I have a ’02 Maxima that was very regularly maintained except for transmission fluid changes.
I recently went by a local Nissan dealer to have 100k service quote written up for me. One of the things they mentioned was that the tranny oil was extremely dirty. The tranny oil has never been changed and I’m sure it is in bad shape.
The dealer wrote a tranny flush item on the quote for $170, but advised us not to do it because it has been bad for so long, that the transmission probably would not run right after we put clean oil in it.
The tranny shifts and operates perfectly right now (a testament to Nissan engineering). Better than any car I’ve ever driven. I don’t want to make things worse, but I can’t stand the thought of just driving it until it goes out?
Does this sound crazy to you?
Don't change dirty tranny fluid???
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elwesso
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Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (MWulfson)
In my experience its ALWAYS GOOD PRACTICE to flush transmissions. What happens is people dont do it the 2-3-4 times necessary to get everything clean. I remember one of the Q guys had a slipping trans at 150k and flushed it 2x and it brought it back from the death bed.
The key is to flush once and after that flush if it doesnt look good, then you need to do it again immediately. What happens is sometimes you loosen stuff and it doesnt make it all the way out of the trans. Of course when you do a flush you only get 90-95% fluid exchange.
I would personally drop the pan and replace the filter and get all that stuff clean and then flush immediately.
You will never do harm by replacing old worn out fluid with new fluid.
The key is to flush once and after that flush if it doesnt look good, then you need to do it again immediately. What happens is sometimes you loosen stuff and it doesnt make it all the way out of the trans. Of course when you do a flush you only get 90-95% fluid exchange.
I would personally drop the pan and replace the filter and get all that stuff clean and then flush immediately.
You will never do harm by replacing old worn out fluid with new fluid.
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (elwesso)
this is true i bought my car it has 160k and the tranny began to slip i did a tranny service and cleaning new filter the whole nine yards. The slipping decreased less but still happened flushed it again within a a day or two and its perfect again. Gunk and gook builds up so when you put new tranny oil that loosens up and mixes again witht he new oil so now you still have partially bad stuff still in so you need to flush it out again and again til it runs just right....can be cost effective but think about the price for a tranny versus the price of the flusheselwesso wrote:In my experience its ALWAYS GOOD PRACTICE to flush transmissions. What happens is people dont do it the 2-3-4 times necessary to get everything clean. I remember one of the Q guys had a slipping trans at 150k and flushed it 2x and it brought it back from the death bed.
The key is to flush once and after that flush if it doesnt look good, then you need to do it again immediately. What happens is sometimes you loosen stuff and it doesnt make it all the way out of the trans. Of course when you do a flush you only get 90-95% fluid exchange.
I would personally drop the pan and replace the filter and get all that stuff clean and then flush immediately.
You will never do harm by replacing old worn out fluid with new fluid.
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acidjake75
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Re:
+1 on doing multiple flushes. The ONLY reason I think the dealership told you that is because of how long its been (still makes no sense to me- they still make money)
let us know the outcome - cause we all know you have to change it.... or at least should...
let us know the outcome - cause we all know you have to change it.... or at least should...
Re: Re: (acidjake75)
I have heard that so-called "power flushes" can be bad because they use more pressure than normal...any truth to that?
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (MWulfson)
Thanks guys!
Here's the BS story the service advisor gave me: He said the "clutches" in the tranny will be very worn and rely on the "grit" in the fluid to continue working. He said if I change the fluid, there will not be enough gritty fluid to provide the friction that the clutch packs would need to continue working properly. He also mentioned that several other high mileage Nissans barely make it off the lift once their trannys are flushed.
I wanted to call him out on his story, but after that and the story he gave me on my front struts, I just wanted my car back so i could leave.
I'll do the multiple flushes and filter changes.
I'll get the filters from Nissan. Any suggestions on the fluids?
Thanks again!
Here's the BS story the service advisor gave me: He said the "clutches" in the tranny will be very worn and rely on the "grit" in the fluid to continue working. He said if I change the fluid, there will not be enough gritty fluid to provide the friction that the clutch packs would need to continue working properly. He also mentioned that several other high mileage Nissans barely make it off the lift once their trannys are flushed.
I wanted to call him out on his story, but after that and the story he gave me on my front struts, I just wanted my car back so i could leave.
I'll do the multiple flushes and filter changes.
I'll get the filters from Nissan. Any suggestions on the fluids?
Thanks again!
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (MWulfson)
Use the Nissan Matic-D fluid for the final fill. You can use Dextron to do the flushes.
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NewfoundlandDude
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Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (maxhopper97)
This thread seems to be a little more popular. Does anyone have any answers for me here?NewfoundlandDude wrote:So I bought my 01 Max with 87K km's on it (about 55K Miles). I didn't know the last time that all of the fluids were changed so I went out & bought some Mobil 1 Higher Mileage, Valvoline ATF Transmission Fluid, & some Prestone Coolant.
I changed the oil, including oil filter, replaced the tranny fluid, and replaced the coolant. The stealership told me that they have never replaced the tranny filter, and that there is never a need to do this with the Auto 5th Generation Maxima's.
I've had some problems with my tranny on cold mornings, having some hard shifts and even seeming not to take first gear before it warms up (~1km). Does anyone know more about replacing the transmission filter and transmission oil (Which I didn't know existed, is this the fluid itself?).
Also the Mobil 1 Higher Mileage is a 10W30, which is the same as the conventional 10W30 that the manual recommends. Since the oil change I can definately notice a difference in the sound of my car. Is this something that the oil change might do, or is it not related to that at all?
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (NewfoundlandDude)
the lame bs about the clutch packs relying on the "grit" in the fluid is bologna. however, what will sometimes happen is all that gunk in the tranny will collect around seals creating a 'dam". keeping atf from the seals which keeps them conditioned. then what will happen is when the tranny is flushed the new fluid with its strong detergents will break up that dam of gunk at the seals which are now brittle and shrunk and a leak will start either external or internal. but usually isnt a big deal unless the tranny has been really neglected and abused in which case a flush wouldnt help any way.
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (MWulfson)
I will fully admit that I know nothing about cars, but I have heard that before also. The idea being that as your transmission ages, the frction material on in gears wears away making the gears surfaces smoother. The material that wears off the gears has nowhere to go execpt for in the fluid. While this material is in the fluid, it can help the smooth areas stick together much like sand between your hands. Once you flush your fluid and remove this junk. The gears loose tractions, hence your transmission might start to slip only after you have flushed the fluid.MWulfson wrote:Here's the BS story the service advisor gave me: He said the "clutches" in the tranny will be very worn and rely on the "grit" in the fluid to continue working. He said if I change the fluid, there will not be enough gritty fluid to provide the friction that the clutch packs would need to continue working properly. He also mentioned that several other high mileage Nissans barely make it off the lift once their trannys are flushed.
I don't know if it is valid, but that is how the info was relayed to me.
Re: Don't change dirty tranny fluid??? (mike312)
My plan of attack for the 2001 I30 with 105,000...
Run the car and drain the trans, refill and run, drain and refill. The thing about the filter, these are usually a steel mesh unit designed to stop larger particles generally not present in the trans. I may add a Trans conditioner when done to protect the seals.
--Mike
Run the car and drain the trans, refill and run, drain and refill. The thing about the filter, these are usually a steel mesh unit designed to stop larger particles generally not present in the trans. I may add a Trans conditioner when done to protect the seals.
--Mike
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