Transmission Service Timing

[RoyDaGeneral]

My QX4 has over 175K miles. Last transmission service was done by previous owner when it had 98K miles back in 2012. At this time, transmission has no problems and I'd like to keep it that way. Should I get it serviced soon or just keep going? I had heard that some transmissions will start having problems if they had not been serviced for a while, that is if they get serviced after such a long time. What does the service manual call for? Thx.

[macgiver]

That's sort of a s*** , wives tale in my opinion - smart money is it's virtually always a good thing to "fluid & filter change" an automatic transmission. And my opinion your in the "zone" -still good on miles here.
I believe those problems are experienced from towing , racing, hard driving, HOT climate , water entering trans, very-very long change interval , AND the proverbial " ANY COMBINATION or ALL" of the above .
Like Frankie says " Go Do IT " ! Do it today .

[attofarad]

The maintenance manual has no interval to change fluid, unless you tow, drive on rough roads, etc. If you do tow, 30k miles for the transmission fluid, rear differential (and front differential and transfer case for those with 4 wheel drive.

I do a drain/fill every 30k to 45k miles, even though I don't tow, and I service the differentials and transfer case about every 50k miles. I use Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle fluid, which seems to work fine. I wouldn't bother to drop the pan, just do two drain/fills if you want to get rid of more of the old fluid.

[attofarad]

I use Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle fluid, which seems to work fine.

The Castrol for the transmission and transfer case -- the differentials get other stuff.

[Frank01pathfinder]

My pathfinder has 234K miles on it I just recently did three pan drains and refills to freshen the fluid. Plan on doing the transfer case here soon. I would at least change the fluid.

[RoyDaGeneral]

I use Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle fluid, which seems to work fine.

The Castrol for the transmission and transfer case -- the differentials get other stuff.

Awesome feedback, what gear oil grade does differential use, and what brand?

[yeldogt]

The proper D matic fluid is available at the dealer or online for about what you pay for none OE fluid. The transmission and auto transfer case use the same fluid. I bought a case of 6 online -- it's 4 and 2. Just drain and refill -- this will refresh the additives. I use M1 gear oil in my differentials -- it's suitable for LSD w/o any additional additives. Always open the fill plug first.

I have my independent do all the fluids at once when I'm doing an oil change -- same with coolant. Proper Nissan fluid is $20 delivered + distilled water. Again -- simple drop of fluid from radiator. KISS ..rules

[RoyDaGeneral]

I got Mobil 1 Synthetic for transmission. For rear diff. I got Valvoline at Walmart; a gallon for $21.00, now I'm wondering if Valvoline is the right stuff? Is my 2WD an LSD?

[macgiver]

I believe you also need to find out if LSD is viscous ( sealed gel type) which needs no special additives , I believe.OR if it's LSD - "clutch" type that does USUALLY need an additive , then some aftermarket (rare ?) geared types have all their own particular idiosynchrisies .
Seeing if you got one "in there for sure" is a good idea , where you lift one side Rr wheel off ground , BLOCK the rest of your wheels ! , now in N twist that wheel that's off the ground - many youtubes on this , get more specific and into what to look for . You can DUUiiiit Louis !!

[macgiver]

Additionally ,benefits of one wheel lift : Don't need floorjack + experience with them , can use scissor from spare ; you can feel the torque slippage & even measure with torque wrench , noting any future wear ; twist hard to see if you have a "locked" , welded , or "spool" (an aftermarket solid replacement centerpiece ) in there ; last but not least ONE PERSON can do all these Tings easily by themselves . Then again goes further tests via youtube etc.

Tip : Due to helical gearing in Ring/Pinion you virtually ALWAYS get an easier turning of a wheel one direction over the other , don't let it fool you

[RoyDaGeneral]

I just got done doing the one wheel lift test, but transmission was in park. Wheel moved less than an inch each way, and I was not able to force it any further in either direction. Does that make it an LSD?

