Matic-S in '03 QX4?

[BazookaJoe]

Had a local shop do a transmission and transfer case flush and fill. I asked them specifically if they had nissan matic d on hand and they said yes. I called them once the work was done and they said that they didn't have matic-d so they called a dealer and were told matic-s is ok to use. I'm not feeling good about this. Any thoughts?

[04pathse]

Had a local shop do a transmission and transfer case flush and fill. I asked them specifically if they had nissan matic d on hand and they said yes. I called them once the work was done and they said that they didn't have matic-d so they called a dealer and were told matic-s is ok to use. I'm not feeling good about this. Any thoughts?

From what I have read online matic-s should not be used in place of matic-d

[BazookaJoe]

So what are the proper steps that need to be done to get this stuff out? Is dropping the pan and draining sufficient or does a machine have to suck it all out? What a pain.

[yeldogt]

How annoying .. really annoying. The S replaced the Old J ... it did not replace the D. It's not compatible ....

I'm not really sure what the best way to do it is. There are close specification products available for less than the D. I would think draining the transfer ... filling with suitable replacement. Driving a bit -- and then replacing would be more then enough,

For the transmission -- you only get about 4 quarts to come out. I don't remember the total capacity ... but I would think the only way to do it would be use a transfer machine.

[Mike W.]

I don't know the capacities of it, total capacity vs drain and fill, but typically I've heard 3 drain and fills will give you well over a 90% changeover. Do the math, it's not complicated on a spreadsheet.

[BazookaJoe]

I gave my concerns to the shop owner and they replaced the fluid with matic-D no questions asked. They used the cooler return line to change it. They dropped the pan the first time. It seems to shift fine so far. Hopefully it won't haunt me in the future. Thanks for the responses.

[brickbox]

Late to this thread here, but for future reference: You will be fine doing multiple drains and fills. It took me 5 drains/refills to get fresh fluid coming out. Just remember to change the copper crush washer on the drain bolt.

As for the fluid choice, as everyone here has mention Matic D is not reverse compatible with Matic S.
That being said, Valvoline Maxlife Multi Vehicle ATF is an excellent alternative to the Matic D. I have over 40k miles on it in my QX4 varying between flat out driving, 4Lo off roading and driving multiple times 0F with no issues.

PS: The local Nissan dealerships here do not stock Matic D and just used the Valvoline fluid.

[Mike W.]

Owners manual on my '03 says Dexron III may also be used. I don't think this is one of those trannys that use what I call "magic juice" fluid.

[yeldogt]

Trans fluid -- hydraulic fluid. Is a strange beast ... it's basically a base fluid with modifiers added. Dexron is a base nomenclature -- manufacturers use a base and build off of it. So the min specification maybe Dextron "X" .. but that does not = the actual fluid that a given manufacturer supplies for a particular trans.

The modifiers could be for any number of things -- cold or hot weather operation ....matching friction material etc,

20 years ago when the new synthetic types became common --- they had far superior performance. that's why many companies sealed them ... making fluid changes not as easy. People start looking for cheap alternatives .. and none being available .. it was reasonable to assume people would introduce the wrong kind. It happened a lot with CV trans -- people would use the cheap "universal" .. whatever that is ... Nissan had many failed transmissions. It's true with some power steering fluid as well .. many euro cars want fluid that flows a cold temps .... put in regular and they make noise.

Early trans fluid used whale oil as modifiers .. many fluids used whale. that was the first major Dexron change -- when whales could no longer be used. My fist project in the late 80's after university was working on Navy battleships coming out of mothball -- they were full of the old fluids ... with no replacements available. it was interesting

[Mike W.]

Trans fluid -- hydraulic fluid. Is a strange beast ...

I think that is more and better info on ATF than I've seen in one place before. I knew some of it, but I thought the different fluids were mostly related to the clutches and friction.