transmission fluid changed @64k

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skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:45 am

Maybe someone has time to post a pic...but it's on the passenger side of compartment..toward the back. Just has a plain cap and then a small bolt on the side holding it to the tube. Not easy to find if you don't know.


marc515
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Postby marc515 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:55 am

Thanks; I saw that cap and bolt set up. What a strange set up- What size is the bolt?

skinny2
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Postby skinny2 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:59 am

i'm thinking 10mm. total guess though....

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Postby marc515 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:01 am

I wonder why they couldn't put in a simple dip stick like everyone else?

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:32 am

It's a 10mm bolt. They started using this design on the 350Z which was when Type "J" ATF was introduced. Nissan didn't want people mistakingly putting Nissan Type "D" or Dexron III ATF into the trans and ruining it.

marc515
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Postby marc515 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:36 am

smj999smj wrote:It's a 10mm bolt. They started using this design on the 350Z which was when Type "J" ATF was introduced. Nissan didn't want people mistakingly putting Nissan Type "D" or Dexron III ATF into the trans and ruining it.
Thank you

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Oly 22
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Postby Oly 22 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:55 pm

http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... 141da58938

Have look at this link. It doesn't look like a dip stick, that is why it is so hard to find.

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Postby marc515 » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:00 am

disallow wrote:Mine wasn't far off from this. Yes I do tow.

I did 4 drain and fills, now its about 1/2 that color.
You've gone through 16 quarts of trans fluid so far, and you still have contaminated fluid it the trans; I'm not sure the darin and fill is the best approach for trans maintenance.

When it comes time to do mine, I'm thinking it would be less costly, and better for the trans to go to the dealer where they could do a trans flush or complete drain and fill; at least you would have all new fluid.

I guess sometimes it pays to have the dealer perform certain services.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:36 am

Total capacity for the trans is ~19qt. I haven't even replaced it all yet.

I wouldn't call it contaminated.

I would stay away from most transmission flushes like the plague though. Too many horror stories.

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Postby skinny2 » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:44 am

I had two dealers refuse to do the flush. Both stated that Nissan does not recommend it...even though it's listed in the maintenance manual. They also wanted between $550-$600 to do ONE drain/fill on tranny, transfer case, and both diffs. Ummmm no. I'd love to know the price if they were flushing ALL the fluid.

Given that it's synthetic from the factory and the normal schedule maintenance is "never" according to the manual....I think a drain/fill of the tranny every 30k is more than adequate. No you won't ever have perfectly clean fluid...but then again you won't after driving for ten minutes either. As long as the overall fluid is within spec there's no harm and if you really wanted you could have it sampled. There seems to be plenty of 100k+ transmissions floating around the boards here that have never been serviced. The only reason I was looking into the flush originally was because I do tow, although not that heavy or often. My fluid really has never looked that bad when dropped. I'm getting ready to drain/fill again here at 90k.

Funny story: I once had a '01 VW Jetta diesel. It was an automatic....I wanted a manual but got a killer deal on the slushbox. It came with synthetic "life time" fluid according to the manual and at that time I really didn't care about maintenance and just drove the wheels off the thing changing the oil every 10k per the manual and that's about it. I also put a high performance tuner on it at some point that would make the thing rip the tread right off the tires from a launch if you wanted. Long story short...I wasn't easy on the thing by any stretch. A friend bought a Golf diesel around the same time and he's a very conservative driver that maintains his cars every weekend for fun. He changed his transmission fluid (which required hooking the car up to a laptop with VW software) ever 15k miles. Long story short....I sold my car with 220k miles on it, original transmission/fluid, and it was still running like a raped ape. His required a new transmission around 140k miles. Following the forums over those years...I don't recall anyone else replacing their auto transmissions and most did not do any service. A more common approach was to change the fluid at 100k miles.

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Postby marc515 » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:46 am

I guess what I'm saying is if yu are only replacing 4 quarts at a time, it's going to take you a lot more fluid before the trans fluid is like new.

Additionally, isn't it contaminates that make the fluid change to a dark color.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:56 am

marc515 wrote:I guess what I'm saying is if yu are only replacing 4 quarts at a time, it's going to take you a lot more fluid before the trans fluid is like new.

Additionally, isn't it contaminates that make the fluid change to a dark color.
If your fluid is dark, it means its seen heat. There may be some contaminants, but its a closed system, not like your engine, which also introduces combustion elements into your oil. The only contaminants might be clutch material and metal shavings. And I would put forward that any large amount of these 2 items means you have a rebuild coming in your near future.

As Skinny2 indicated, its not entirely practical to do a complete fluid change on the transmission, nor is it even recommended. My transmission has over 135000 miles on it, and shows no signs of any problems. However, since I tow a really heavy trailer on occasion, and I run bypassed, I decided to do an extra drain and fill (or 3) to change the fluid that has seen alot of heat.

People have talked about using the cooler lines to do a complete flush, but even this won't allow you to get 100% new fluid. As soon as new fluid hits the torque converter, it mixes with old fluid. If you really want to go crazy, buy two 5 gallon pails of trans fluid, and flush using the cooler lines. It should come out pretty clean after that!

My feelings about trans flushes come from my honda days. You NEVER flush a honda transmission. Drain and fill only! Nissan seems to be the same, and having a drain bolt on the bottom of the trans pan seems to confirm this.

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Postby marc515 » Fri Mar 15, 2013 6:03 am

Yeah, I hear you on the Flush, and from what I've read here I would do it either.

I guess I'll stick to my plan of doing a drain and fill every 15,000 miles so the fluid doesn't get a chance to get that dark in color.

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Postby FLiPMaRC » Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:23 am

marc515 wrote:OK guys have a good laugh!

I know I need new glasses, but where the heck is the transmission dipstick located for a 2011 PF? They do not show it in the owners manual.

Thank you :D
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... &start=450

It's on the passenger side of the engine bay. It may look slightly different on the V6 (pic is from a V8 ).

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:20 pm

A trans flush machine is really nothing more than a fluid exchanger that works via the cooler hoses. Inside the machine is a tank with a bladder. You "T" the lines of the machine between the radiator cooler nipple and the cooler hose. You install about a case of ATF into the machine. You start the vehicle. As the old fluid enters the tank, it pushes against the bladder, forces the new fluid through the other hose which returns to the transmission. You can effectively do the same thing, if you want, by disconnecting the cooler line exiting the radiator and run it into a container. Plug off the return line to the trans. Start the vehicle. As the ATF drains out, pour new fluid into the trans via a funnel in the dipstick tube. That said, drain and fill every 30000 miles suits me fine!


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