Transmission Problems after Fluid and Filter change

General discussion area for the L32-chassis Altima
VinceFratarcangeli
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:31 pm
Car: 2011 Nissan Altima

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Hey everybody, so I just did a fluid and filter change on my transmission by doing a pan drain and refill. Afterwards, when I drive the car it sounds like the transmission is making a clunking/thumping noise I believe it's doing it in circles moving with the transmission.

So, when the car is at low speeds its not very noticeable, it gets more noticeable around 25-30mph and very fast and violent at about 45-50mph, it seems like it's shaking or something. When I press the gas (I can't be lightly pressing it, but enough to where its accelerating a bit) or step on the brakes, the shaking stops, but when I'm driving and not stepping on the brakes or gas, it shakes/clunks. The sound is kind of like that of a bad throw out bearing. However my car is an automatic and when I asked my mechanic friend if automatics have throw out bearings he said no. He said to him (and he mentioned he didn't know a whole lot about CVTs) it sounded like the torque converter was starving for fluid. When I refilled it, I measured exactly what came out (it looked just under 5.4 qts) and filled that back up exactly. But after he said that, I made sure my total fill was about 5.5 qts but the problem is still there. According to the dealer, the car had its transmission fluid serviced once at 88,000 miles (the car now has about 156,000 miles). Here are some pictures of the old vs new fluid. My car is a 2011 Nissan Altima by the way (NS2 fluid)

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And a video of the fluid

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krz5q6Fa6O4[/youtube]


To anyone who can't see the pics/video, basically, the new fluid is bright green and when i flip it over in a bottle it just goes to the other side. The old fluid is a dark brown with maybe the slightest ever hint of green, when I flip it over in a bottle I think of it more of a sludge as it leaves a tint of the fluid (in yellow) as it runs down the bottle.

I hope anyone with some experience of these transmissions would be able to help give me an idea of what's going on with the car. I hope it's not just a bad transmission, the transmission was working just fine before I changed the fluid.


User avatar
PalmerWMD
Posts: 18383
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 3:14 pm
Car: 2004 350Z

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It obviously needed new fluid. Since you did not use any pressure but merely dropped the pan i doubt you pressed any dirt into seals.
But its a CVT.. so I just dont know.. they dont like having their fluid not changed regularly.

At first I was gonna say your level is just off.. but then i read what you wrote again

VinceFratarcangeli
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:31 pm
Car: 2011 Nissan Altima

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I'm an idiot haha, it turned out my wheels were just loose. I forgot I loosened them cause I was going to grease the caliper guide pins cause I just slapped pads on it, but I didn't do that cause it got dark and I forgot to tighten them up LOL. Sorry. BUT, I now wonder if I should take out that extra 100mL I put in since the drain was almost 5.4Qts and when my friend said my torque converter might be starving for fluid I added in that extra 100mL. The dipstick does look a little off but I really don't know how to read it much, it's kind of confusing. it has 2 notches (and I believe when I checked it the first time it was just on the bottom notch or just on the top notch, i think the bottom) now it is a bit over the top notch...but I don't remember if I checked it before or after I jacked it up /: . Also, on one side of the dipstick it says "HOT" and it has hashmarks just barely above both notches. I'm assuming the hashmarks are where the fluid needs to be when its hot and the notches are where it needs to be when it's cold? Even with the fluid filled wherever it is right now, the transmission is running perfectly! Thoughts?


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