DIY: Nissan Rogue Transfer Case Fluid Change

[ImStricken06]

I know the owners manual doesnt call for a fluid change in the transfer case, nor differential, but from my vast experience with cars; it should be changed at no more than 30,000miles. The viscosity properties change in the gear oil with heat, age, and god forbid moisture/water.

My car hit exactly 30,000miles coming home from work yesterday, so i figured since i still have some sun-light, i will change the transfer case fluid. (i already did the rear differential at roughly 29,000miles). Its the same fluid for both 80w-90 gear oil.

MY SUGGESTION: DO NOT TACKLE THIS JOB UNLESS YOU ARE AN AVID DO-IT-YOURSELFER WITH GOOD KNOWLEDGE ON THIS SPECIFIC CAR. This job is dirty, uncomfortable, and the used fluid almost made me vomit. I have smelled old gear oil before, but this absolutely made my stomach turn, and caused me to wiggle out from under the car and take in some from air, because the stench was absolutely awful.
The fluid that came out from the transfer case was extremely black, and in much worse condition than that came out from the rear differential. It really shows how much use this fluid really takes.

TOOLS NEEDED:
VERY LONG (2FEET IF AVAILABLE) RATCHET EXTENSION(if not longer) to access the fill bolt from the front right(passenger) side wheel-well.
RATCHET
10mm Hex Bit/Allen socket
RUBBER GLOVES
80W-90 GEAR OIL
FLUID PUMP
TORQUE WRENCH SET TO 35LB(for both bolts)
Vehicle ramps or vehicle lifts/jacks so you can crawl under the car.
oil/fluid catch pan

I HIGHLY SUGGEST TO REMOVE THE FILL BOLT FIRST - BECAUSE IF YOU DRAIN THE FLUID OUT AND YOU CANT FOR SOME REASON UNDO THE FILL BOLT = YOUR DONE!!







AFTER THOUGHTS: After i changed this fluid, I have noticed instantly that the vehicle while accelerating doesn't make that rubber-band stutter while accelerating at very slow speeds(while the torque converter is locking up and the transmission shifts to what essentially is like 6th gear)

[kerrton]

That's great info, again, thanks a lot for putting this DIY together, very good work. And it's very good to know how bad your fluid was degraded after just 30,000 miles. It really makes you wonder why manufacturer's don't schedule these maintenance items at early intervals like this because obviously the fluid takes a beating, its so essential to the longevity of the vehicle and it's relative cheap considering the benefits. Perhaps they don't want vehicles lasting more than 10 years so people are always buying new, I don't know but your 30,000 mile service is very wise advice.

[ImStricken06]

i do a lot of my own work, on all my cars & bikes... so im taking the time to get my rogue up to speed since i purchased it 3 months ago.

this was an awesome fluid change. it got rid of a serious rubber-band vibration at low speeds that i was experiencing. i highly suggest this.

[Towncivilian]

Nice guide! Your "TOOLS NEEDED" section mistakenly listed "80W-80" gear oil - I've corrected this to 80W-90 for you.

It's always a wise idea to replace the factory fill oil relatively early, somewhere around 10k for transmissions & differentials, to evacuate all break-in wear and manufacturing contamination. Future oil changes after that should be noticeably cleaner after the FF. Even hydraulic power steering would benefit from a few siphon & fills of the reservoir.

[ImStricken06]

lol thanks. poor folks would have been searching for 80w-80 to no avail lol

[wildcat08]

Thank you for the awesome write-up! With your help, I replaced the transfer case and rear diff fluid yesterday at 55,000 miles. In case anyone is interested, it took me a little under 2 hours to do both of them never having done it before. We have a storm shelter in our garage floor that makes it easy to get under the car and work on things like this. The fluid in the transfer case was in much worse condition than the fluid from the rear diff, although both looked pretty bad.

I was wondering, what are your thoughts on the CVT fluid? Should it be changed every 30,000 as *some* dealers recommend, every 60,000, never?

Thanks again for taking the time to write this up!

[ImStricken06]

The fluid in the transfer case was in much worse condition than the fluid from the rear diff, although both looked pretty bad.

