97 Maxima transmission advice

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Maxfli
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Car: 1997 Nissan Maxima

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My 97 SE currently has just over 310,000 miles on it and has given more trouble in the last 10K, than it did the 100K before that. Typical stuff though, like a alternator, power steering pump, egr/oxygen sensor trouble (FINALLY got it solved and inspected!) and replaced the exhaust under the car and muffler. I'm not fussing and I couldn't have asked for better service thus far. I have had the trans fluid drained periodically and recently did so again about 1000 miles ago when it began to shift differently. Only when I'm accelerating slowly to normal type acceleration, the engine will rev up about 200-300 rpm's and then shift into the next gear (normally around 40 mph). Nothing hard or noisy though. So far it hasn't done this when accelerating quickly at all. About two weeks ago, I was approaching a red light and traveling about 25-30 mph and completely let off the gas to coast toward the light. For the first time, the car jerked pretty hard, which I assume was it trying to downshift. Of course I thought the transmission had only a few miles left, but oddly....it has shifted nearly perfectly ever since until last night when the engine began to rev up the same as before as it was about to change gears at the same point. I'm hoping to find some insight and advice on how to proceed. I'm not looking for a miracle that doesn't exist, just trying to decide what will "most likely" help get the most out of my Max that she has left. I'm planning on having the fluid changed again next week, which seemed to help slightly last time, but was wondering what else I might be missing or should attempt. You read about Lucas products, TransX, Seafoam, etc but I wanted to seek out more knowledgeable people than myself (which isn't hard to do regarding cars in general). She isn't losing or leaking any transmission oil, so I'm reluctant to use anything that might damage any seals/gaskets in the transmission right now. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated and hopefully with the right TLC, she can hang around as long as possible. Thanks, Jimmy


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jltibbs
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I'd say that if you're at 310k and plan on keeping her, go with a junkyard trans. I did a fluid change on my 95 and it took a dump on me. I got a replacement from a salvage yard and it lasted me another 60k before her demise (In an accident). If you plan on changing the fluid out regardless, throw a quart of Lucas in there. I use it in almost every fluid in my cars. Trans, power steering, fuel, oil, you name it. If they had AC additives, I'd probably use it in there, too. Hope this helps.

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Towncivilian
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jltibbs wrote:If you plan on changing the fluid out regardless, throw a quart of Lucas in there. I use it in almost every fluid in my cars. Trans, power steering, fuel, oil, you name it. If they had AC additives, I'd probably use it in there, too.
:barf:

Lucas Oil Stabilizer is SAE 90 gear oil with no additives. All it does is dilute the additive package of the oil and thicken up the oil - just go up one grade instead. I'd only throw it in a real beater that burned some insane amount of oil.

I'm sure the trans/power steering snot also just thickens up the fluid - a stopgap measure at best. Even their gear lube is trash - see this study - it ranks the worst out of many tested gear lubes.

The upper cylinder lubricant, eh, take it or leave it. But I would not purchase and use any other Lucas product except maybe the grease gun - they're good at marketing, nothing else in my opinion.

To the OP: since you've been keeping up with the fluid service, I'd consider doing a pan drop & filter change and throwing a bottle of Lubegard Red in with the fresh fluid, which is an additive that is recommended by quite a few manufacturers, and is lauded and used by many transmission shops and mechanics. It lowers transmission fluid temperatures (always a good thing) and can help smooth out shifting. It's noticeably smoothed downshifts and initial shifts into reverse (less delay) on my Pathfinder. A Magnefine in-line filter installed on the transmission cooler return line also might be a wise addition to help keep the fluid free of wear material and other debris. I believe a 3/8" one will fit your Maxima's hose. The cooler return line is the driver's side hose on your Maxima. To get an idea of how much crap a transmission can shed, see a Magnefine opened after 23k miles of use here.

Welcome to NICOclub, and good luck with your transmission!

