Fluid flush

[Twizz]

What's up guys ?
Question, I have an 07 M35X. I have about 72,000 miles on it. I get my 3k oil changes but I've never done a flush of any sort. I'm wondering which ones I actually need ? They're rather expensive and I'd like to avoid the dealer and their "suggestions" as I feel they're just out for my cash !! So can you guys tell me what I actually need vs what it'd be nice to have ? Thanks

[cruzad3r]

coolant flush you can do,
front diff fluid you can change,
rear diff fluid you can change,
oil you can change,
transmission fluid you can change,
now you can flush transmission at the dealer but that will be more expensive than changing the fluid yourself

[Twizz]

coolant flush you can do,
front diff fluid you can change,
rear diff fluid you can change,
oil you can change,
transmission fluid you can change,
now you can flush transmission at the dealer but that will be more expensive than changing the fluid yourself

Problem is, in no car guy. I don't do any of that stuff. So what would you suggest ??

[cruzad3r]

from the look of your signature, it seems you have invested into mods - why not do them all to keep the car on tip top shape.

[Ilya]

I do the coolant, transmission, front diff and rear diff every 50-60kmi or so. Runs about $600 at my dealer. Worth it to me as I don't have the time to do them myself and a few of them (transmission/coolant) can get messy real quick.

[szh]

I do the coolant, transmission, front diff and rear diff every 50-60kmi or so. Runs about $600 at my dealer. Worth it to me as I don't have the time to do them myself and a few of them (transmission/coolant) can get messy real quick.

Here is my [new car] schedule for fluid changes:

1. Transmission fluid flushes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
2. Oil and filter changes at approx 500, 1700, 3750 and then every 3750 (or so) miles. Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 engine oil after at least 10k miles are done.
3. Power steering fluid changes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
4. Brake fluid changes every 2 years or 30k miles - whichever is sooner.
5. Differential fluid at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
6. Cooling fan fluid (unique to Y34) at approx 10k, 30k and then every 30k miles.

Overkill? Probably! but I want my cars to give my cars all the opportunity to last a long, long time - particularly if I keep them for my own use for years (like my current 2003 M45 ... a Y34 purchased new in Sept 2003 and at about 175,900 miles at the moment).

So, I have a bigger than usual service bill coming up at the 180k mile mark in three to four months!

Z

[BlackCat81]

I do the coolant, transmission, front diff and rear diff every 50-60kmi or so. Runs about $600 at my dealer. Worth it to me as I don't have the time to do them myself and a few of them (transmission/coolant) can get messy real quick.

Here is my [new car] schedule for fluid changes:

1. Transmission fluid flushes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
2. Oil and filter changes at approx 500, 1700, 3750 and then every 3750 (or so) miles. Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 engine oil after at least 10k miles are done.
3. Power steering fluid changes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
4. Brake fluid changes every 2 years or 30k miles - whichever is sooner.
5. Differential fluid at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
6. Cooling fan fluid (unique to Y34) at approx 10k, 30k and then every 30k miles.

Overkill? Probably! but I want my cars to give my cars all the opportunity to last a long, long time - particularly if I keep them for my own use for years (like my current 2003 M45 ... a Y34 purchased new in Sept 2003 and at about 175,900 miles at the moment).

So, I have a bigger than usual service bill coming up at the 180k mile mark in three to four months!

Z

Definitely overkill. Infiniti "Blue Coolant" has a 105k service interval, trans, diffs, and t-case should be done at 60k, and brake fluid is a service that is recommended yearly. Power steering I recommend on an as needed basis.

[Twizz]

from the look of your signature, it seems you have invested into mods - why not do them all to keep the car on tip top shape.

I would love to. However I'm trying to prioritize based on the most important first and whatever else I can afford at the moment. Spending $1000 is a bit much right now n

[Twizz]

I do the coolant, transmission, front diff and rear diff every 50-60kmi or so. Runs about $600 at my dealer. Worth it to me as I don't have the time to do them myself and a few of them (transmission/coolant) can get messy real quick.

I will probably do these. Can I trust a regular mechanic to do these, or is this something that I should probably trust only to the dealer.

[Twizz]

I do the coolant, transmission, front diff and rear diff every 50-60kmi or so. Runs about $600 at my dealer. Worth it to me as I don't have the time to do them myself and a few of them (transmission/coolant) can get messy real quick.

Here is my [new car] schedule for fluid changes:

1. Transmission fluid flushes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
2. Oil and filter changes at approx 500, 1700, 3750 and then every 3750 (or so) miles. Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 engine oil after at least 10k miles are done.
3. Power steering fluid changes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
4. Brake fluid changes every 2 years or 30k miles - whichever is sooner.
5. Differential fluid at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
6. Cooling fan fluid (unique to Y34) at approx 10k, 30k and then every 30k miles.

