It can help if you can center the snap ring on the axle before inserting it into the transmission. Try packing it with grease to keep it from moving (dropping down).
Nissan CVT - Valvoline?
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
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It can help if you can center the snap ring on the axle before inserting it into the transmission. Try packing it with grease to keep it from moving (dropping down).
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- Nov 23, 2020
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I seriously thought about going with a premium fluid, but I do this every 30k so I didn't think there would be any advantage since I'm not extending intervals.
I tried that but I think the ring may have been misshapen. The brand was different from the one I used previously. I would up swapping the ring from the old one to the new one, because it seemed slightly rounder and more flexible. I watched a bunch of instructional videos to figure out why I was having such a hard time. Some said 12 o'clock for the ring opening was better, others said 6 o'clock was fine. Rotating the opening from 12 to 6 is what finally enabled me to get it in. I think a retaining plate like what's used on the passenger side would have been much easier. Hopefully the seals don't fail in two years like they did on the last (Cardone) one!
If you're not overheating the CVT fluid then the higher performance, premium fluids probably wouldn't be as useful. Spending the time to clean the pan & magnets is probably more beneficial.
I did my pan drop and that god forsaken cartridge filter@ 75k but always did a drain and fill every spring. I just changed out the filter in the pan @120k and there was next to no gunk in the pan this time. I’ve only used eneos, idemitsu and oem and never an issue. Eneos eco is my favorite and it does actually back up the claim of quieting the cvt a bit. I had an 09 Altima that I gave to my daughter for a work car and it’s had a steady diet of Valvoline with no issues. If you’re under warranty I’d stay away from anything that’s dyed red or the dealer will fight you every step of the way if a warranty issue arises.
https://blog.amsoil.com/amsoil-cvt-fluid-helps-altima-reach-655000-miles-before-total/
Nice article just came out on AMSOIL's CVT fluid.
OP I went with Red Line, and so far I've been really happy. I almost went with AMSOIL though. Lots of people are very happy with the Castrol Transmax though, but it's red, and that turns some people off, and the fact that it's a dual ATF and CVT fluid made me a little nervous.
Here is a post of mine with lots of links to other threads and resources on CVT fluid options and maintenance. I posted about this a while back too before I changed mine.
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