxxxxxxx's on the hot side u just make sure it is lined up in between the two little half circle cut outs on the side of it