Overkill? Probably! but I want my cars to give my cars all the opportunity to last a long, long time - particularly if I keep them for my own use for years (like my current 2003 M45 ... a Y34 purchased new in Sept 2003 and at about 175,900 miles at the moment).

So, I have a bigger than usual service bill coming up at the 180k mile mark in three to four months!

Z

So as not to go completely broke with maintaining my car, could I possibly just pick a couple of these and not so frequently lol

[szh]

Here is my [new car] schedule for fluid changes:

1. Transmission fluid flushes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
2. Oil and filter changes at approx 500, 1700, 3750 and then every 3750 (or so) miles. Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 engine oil after at least 10k miles are done.
3. Power steering fluid changes at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
4. Brake fluid changes every 2 years or 30k miles - whichever is sooner.
5. Differential fluid at approx 10k, 30k, then every 30k miles.
6. Cooling fan fluid (unique to Y34) at approx 10k, 30k and then every 30k miles.

Overkill? Probably! but I want my cars to give my cars all the opportunity to last a long, long time - particularly if I keep them for my own use for years (like my current 2003 M45 ... a Y34 purchased new in Sept 2003 and at about 175,900 miles at the moment).

So, I have a bigger than usual service bill coming up at the 180k mile mark in three to four months!

Z

Definitely overkill. Infiniti "Blue Coolant" has a 105k service interval, trans, diffs, and t-case should be done at 60k, and brake fluid is a service that is recommended yearly. Power steering I recommend on an as needed basis.

Yeah, agreed that it is overkill. But it is the reason I feel that my car is running just fine after almost 13 years of ownership!

I forgot to mention the coolant - I change that every 60k miles.

Z

[szh]

So as not to go completely broke with maintaining my car, could I possibly just pick a couple of these and not so frequently lol

Certainly. Many of the items I do at 30k miles can probably be easily extended to 60k ... my intervals are overkill. Blackcat81 mentioned what he recommends - my only comment would be that I wouldn't consider going 100k for the coolant change interval.

However, if you are purchasing a used car, you may want to do some of them once, stagger out the others relatively soon (do them later) based on cost, and then select an interval that works for you.

Z

[Larz]

I agree. These cars will run forever but ONLY if they are maintained properly. It's interesting how we might complain about the cost of fluid changes, etc but look at it this way. If you don't want to pay for a transmission flush / change .... check out the price of a new / rebuilt transmission due to degraded fluid causing excessive wear on the system. Compare the price of a new power steering pump or rack to the price of a fluid change.
I think we see where this is going.
When I bought my 09 M35, it had VERY low miles but still it was over 4 years old and I was unable to determine if any of the fluids had ever been changed. I also didn't know if the car was driven hard and loose or baby treated, if they had work done at their local half-arsed shop, or if they ignored oil changes, etc. During the first year of ownership I had them all done. That created a starting point (30k miles) and I will determine from that point when they will be due again. I have an extended warranty that covers virtually the whole car until 125k miles / 5 years but ONLY if proper maintenance is done. I now have absolute proof that all maintenance was done at the dealer with OEM fluids parts. In fact, I bought an OEM serpentine belt from an Infiniti dealer on Ebay and will have that installed at the next oil / filter change. The belt was just slightly more than 1/2 price compared to my local dealer. I also buy my air filters (my car needs two) from that same dealer and they sell the 2-pack for about 30% less than my dealer charges. So we CAN save some dollars here and there and still maintain OEM parts.
And my service rep does give me discount on the labour charges when he can. For instance, when I had them install my Brakemotive kit, I had them also change the brake fluid and he cut the normal labor for that service by a nice amount since they already had the car in the air with the calipers and rotors removed. If your service rep sees you regularly, they will look out for you because they want to keep seeing you at their shop Vs anywhere else and they are allowed to cut you some slack on the charges.

[BlackCat81]

Definitely overkill. Infiniti "Blue Coolant" has a 105k service interval, trans, diffs, and t-case should be done at 60k, and brake fluid is a service that is recommended yearly. Power steering I recommend on an as needed basis.

Yeah, agreed that it is overkill. But it is the reason I feel that my car is running just fine after almost 13 years of ownership!

I forgot to mention the coolant - I change that every 60k miles.

Z

Mines made it 208k without half those services done at your mileage schedule. I don't knock you for it though, I Service overkill mine since I've bought it, but as a tech I don't pay nearly what you pay to have them done. It just costs me the price of the fluids. I've put 2,500mi on my 06 M since I bought it in September, and yes, I drive it every day. I've changed the oil 3 times already though. Haha. I replaced every fluid in the car at 205k.