I was wondering, what are your thoughts on the CVT fluid? Should it be changed every 30,000 as *some* dealers recommend, every 60,000, never?

thats funny you said that. thats exactly what i wrote in my write-up "The fluid that came out from the transfer case was extremely black, and in much worse condition than that what came out from the rear differential. It really shows how much use this fluid really takes." so how awful did it smell? lol the gear oil in the transfer case almost made me vomit!(and i have a strong stomach) QUESTION: did you notice any smoother operating at slower speeds with your car? did you notice that 3-10mph & when you accelerate gentler have become a lot less jerkier? I HAVE! as soon as i drained the transfer case my car instantly lost that rubber-band jerk upon gentle acceleration.

regarding your question on the cvt fluid. im really in the middle on this. nissan obviously is running real-world-tests regarding their fluid and making slight adjustments to the fluid and or cvt tranny for the future based upon the real-world-test results (and or complaints). they raised the warranty for CVT cars from the get-go to 2010. my car falls under that extended warranty, so im not really stressing it.
normal ATF is really a great detergent, and can last 100,000miles easily under normal use(except towing, etc).
normal automatic tranny's have also a lot more moving parts, gears, etc. I dont know anything about this fluid, and what abuse it takes inside the CVT.
i know my year 2008 SL with paddle shifters has the tranny cooler as well.(that helps prolong the fluid life). i installed a tranny cooler in my maxima before this rogue and noticed a lot smoother shifts, etc. keeping temps cooler in the tranny extends the life exponentially.
i also know that draining the tranny fluid, removes tiny particle in the fluid. those particles after 80,000 SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED from the fluid. they help aged, old, smoothed out clutch packs grip. its a hard thought to grip, but having dirty fluid can be a huge help to aging tranny's. i have seen guys replace fluid on a tranny with 100,000miles, and the car wont even make it out of the service bay; why? because the clutch packs have nothing to grip to, and simply slip with the new fresh oily tranny fluid. i would only suggest draining the tranny fluid once, and thats right after you bought the new car.(with the first 10,000 miles) AND I CERTAINLY WOULD NOT DO THE WORK MYSELF. I DONT HAVE THE CONSULT COMPUTER, NOR DO I WANT THEM TO TURN AROUND AND BLAME ME FOR ANY FUTURE PROBLEMS.
so to be honest, would i spend almost $200 for a tranny fluid drain.... doubt it. i would wait right around the 90/100,000miles - then drain it, so i have 20,000-30,000 miles left to test the results of that; ON THEIR TAB lol

[wildcat08]

The used oil from the transfer case did smell pretty bad but having the storm shelter/oil change pit helps since your nose isn't right next to it. Haven't driven it much yet. Mrs. wildcat08 will be the final judge of whether or not it drives more smoothly at slower speeds. I drove it a little around the neighborhood and it did seem less jerky .

Thanks for the info on the CVT. I was leaning towards waiting until 100,000 miles or so. I pulled the dipstick awhile back and the fluid looked/smelled fine so I decided to leave well enough alone.

[ImStricken06]

deff let us know if you notice a smoother acceleration. i for a fact have lost that rubber-band feeling when accelerating gently and being in the 3-10mph area.

[mpattdu]

Thanks for this and the differential fluid change DIYs. I'm going to tackle these over the weekend and wondering if you needed to replace the gaskets on the drain/fill plugs?

Thanks!

[ImStricken06]

you can, i didnt. i almost never do, and not a single problem in years.

[mpattdu]

Thanks! Yeah, I rarely do with oil changes either, but wanted to make sure these weren't special in some way.

[darylzero]

I just changed my transfer case oil yesterday. This oil came out dirty! It didn't smell that bad, but it wasn't roses either.

After changing my rear differential and the transfer case oil my car is running much smoother!!

It is just like ImStricken said that rubber band effect is gone! When going from 0-10 mph the car doesn't studder or shake like it did. Even before if I was going like 40mph and then pressing the gas going up and on ramp or something it would studder or shake a little, not anymore!

Here is a pic of my transfer case. I have the extension attached and this is to the fill bolt.


Now I used an 18in extension to get to the fill bolt and that was the perfect size for me. This job was a little messier than the rear diff. Once you take that drain bolt off that oil just pours out! The gloves came in handy for that. Again make sure you have cardboard under there.

I wouldn't worry about taking off the wrong bolt as the ones we need to take off only fit the 10mm bolt. That other one is a totaly different size.

Thanks ImStricken for the guide!!

[ImStricken06]

thats great darylzero, glad it worked great for you. i also had to use a long extension. the worst was when the 10mm hex bit tip kept coming out of the socket!?
and i also had to use a breaker bar that was long enough for my to grasp
(harbor freight is my good friend for cheap but good tools lol)

[darylzero]

I didn't have to use a breaker bar, would of helped, but I did have to hold the extension with one hand and the torque wrench with the other to hold it straight so it wouldn't keep slipping out.

[JMed]

So, should we put new gaskets like the repair manual says before putting the filler and drain plugs? I'm wondering because it says to never reuse gaskets.

Thanks for the awesome DIY guide

[ImStricken06]

So, should we put new gaskets like the repair manual says before putting the filler and drain plugs? I'm wondering because it says to never reuse gaskets.

Thanks for the awesome DIY guide

i wouldn't. never have, and it never failed.
plus most are nothing more than a strong/solid-core washer.

if it was a crush washer, maybe id see it as a positive, but not for solid-core washers/gaskets.

