Too much? 3 ATF drains in one year?

[aualtima3.5]

Background: 2002 Altima. Bought at 53k. Looked like no one ever servieed trans.

Did a D&F (drain and fill) at 55K, 58K. Refilled w/ castrol dex III and lubegaurd black, 4.5 qts.

I do entirely city driving. The trans is CONSTANTLY shifting. I was going to do a third, and final D&F until next year.

Too many D&F's? I didn't want to flush since there is no filter in this car and the fluid was pretty gross to begin with.

 

[unDummy]

No, never too many drain/refills.

Skip the lubegard and use MerconV or a Multivehicle ATF.

And, unless its a PITA, don't consider a "final" drain/refill. Pick an interval and stick with it(once or twice a year).

City driving is torture on the transmission. Install a bigger cooler to control ATF temps.
If you want ATF filtration, install an aftermarket filter.

 

[fred0803]

Never too many. with Drain and fills from what I remember you have to do about 3 to get 75% fresh fluid in there. I think 5 gets you to about 90% fresh.

Mercon is cheap, I drain and fill every other oil change with the troublesome Ford Escape trans since it only costs about $5 to do it. Any trans shows no signs of TC problems with 65000 miles in it.

 

[BlazerLT]

Filter ever been changed?

 

[aualtima3.5]

No filter on this vehicle.

 

[unDummy]

There are 2 flters on your Altima. One is a magnet on the bottom of the pan that needs cleaning(definitely by now).
The other is the pretty lame screen on the ATF pickup. It'll only clog when you have catastrophic failure.

 

[Gary Allan]

Get a Magnefine. Anyone can fit it in any vehicle. Change it every other drain. It's also a convenient place to pull the hose and do a flush.

 

[milwaukee]

I wonder what I can do with all the filters on my fridge?

In many hundreds of thousands of miles on my vehicles I have never seen a trans filter actually filter anything.

In my wife's el cheapo mini van I do a fluid extractor drain and refill on the trans every other oil change (about 10k) that replaces about 5.5 qts. I use wal mart mercon fluid so this only cost me about $5.

 

[digitaldrifter91]

i do it every 3 oil changes. i like my transmission to shift nicely, but i change out 4-6 quarts at a time...hehe i know my transmission does not like me any more cause it shifts a bit harsh, but thats why i change it consistantly so it will shift smoother.

 

[harry j]

I drop the auto transmission fluid every oil change (3,000 miles). I can moniter the fluid condition and see what quantity of wear products are on the magnetic drain plug. Oil drop is 3 quarts for my '93 Civic, AMS universal ATF. You can change your fluid as often as you want....or can afford

 

[Iain]

unDummy wrote:

quote:

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Skip the lubegard and use MerconV or a Multivehicle ATF.

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Agreed.

Do OEM recommend Lubeguard? If not, then discontinue use and use correct fluid recommended for use in vehicle.

 

[unDummy]

Yes, many OEMs use Lubegard or its competitors(Smartblend/Runrite...).
Nissan sells an equivalent(not sure who bottles is for them) as "Nissan Automatic Transmission Fluid Treatment"(matic-D savior).
But, there is no need for a bandaid when a cure like MerconV is available.
I also have one person using ATF+4. Thats another smooth shifting fluid. But, still waiting for more guinea pig transmissions and test miles before I recommend it.

Also, leave the battery disconnected overnight. This will allow the transmission to forget and relearn.

 

[keith]

quote:

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Originally posted by milwaukee:
In many hundreds of thousands of miles on my vehicles I have never seen a trans filter actually filter anything.

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I have a full flow filter on the transmission in my wifes minivan. The longest I have run the filter is 30K miles, and I replace them and cut open the old filter with a dremel. Every time, the old filter is like new and I wonder why I bothered. So I share your view that the filter stays clean.

If there is a big failure the filter will trap some junk, but by then the transmission is toast and will need a complete rebuild.

 

[aualtima3.5]

My FSM says use dexron III if Matic-D is unavailable; why use merconV?

 

[Iain]

I would use one of the latest multi-vehicle ATF formulations (DexronIII(H)/Mercon/Mercon V) even if Matic-D were available.

 

[Iain]

unDummy wrote:

quote:

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Also, leave the battery disconnected overnight. This will allow the transmission to forget and relearn.

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Why is this

Wouldn't transmission eventually relearn correct shift configuration if left alone?

 

[BlazerLT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Iain:
unDummy wrote:

quote:

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Also, leave the battery disconnected overnight. This will allow the transmission to forget and relearn.

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Why is this

Wouldn't transmission eventually relearn correct shift configuration if left alone?

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Will take a long longer for it to relearn over time.

Clearing the computer cleans the slate and has the transmission relearn in 200-250 miles rather than 1000miles without the clearing.