My 02 Front is coming up on 50,000 mi. & I thought this would be a good time to change out Auto trans fluid & Diff oil. Is this too soon or too late? Has anyone changed the trans filter themselves? How hard was it?
Thanks in advance!
__________________ 02 Goldrush Frontier K Cab
4 Banger with a Slush Box
Monro-Matic Plus Shocks
My 02 Front is coming up on 50,000 mi. & I thought this would be a good time to change out Auto trans fluid & Diff oil. Is this too soon or too late? Has anyone changed the trans filter themselves? How hard was it?
Thanks in advance!
If you are hard on the drive train or haul heavy, YES do the tranny now.
As for the Diff. No worries til around 80k, unless moisture is introduced.
B R, if you really like your ride, I think 50,000 miles is a great interval to swap out the diff and tranny fluids. Auto trannies should definitely be done every 50,000 miles and some recommend every 30,000 miles if you are looking to get well over 120,000 miles from the same tranny.
Diffys with a limited slip tend to get dirtier, quicker ... 2-3+ times quicker than open diffs.
And since the capacities are so low, changing your diffy fluids a little more often (say, every 50,000 miles instead of 80,0000) will only run you a few dollars over the life of the vehicle.
It is never 'too late' to change an automotive fluid.
My 02 Front is coming up on 50,000 mi. & I thought this would be a good time to change out Auto trans fluid & Diff oil. Is this too soon or too late? Has anyone changed the trans filter themselves? How hard was it?
Thanks in advance!
You can't really "change" an auto's fluid without: disassembling it (I doubt you want to go that route), attaching it to one of the machines that flushes it, or let the trans pump pump it out while you add fresh fluid (I've never tried that method -- or the first one -- and I'm not sure that I've ever heard of anyone doing that) because the fluid won't drain out of the torque converter (while it's in the trans), it has to be pumped out.
Anyway, the best thing to do would probably be to have the trans flushed professionally, however, most places do not replace the filter; they say it isn't necessary.
FWIW, in the last two autos I've owned, I've dropped the pan, changed the filter, added a drain plug to the pan, reassembled, then added fluid, run the trans, drained, and repeated those steps until I figured I'd replaced most of the fluid. I think that procedure is good and helps, but I don't think it's perfect.
Hopefully, some of this babbling helps.
__________________
Jerry
2004 Frontier, King Cab, XE, 4x1, 4-cyl, 5-spd
I would think the answer is YES, but do the LSDs on these things require a limited slip additive with the fluid change?
Yes, the LSD rear diff requires an additive. There should be an orange sticker on the housing. If the sticker is gone check the owners manual for what additive works.
Regarding the tranny fluid change...I have only had the professional flush done on my autos and they seemed to do a good job.
Frontiers have drain plugs on there auto trannys. I would at least start with draining it and refilling it and it'll take about 4 quarts but thats only about half its capacity. I would drive it for a week and then drain again to get more of the old fluid out.
Very quick and simple but if you choose to change the filter youl have to drop the pan. If your not going to change the filter at least get some fresh fluid in there. Being a 4 cylinder fronty it probably does not have lsd so it should take right at about 1 quart to refill it once you have drained it.
Listen to the past post on drain and fills, that's all your Nissan needs. Just periodic drain and fills will keep it in good shape. Also don't worry about the filter, Nissan uses a fine metal mesh screen that never needs to be replaced or cleaned. No reason to drop your pan unless you are really curious to see what's on the magnet.
__________________
1997 Pathfinder XE
Air Lift Air Bags, Warn Hubs
Probably overkill but i drain and fill my dads 01 supercharged crew every 10 to 12k but its very cheap to do and it keeps the fluid fresh. Truck has 88k on it with no problems so far.
Thought about changing the filter but it dosent seem necessary. Sometimes i wonder about the magnet in the pan or does if have one? I wouldn't mine droping the pan to clean it off if its equipped with one.
Guys, different auto trannies have different drain set-ups. Some years ago, a few companies (domestics, I believe) removed drain plugs because shops were draining the fluid without servicing the internal filter (as mentioned, sometimes only a mesh screen). So, with some, you need to drop the entire pan … first removing any splash guards or skid plates, of course.
Another pain is the fact that they way they are arranged, a drain can remove 50% or less of the total amount of fluid in the tranny. So, what abmobil does is not as excessive as it at first seems.
”Yes, the LSD rear diff requires an additive. There should be an orange sticker on the housing. If the sticker is gone check the owner's manual for what additive works.”
Well, some gear oils claim they are fine for LSD all by themselves. And some of them are actually correct in this assertion. For example, Red Line Oil has a separate line of gear oils for LDSs. However, you should be prepared to add some LSD additive just in case the oil you pick doesn't work exactly as advertised ... because not all LSDs are the same. Some (their clutches, actually) can be quite finicky.
Bottles of LSD additive (a friction modifier) is available in a lot of places under a lot of brands: Lucas, Red Line, GM Goodwrench, etc ... I'm not sure if any are better than any others.
Actually I drain and fill about the same with my pathfinder, every 10k or so. Especially in the summers when I'm towing the boat. I did actually drop the pan on my pathfinder at 100k after a life of heavy towing, the same week I dropped the pan on my 2000 Ford Windstar with only 45k on it. Both have a magnet and the pathfinder's had about 1/2 the dust accumulation on it as the Windstar with less than half the mileage and towing.
I kicked myself afterwards for not listening to people when they say the Nissan's have a screen that does not need to be changed or cleaned, absolutely nothing on it after 100k, its self cleaning. The only way that thing would clog is about a second after your tranny explodes.
The first thing I did when I got the pan off my domestic was install a drain plug so I can do the same drain and fill schedule. Funny thing is I just got coupons for Ford service and it had a sale on their transmission service, guess what, it's just drain and fill of the fluid in the pan up to 5 qts.
By the way look into Mobil 1 gear lube, I have it in both diffs and it is LSD compatible, no problems with my rear LSD. Also watch out for some bottles of gear lube that say LSD compatible and then on the back says "For topoff only".
__________________
1997 Pathfinder XE
Air Lift Air Bags, Warn Hubs
Great, thanks for all the advice. I was just changing my oil this weekend & looked at the tranny pan while I was underneath. I don't recall seeing any drain plug, but it looked like removal of the pan was pretty easy, since I didn't see any xmembers in the way.
I guess I'll just drop the pan to get some % of the fluid out, & then do it all over again sometime later to get most of the remainder out.
I searched a little on what type of fluids to use. I guess the mystery Nissan brand fluid would be the safest way to go?
B R any brand dexron3 will be fine, Ive used havoline and valvoline in my dads 01 supercharged crew, Currently using dex3 castrol from walmart and will stick with that. Look again its got a drain plug
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