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loystock
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Yes, do a pan drop, clean the magnets and pan, replace filter and then perform multiple drain and refill, 3 times or more, about 12-14 quarts. In my case, I run the engine for @ 100 seconds and then do a drain. Amount of fluid drained should match what is being added. Nissan Matic-D is recommended but Dexron III or the newer and better Dexron VI will do the job. Add Lubegard Red ATF Protectant, @ $13 (not black wihich is a friction modifier) after the drain and refill.

I have never used Lucas products nor plan to use any in the future. I use additives from Lubegard, BG, Redline, etc.

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Towncivilian
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A more efficient way of performing a complete fluid exchange, one can use the transmission cooler return line to do a full fluid exchange.

You will need:
  • 12 to 15 quarts of automatic transmission fluid, preferably Nissan Matic D
  • A clear gallon jug, something like an empty milk jug
  • Another large container to store used fluid for disposal
1. Disconnect the transmission cooler return line and secure it in a collection bucket such as a clear gallon milk jug. This will be the hose on the driver side of the vehicle; disconnect the end leading towards the transmission.
2. Have a helper start the car while you watch the bucket - once it's half full (2 quarts), yell for the helper to stop the engine.
3. Add 2 quarts of ATF through the transmission dipstick.
4. Drain collection jug into larger jug (i.e. a Disposoil - these only hold 10 quarts though in my experience, so have something else to hold the last 5 quarts).
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you're out of ATF.
6. Check fluid for proper level (see the next question and answer for details), and recycle the old ATF. Any place that takes used oil will likely recycle ATF.

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Kompresshun
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Great stuff guys. I also don't endorse Lucas products anymore, aside from their fuel injector cleaner. Unless it's a beater, I won't let that gorilla snot go near anything in my vehicle.
loystock wrote:Nissan Matic-D is recommended but Dexron III or the newer and better Dexron VI will do the job.
Agreed aside from the latter. After much research recently and some personal experience, you should not use Dexron VI in a Maxima, or anything that requires Nissan Matic. Anything prior to that is fine, but the Dexron VI has a lot different modifiers and additives that don't work as well as prior blends. It will work, but it could potentially cause problems with slipping/shuddering too and is not nearly as backward compatible as previous blends. I would stick to Nissan Matic-D personally, but as you said Dexron III/IV/V will work.

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Towncivilian
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Dexron IV/V never existed. Dexron III(h) is unlicensed, so technically you don't know if what you're getting in that bottle labeled Dexron III really meets specifications - it's up to the consumer to trust the manufacturer of the fluid. TES-389 was Allison's response to transmissions still requiring certain properties of Dexron III and is a licensed fluid which meets the minimum specifications of Dexron III, so if you're hellbent on using Dex III and want to ensure that it meets specifications, use either a fluid which meets TES-389 spec (Mobil ATF D/M does [see label at bottom of this page], which typically can be found at Target) or obviously Nissan Matic D. I run Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle in my 2001.5 Pathfinder's RE4R01A-HD transmission with a 10oz. bottle of Lubegard Red thrown in, as well as a 19,000 GVW auxiliary transmission cooler and Magnefine in-line filter and things are fine.

Dexron III shears rather quickly from its initial viscosity grade of about 7 cSt. Dexron VI starts out around the same viscosity as Dexron III after it's finished shearing (somewhere around 4-5 cSt, I think?), and GM went through a lot of testing to ensure full backwards compatibility with all previous transmissions specifying previous grades of Dexron - problems may result when certain seal swelling properties of the earlier Group I/II basestocks found in the older fluids were not properly mimicked and leaks may result (see this BITOG post for further explanation), but this is something of a rarity and Dexron VI should be suitable for most any reasonably modern transmission calling for Dexron III or older. Dexron VI is also a licensed fluid, so even "bottom of the barrel" SuperTech gallon jugs of Dex VI will meet the minimum specifications.

I ran Valvoline MaxLife ATF (which is a synthetic DexVI-esque fluid) for a while and I didn't like its shifting properties in my Pathfinder trans, so maybe there is a grain of truth to it - however I kind of had a mixture of several transmission fluids in the trans at the time so that is more likely to have caused the erratic shifting.


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