I30 and Maxima folks, which a/t fluid works the best?

[Mr.Twister]

So the title pretty much says it. Please feel free to leave facts/opinions.I'm looking to do this service pretty soon.

[Mike G]

You mean other than the factory recommended Nissan/Infiniti brand? Personally, I use Valvoline products in all my vehicles....--Mike

[MattB]

Whatever is factory recommended is probably the best. I had my transmission flushed by my local dealer last year with Nissan fluid.

[Mr.Twister]

I think i will go OEM Nissan for the fluid.

thanks for the opinions!

[maxhopper]

Nissan Matic-D is the OEM recommended fluid. If you get a flush done at any Nissan dealer, they should use that fluid.

[lightsout]

i've always been partial to the Lucas Oil brands myself. I use most of their oil additives and stabilizers in my car.

power steering fluid.Synthetic oil stabilizer.transmission fluid stabilizer....i don't think they have a brake fluid tho

i also like Royal Purple's reputation, but have not been able to afford to buy their products all the time with oil changes and what not. I do have their coolant additive...it works AWESOME. I need to do a transmission flush and filter change too...i'm going to look into a few brands, and i'll check back here!!

thanks.....good thread

[Darktide]

lightsout. Don't even go near a filter change. Our cars don't have traditional filters. Ours are stainless steel and can't be removed without taking apart half of the internals of the transmission (there is one bolt that needs to be removed from the inside). Countless people have made this mistake including me...twice (once on an altima, and again on my max)

As for fluids themselves. There are plenty of fluids that meet and beat Nissan's specifications. If you are not looking to go top of the line quality (Red Line and Royal Purple being the only 2 I can think of) then just stick with OEM brand. Though I'm willing to be a dealership will charge you as much for their brand as Royal Purple or Red Line charges for theirs.

Hope this helps

[lightsout]

it does

[Mr.Twister]

Wow I had no idea about the atf filter being so complicated.Thank you for the information Darktide.

[Darktide]

It was weird. You can buy a filter/gasket kit for it, but there really is no use for the filter. I didn't mind taking down the pan on the Max because it gave me a chance to clean the inside of the pan. I had the previous experience with the filter so I wasn't dumb enough to even try to take it off. If you do take the pan off I'd suggest being careful with the gasket and make sure you don't over torque the bolts. 1) the transmission is aluminum and will strip easy 2) the gasket could slip off the rails and cause a serious leak (learned from experience). This is a job that shouldn't be feared but needs to be taken on with a little more finese

[NutriaforBreakfast]

I wouldnt torque up the pan without cleaning the boltsand the holes for the bolt with a tap and die and a torquewrench. I would be very careful with the torque wrench too.You might think about getting new bolts as the old ones mayhave been stretched/overtourqued.

I think you need to tighten the bolts in a certain orderwhen the gasket is going on to the pan and trans housing