Too Late/Unsafe To Change Tranny Fluid

[DeathDynamics]

Looking for opinions to help in my situation.

I have a 1998 Nissan Altima, automatic transmission. The car has nearly 60,000 miles on it; I purchased used when the car had 25,000. A technician told me it probably wouldn't be safe to change the fluid on the car due to the mileage and the transmission fluid having never been changed. He said I should take it to a transmission shop and have them drop the pan/change filter (car doesn't have a fliter, only a screen).

I was wanting to do the drain/refill on my own, but I live in an apartment with strict rules, so I don't have to space or equipment (ramps, etc.) to do so. So, my best bet would probably be the machine they use at oil change shops to remove fluid and pump new fluid in all at once.

Considering the age and mileage of my car, would changing the transmission fluid be dangerous? Are oil change places overly precautious to avoid liability in the instance that changing transmission fluid may cause harm (no matter how rare or common the occurence may be)?

The oil change place charges $90 for their transmission service... how much should I expect to pay to have a decent transmission shop inspect my transmission/change the fluid?

I'm moving to a house in the not so distant future... I may just wait and do a few drain/refills on my own (pretty easy to do on this car, from what I see in the Haynes manual).

 

[unDummy]

Its never too late, especially on a jatco. Changing ATF is NEVER dangerous. Thats just internet hearsay, and ignorant tech misinformation.

By all means, either flush the ATF completely or do a partial drain/refill using the drainplug.

Don't bother dropping the pan until 100k miles. The strainer doesn't filter anything. At 100k, you'll need to clean or replace the pan magnet.

There is no 'inspection' of the transmission. Just change the fluid.

Make sure that a quality fluid is used. And, make sure that the level is perfect when hot on a flat surface.

The issue with liability is that many owners with blown transmission try to change the fluid for a fix. Blown transmissions won't be rebuilt with a fluid change. Stupid shops that don't test drive a vehicle before the flush, or use the correct quality equivalent fluid, deserve the 'liability'.

 

[Mr Nice]

That guy says 60K miles is too much mileage for a 10 year old car ???

Change the fluid, but first check to see what ATF it requires.

 

[KBFXDLI]

If you have a drain bolt in the pan drain it yourself and refill. If not, buy a fluid extractor on Amazon and suck the fluid out the dipstick tube (what I do). Swap out 2-4 quarts every oil change until you have nice clean fluid then every other change. That way you will gradually introduce new fluid into the system. Oh yeah...when you see that tech again......run...

 

[Stainless]

well. i am in the same boat. i have a lumina with 150,000 and the transmission fluid has never been changed. i bought the car with 80k miles on it, and i have no idea what happened before that.

when i bought the car at 80k, every mechanic told me, "dont change anything, it will make the transmission start to slip." so, i didn't do anything.

what should i do now?

 

[Pranav]

I thought this "old wive's tail" had some credibilty coming from the possibility of the detergents in fresh ATF dislodging varnish/dirt and allowing it to clog up various passages in the transmission?

 

[Gary Allan]

How that semi-myth started is when people detect a problem ..after a decade or more of no transmission fluid changes ...they get the idea to change the fluid...and THEN the thing takes a #@$%! ..they associate the fluid change with the failure.

Change the fluid and buy a Magnefine to put in the cooler lines.

 

[Tremo]

I dropped the pan on the wife's Taurus at almost 100k miles. Fluid in there didn't look too bad. I put in a new filter, cleaned off the magnet, and refilled with MaxLife Dex/Merc plus a couple quarts of Valvoline Merc-V. Re-used the old pan gasket. Sweet. No leaks and it shifts smoother now.

I'm very pleased with the performance of MaxLife products.

 

[cmhj]

What the heck kind of service person did you see? Bet he also sells snake oil on the side.

It's never too late to change ATF fluid unless the transmission is fried.

I'd give it a couple fast drains and see how it performs.

 

[Pablo]

Sheesh, change the fluid.

 

[Kestas]

Gary is correct. A lot of people neglect their cars. Then their transmission starts hiccuping. They talk to the local car-guy-buddy who tells them they should flush the transmission fluid. The flush doesn't fix the problem and the transmission takes a dump shortly afterward. Then the guy runs around proclaiming that doing a flush on a neglected transmission is a bad thing to do, completely ignoring the original problem, and never mentioning that his transmission was about to take a dump anyhow.

 

[Doc8404]

all are correct...i heard the same thing years ago...transmission was on the way out the door, fluid was changed and it died. It MUST'VE been the fluid change! NOT.

Hate to say it, but try Jiffy Lube.

 

[Lonnie]

Change the mechanic and the fluid. 60k in 10 years is nothing to worry about.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

Don't listen to that mechanic, I'm surprised he didn't tell you that you'd create an "air pocket" like one idiot told me. I'd say run 6 ounces of Auto-RX for 1,500 miles in the transmission and do a filter change and full flush at the local shop.

 

[Big Jim]

I have changed fluid on several cars with high milage and absolutly putrid fluid with no ill effects. As long as the trans is still operating properly, new fluid will help, not hurt. Sometimes a trans that is starting to act up will clear up from a fluid change. This is especially true if the problem is just "tired fluid" (depleted additives, especially friction modifier) causing converter shudder.

New fluid in and of itself never causes a problem, and usually helps.

 

[Kestas]

If the neglected transmission is electronic, it may need to relearn its shifting parameters after a fluid change. This may be as simple as disconnecting the battery for a while.

 

[cmhj]

Quote:

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If the neglected transmission is electronic, it may need to relearn its shifting parameters after a fluid change. This may be as simple as disconnecting the battery for a while.

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Ahh good point.

 

[Cutehumor]

ha, when I took my then g/f 94k sunfire for a trans service (pan drop and filter change) they called and asked if the transmission ever been serviced. I said it had a transmission flush at 50k per records at a havoline express lube. they probably saw one of the nastiest transmission filters ever or the havoline place never did the flush but charged my father in law for it. In 11 years, this car has only had two transmission services. shifts fine. I'm gonna to change out this summer since I have taken over the car.

 

[T-Keith]

Absolutely ridiculous. 60,000 is not a lot of miles, it's even less then most recommended intervals. I changed my fluid when I bought my car, it was black and hadn't been changed in ages. The transmission has lasted me another 50,000 since then. In your case I wouldn't worry, just have someone change the fluid and filter and be done.

 

[sky jumper]

Quote:

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Changing ATF is NEVER dangerous. Thats just internet hearsay, and ignorant tech misinformation.

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I guess the way I've heard this is that a fluid change on a high mileage neglected trans will not cause the failure, but it can hasten its demise. the trans was doomed anyway due to worn out clutches, but the old fluid still provided enough friction for it to engage. the new fluid did not provide enough friction, and so the trans begins to slip almost immediately (whereas w/out the fluid change it may have held together for ??? more miles).

so is that just a complete line of baloney then?? or is there at least a shred of truth to it?

disclaimer -- I know absolutely nothing about automatic transmissions (other than how to change the ATF). they are a complete mystery to me.