[darylzero]

That's funny JMed I thought I asked the exact same question here, but I cannot find it.

Just like ImStricken said you should be fine with these as they are just metal washers. I posted a pic of them in ImStricken's Differential DIY thread.

[ImStricken06]

That's funny JMed I thought I asked the exact same question here, but I cannot find it.

Just like ImStricken said you should be fine with these as they are just metal washers. I posted a pic of them in ImStricken's Differential DIY thread.

i could have swore you asked that same question too.
ill add in the pic you took for further referencing:

(image courtesy of: darylzero )

[JMed]

I tried earlier today to do this job with no luck, the fill up plug is really tight and couldn't get it loose. I will try again later with a bigger wrench to see if I can get more torque to get it loose. That fill up plug is located in a really awkward place.

[darylzero]

I tried earlier today to do this job with no luck, the fill up plug is really tight and couldn't get it loose. I will try again later with a bigger wrench to see if I can get more torque to get it loose. That fill up plug is located in a really awkward place.

Yeah that one is very awkward. I used the 18" extension lying under the car used my left hand to hold on to the extension right where it meets the socket wrench as a fulcrum and used my right hand to loosen it. It was tough, but I'm very strong lol

[ImStricken06]

you guys are using the access hole in the cross-member right?

unfortunately, because those plugs dont get a lot of use; they tend to seize from heat cycles & time.

Jmed: if you cant find a breaker bar, stick a metal pipe on the ratchet itself, and use it as an extension- this trick works magic!

[JMed]

I was finally able to do this job in the morning, I ended up using a breaker bar to loosen up the filling plug. I couldn't use a torque wrench on the filling plug because the one my friend lend me was too big and the torque adapter that I have does not work on tight spaces, so I ended up doing it by feel...

I think I used a 20" or 24" extension but it was a little bit too big, so I think the perfect size for this job it's a 18" extension bar like darylzero mentioned before.

Anyways, the gear oil did not smell that bad which is good. Oh, it took me 2 hours to complete the job since it's kinda hard to work on tight spaces when you have big hands.

[Towncivilian]

You're not supposed to use a torque wrench for loosening fasteners since this can harm the calibration. Use a breaker bar to loosen stuck bolts.

[JMed]

You're not supposed to use a torque wrench for loosening fasteners since this can harm the calibration. Use a breaker bar to loosen stuck bolts.

My bad... I guess I did not completed the sentence before. I used a breaker bar to loosen up the bolt. But since I couldn't use a torque wrench to tighten it up, I had to do it by feel.

[Towncivilian]

Ah, I see. That's no big deal as long as it isn't leaking.

[Nick2010]

FYI, I just called my local Chicago Nissan dealer for Transfer Case Fluid change for my 2011 Rogue SV SL AWD and I was told it's $155.00. I thought it will be under $100, I want to do several things since my 2011 Rogue already have 53K Miles

[ImStricken06]

FYI, I just called my local Chicago Nissan dealer for Transfer Case Fluid change for my 2011 Rogue SV SL AWD and I was told it's $155.00. I thought it will be under $100, I want to do several things since my 2011 Rogue is already have 53K Miles

"specialty" (differential/transfer-case/etc) fluid changes are never cheap. even tho less oil is used for the oil change, than a standard engine oil change, and the cost of the oil itself is cheaper compared to the same amount of engine oil, and furthermore no filter is needed to be replaced = they still charge an arm and a leg. its got to be because they simply 'can'. they know that the average weekend garage dweller wont try to attempt this fluid change because it looks complicated. they(the dealers) simply prey on people. thats why i took the time to do the differential & transfer-case Do-It-Yourself write-ups.

did you ask how much the differential fluid change would be at your dealer? its the same fluid as your transfer case.

[Nick2010]

I'm planning on doing the differential fluid change my self since that's a pretty easy one, but next week I'll find out how much it would cost for transmission and differential oil change. Got my rogue with 47K last May and I added 5K more. It still drives like brand new but I didn't get any service maintenance history so I want to make sure all fluids are changed.

Btw, I love my Rogue. I really think it was a great choice instead of the CRV or RAV4.

[Sanders630]

just did both this yesterday. Wife's rogue just hit 50K miles.
Rear differential was a piece of cake. The transfer case wasn't too bad either. Tougher definitely because of the positioning. I was better using a ten and a six inch extension. The 18 inch was too close to the shock tube for clearance for the wrench. Anyway the fill plug broke pretty easy. The hardest part was filling it up with the car level and not jacked up. Luckily I'm a skinny guy so but wanted to make sure the fill level was right.
On the feel it does feel smoother but, I don't drive the rogue all that often it's my wife's car. Waiting on her to drive it and see what she says.