I flushed the transmission this past Sunday since it was near summer and I wanted to flush it because of the upcoming summer heat. It was flushed last year in the summer with a machine with Dexron Mercon III and it was flushed reguarly before that. Sunday I disconnected the return line from the transmission and flushed 2 quarts at a time using 10 quarts total using the same fluid. The fluid that came out was still red but not as pink as the new one. Today I pulled out the parking lot put it in drive and it slipped going from 1st to 2nd ****. It didn't slip at all Sunday and I drove it quite a lot since until today. I checked the fluid level and it's fine.The car now has 185k miles. Is it going to die?

 

If it's only slipped once and it was after you flushed it, things should be ok.

 

did you save the old ATF in a clean container? if so, you can send a sample to blackstone to check for clutch pack wear. also, take a sample of the current ATF after 10k miles to check for wear. if wear metals are OK in both samples then you have nothing to worry about.

 

With every flush/drain&fill, disconnect the battery all night. The ECM/TCM need to know they have a better brew inside them....

 

I did not know that. I'll do that tonight when I get back from work.
I threw it away. I wont be doing that if it stops slipping. If it starts to slip I think it's time for another car.

 

If the transmission has been regularly maintained the slipping might be a one time incident or a over consious driver trying to see if he has done everything right. Check the cold fluid levels in gear and in park once again.

I have regularly maintained my transmission and occasinally you will have something strange happening.. nothing to panic. U need to look into the problem only when it is a pattern of slipping.

Above all it is important to be nice to the tranny when the fluids are cold.

 

well, it's your car, but with as much money as you seem to throw at ATF flushes I'd think $20 would be a small price to pay to know if something is actually wrong with it. just b/c it stops slipping doesn't mean it's healthy. identify a problem while it's brewing and you can dump the car while it's still worth something.

 

you really arent suppose to flush a tranny after 100k. if it aint broke dont fix it. especially with a high mileage auto, its best not to touch.

 

To an extent u are correct, you could overwhelm the tranny with the new detergents that could stir up something that eventually gets blocked in the TB/solenoids.

But if you are the only owner of the vehicle and haven't run the vehicle too long between flushes, I wouldn't suspect anything wrong with flushes on HM vehicles.

I have 125K on my odometer and would flush as usual once it hits 20K on the present fluid. But a normal drain/fill of 4Q is better insurance compared to a flush in HM vehicles even if you know the history of the tranny.

Good point XJinCT.

 

correct you are. im just going with the scenario that most people havent owned their maxima since the first day off the lot. but yes frequent fluid changes you can go well over 100k. thanks for the correction.

 

Have to agree with Love_00_Max . I'm the original owner
of a 96 max with 273 k and the trannys never been flushed,
just an occasional drain and fill (usually 5 quarts -I let it
drain for an hour)

 

I'm not really a newb anymore, but I have a newb like question because I am just now gettin into performance and "mechanics". What exactly is considering slipping in a tranny? As detailed response as possible would greatly be appreciated. Cause I kinda feel like my car "slips" but I'm not sure if it actually is or if I should be worried.

 

Very impressive, 273K on original tranny.
This gives credence to XJinCT argument which I think is relevant to this thread.

I may myself avoid the flush this time around, just do a drain/fill with some good quality MV ATF. BTW I run Mercon V (dual speced for DexronIII) on my tranny.

 

Tranny slipping is quite easy to feel, hit the gas on a flat road and the if the RPM increases more with speed increase being less than normal and being stuck in same gear while hunting for the next gear, there u have it, tranny slips.

Clutch pack with severly heat up the ATF and eventually the fluid looses its ability to help the tranny. Burnt ATF is a good sign of something cooking inside the tranny.

Remember on uphills this is normal, it feels like the tranny slips but actually it is bad TCM prgming or tired tranny.

 

bingo. change the filter, not the fluid.

 

[QUOTE=scubasteve]change the filter, not the fluid./QUOTE]

There is no filter in maximas, if you are referring to the screen, then it is not to filter period. The screen is to prevent large chunks to get back into the return line and eventually kill the tranny due to heat.

 

I think it's important to clarify what is meant by the term "flush".

pumping ATF out the cooler line (via the tranny's pump) is not the same as the "power flushes" you get at transmission shops. I would never do a power flush on any car, regardless of miles. The pressure it uses may cause problems, and it's worse if there's any build-up inside.

DIY ATF exchanges via the cooler line (aka cooler line "flushes") are as safe as regular drain/fills, regardless of miles. if a transmission begins to slip after a cooler line "flush" then it is toast anyway, and would slip after any kind of ATF drain/fill/change -- this is b/c the clutches are worn out, but the old dirty fluid was still providing enough friction for them to engage. the new fluid does not provide enough friction, and so the clutches slip. This will not happen on a properly maintained transmission regardless of miles, b/c the "old fluid" never gets that dirty. eventually the clutches will wear out, but not until well over 200-300k miles, and not in response to an ATF change.

 

This is the day I did the flush. A memorable day. If she slips again I'll have to let her go. I'm gonna be very sad.



Checked the fluid just now cold and it looks like I have too much of it. It's right past the letter C where it says cold and near the letter H on the other side. I'll be taking some out.

Drainned about half a quarter of a quart out and now it's showing me it's way too low. Which is it. Low or high. I don't know. I have to stop by a Pepboys to get more oil.

 

When cold the fluid level should be close to or below L.

 

Right now with the engine hot and running and in park or drive the oil level is right at the tip of the dip stick. If I park it and turn off the engine the oil level rises steadily to I don't know where because I have to let it cool and it's doing that now.

Is it normal for the oil level to be right at the tip of the dip stick when the engine is hot and running in park and in drive? I'll check back here in about 2 hours when I got back to check it. I got more oil just incase it needs more.

 

If the oil level is at the tip of the dip stick, it is low. To check AFT level, you need to get transmission to normal temperature and check while engine running with transmission in park. Use the Hot range.

 

With the engine hot & running you should be in the hot range on the dipstick. I think your low on fluid.

 

[QUOTE=Love_00_Max]i didnt know there is no filter, i havent had to even glance at my transmission yet. I was just speaking in general. In light of that i would say leave it alone.

 

oh so you mean...its a filter?

 

It's way low then. I'll add more tomorrow.