M35 Transmission again.., good news so far

[AG-M35]

I have the transmisson fluid coming, but probably should have asked this first...

Is there a dipstick where you can check and put fluid it in the trans? The fellow who took the order at InfinitiParts, told me there was a drain plug in the pan to remove the fluid, but that's only half good..

My usual M.O. is to drain the trans pan, every other oil change and put in 3 quarts of fresh fluid. I've always found this to be great insurance and really beats having to do a flush service.

[szh]

Is there a dipstick where you can check and put fluid it in the trans? The fellow who took the order at InfinitiParts, told me there was a drain plug in the pan to remove the fluid, but that's only half good..

It is a bit hidden!

I'll add some pages from the Service Manual here that will get you on the right track ... here you go (click on the images to get to the larger ones):



Do remember to replace the drain plug gasket too! Never reuse these ... same goes for the engine oil drain crush washer when you change the oil.

My usual M.O. is to drain the trans pan, every other oil change and put in 3 quarts of fresh fluid. I've always found this to be great insurance and really beats having to do a flush service.

Perhaps overkill and underkill in some ways. The ATF can, and should last, beyond 7500 miles (my approximation of your "every other oil change" words ), so changing some of out at that point is probably overkill.

However, a simple drain and refill does not always get it back to optimum conditions, since much/most of the older ATF stays in there and just gets diluted over time. And, for me, that is the underkill part!

Based on advice from our resident experts here, I do a full transmission flush (to get rid of as much of the older ATF as possible) every 30k miles and a double flush every 60k miles. Note the "double" flush ... uses a lot more ATF, but my local dealer does not charge me double the price for the labor, since it is already hooked up the system that cycles the gears, etc., during the flush!

Z