Transmission Flush

[miata007]

Any reason why lucas is not recommended?

0007

[NightRiderQ45]

Any reason why lucas is not recommended?

0007

Go to bob is the oil guy and search post from people who actually mix/test the fluid. I saw a test where the oil stabilizer didn't even mix into the actual oil!

[Jesda]

Keep a bottle of Lucas in the trunk if you have an old transmission. It will "revive" the seals just enough to help you limp home. A friend's Maxima got an extra month of use.

Also good as a temporary fix for leaky ATF.

[Q45tech]

Lucas is sold in 55 gallon sizes to 2nd and 3rd tier used car lots where it can make a junker behave long enough to be sold and maybe 30 days thereafter. Beware of most additives that swell seals [after they swell they start to fall apart] but in an emergency on the side of the road anything that gets you home or to a shop.

[Infinitiguy19]

So even there power steering seal leak repair product should be avoided?

I wonder if there is a product that they make that is 100% safe to use without any negative side affects such as BG44K.

[mattd1979]

The input shaft seal on the steering rack went bad on my car. It was leaking so bad that it would dump a quart of oil in 1 minute. It didn't leak that bad at first. I usually would have to top it off once a week. It just happened one day after I had my car detailed and it was just idling there for about 10 minutes. When I got in to drive off, I noticed that there wasn't any power steering. I thought that maybe some of the shine that was put on the engine got on the belts and the pulley was slipping but nope. I popped the cap and it was flat empty. I proceeded to the trunk and got a quart of trans fluid and poured in it and almost as quickly as it went in, it went out. I limped the car over to the closest gas station to get another bottle of fluid and dumped it in, drove to the closest auto parts store and bought 2 bottles of the lucas power steering stop leak and put one bottle in and headed for my brothers house which was about 25 minutes away. Once I got to the house, I checked the fluid and topped off with the other bottle of stop leak and the leak stopped. I was surprised. I didn't expect it to work that good. I pulled a steering rack off of another Q we had at my brothers house and took it back with me to Jacksonville which is a 3 hour drive. That was about 4 months ago. So far the fluid has stayed above the full mark. If things go south, I do have a replacement rack though.

[maxnix]

1.) So even there power steering seal leak repair product should be avoided?

2.) I wonder if there is a product that they make that is 100% safe to use without any negative side affects such as BG44K.

1.) Yes, unless you want to clean the components between fluid exchanges. Think about it. Gunk is not good.

2.) BG Power Steering Conditioner or as an alternative, a small amount of MMO if changed annually.

[mattd1979]

As far as the fluid exchange. I have my third transmission in my car (The second one lost all but reverse and 1st gear.). The one I have now had around 68,000 miles on it when I installed it. It was the second transmission that was in the car that it came out of. The car had 88,656 miles on it when it was replaced. When I got it, the car at that time had around 156,000 on it. My car had around 210k When I installed this transmission. Anyway, It doesn't appear that the fluid had ever been changed since this transmission was installed in the other car by the dealer. The fluid is almost yellow but it doesn't seem to smell burnt. I am contemplating on if I should do the fluid exchange my self by using the 6 step process or have the Infiniti dealer do the exchange.

[maxnix]

Most dealer's (99%) don't perform a mechanical fluid exchange but merely drain and refilll, ensuring >60% of the contaminated fluid remains, and all the varnish and sludge not in the pan. No dealer I have ever heard drops the pan and replaces the filter, O-ring, gasket and one time use bolts.

If your fluid is yellow, something is terribly wrong. Used transmissions are for those who have to mcuh time and would rather perform repeat labor on their car than enjoy driving it.

[mattd1979]

Well, the transmission was available and worked very well and shifted very nicely in the other Q before it was totaled. I was in Zephyrhills and had a 3 hour drive to get back to Jacksonville in 2 days, so I pulled it from the other car and installed it in mine. It has worked nicely since and has given me no problems. I just wanted to do what was right. I just wanted an experts honest opinion on what to do. I am also currently unemployed and am collecting unemployment, so I could not afford to spend $3,000 dollars on a fresh reman from Nissan. I took what I could get. And yes, I guess you could say I do have some free time. I have had this car of mine since November of 2005 and it has gotten me everywhere. There were times when I could have junked it and gotten myself something more economical but I am just attached to it. I guess you could say that it is a part of the family. I couldn't bring myself to do that. Speaking of my family, my Mom has a 1991 Q with 218K and my brother has a 1990 Q with 160K. Of all of the stuff that I have done to this car, I guess you could say that I have stripped it down to the unibody and reassembled it. I know it from the inside out. So I intend to keep it for as long as I can. I continue to learn more about it as I go. Yeah I also enjoy working on it in addition to driving so I fall in that category also. I intended on dropping the pan and changing the screen as I did in the other transmissions that I had in the car (which didn't show any debris in the screens in either one of them and nothing in the pan other then what little bit was on the magnet.). I guess if I have it exchanged at the dealer then I will just have to drop the pan again after they do their thing and replace the screen again. I am using a Magnafine filter on the return line to the transmission. Sorry for the long winded post. I just wanted everyone who reads this to know where I stand. I never did get a response on what would be the best method.

[maxnix]

Best method is to perform a BG or like mechanical exchange with pan drop, inspection, cleaning replacement, and new ATF.

If you are not doing that, just drain and refill yourself. Depends on your ATF maintanence history.

Used transmissions often become the more expensive option over time. Tough spot you are in. Maybe minimize driving and save? Good luck on your next opportunity.