[macgiver]

No , with the one wheel method you need the driveshaft FREE (chalk all three wheels that are on ground=safety) .
So in NEUTRAL you spin the lifted wheel (R or L whatever side is lifted) CW then try CCW . Open diff will be VERY easy to turn many revs , BUT may be a little EASIER in one particular direction due to Hypoid gearing trying to turn the free-wheeling driveshaft. If diff is a Locked , welded , spool - it won't move AT ALL any more than 1" ,which is the "backlash",you cannot do "turns" either direction.
LSD when trying to turn will be extremely difficult to turn by hand , but with enough torque - should do "turns" (again - one way slightly easier due to Hypoid gearing) .
This is what's called pre-load that is in Viscous and clutch types (probably 80%+ of cars in this forum w/LSD's).
This may necessitate having experience with this typical differences in turning torque with all those stated "test moves". Main point was that one wheel can give a simple , one-man ,and revealing more facts type of procedure.

[RoyDaGeneral]

I just called the dealer and they sell the quart for $10 for the 80W-90. I think it's much safer to go this route than with the Walmart's Valvoline which probably doesn't have the additives.

[brickbox]

Pretty much any decent brand synthetic fluid you buy will have the EP additives for the friction modifiers.
I've Mobil1 in the front diff and the Valvoline 80W90 from Wallymart in the rear diff. My QX4 has LSD and it's not a problem whatsoever.

I believe if your QX4 came with the front and rear heated seats package, then the vehicle is equipped with LSD.

[RoyDaGeneral]

I went to dealer and picked up gear oil, turned out they don't sell Nissan fluid, it was Pennzoil, but had all the right specs as shown in service manual and they told me that's what they use in their garage.

My car was originally sold in FL, so no heated seats!

[yeldogt]

Roy -- I told you the M1 gear oil is the correct diff fluid. It's suitable for the LSD if you have it ... The LSD has a painted dot on the dif. Read your owners manual? The dealers don't stock the gear oil in the manual .... as you have discovered.

The additive is from a time prior to oil advancements

So you have a 2wd Q4? -Thought all came with the auto 4wd like the Pathfinder LE .

Since you went to the dealer -- why not get 4qt's of the correct trans fluid?

[RoyDaGeneral]

Roy -- I told you the M1 gear oil is the correct diff fluid. It's suitable for the LSD if you have it ... The LSD has a painted dot on the dif. Read your owners manual? The dealers don't stock the gear oil in the manual .... as you have discovered.

The additive is from a time prior to oil advancements

So you have a 2wd Q4? -Thought all came with the auto 4wd like the Pathfinder LE .

Since you went to the dealer -- why not get 4qt's of the correct trans fluid?

Yes, mine is a 2WD. I cleaned part of my diff, but didn't see any dots. Where exactly is that dot placed? I'm scared to lift truck off rear wheels fearing front wheels would roll, even with them being blocked.

Will Mobil 1 work on both LSD and non-LSD? If that's the case I could return Pennzoil and get some Mobil 1.

[yeldogt]

LSDs need a friction modifier -- years ago standard dino gear oil did not have the proper characteristics. Had to add the LSD additive. With oil advancements this is a thing of the past -- M1 tells you on the bottle it's suitable for LSD. I'm sure the Pennzoil will be fine .. if the bottle says suitable for LSD. M1 is full SYN ... Think when mine was done they only used 1.5 bottles for both differentials ..... It's about $11.00 bottle. Still need to match the weight in the manual. There are many types of oil sold -- M1 is the best bang for the buck.

LSD was an option -- all of mine had them. The dot was near the plug ... my guess is you don't have it. The 4wd Pathfinder LE and the 4WD Q4 were similar in equipment -- they had auto transfer case for switching 4WD and all seemed to have the LSD option. I wonder how many Q4's they made only 2WD. Kinda strange -- Infinity being the premium line. The Q came with HID headlights .... this was not available on the Pathfinder. The LE Pathfinder has leather -- ACC .. all the options.

[RoyDaGeneral]

I just called the Infiniti dealer parts dept and gave him my VIN. He confirmed mine came with an LSD. I'm returning the Pennzoil and getting Mobile 1 instead. I like fact it's synthetic which means it will last long and perform better. Thanks to Yeldogt!

[yeldogt]

Well that was a good idea. Use the savings to get the Dmatic trans fluid from the dealer. It's a simple drain and refill ... think it's only 4 quarts. Get a new drain plug seal ring