Transmax CVT acceptable for a '07 Sentra?

[michaelluscher]

It's a 2007 Sentra, 83k abouts
It was driveway abandoned for a few years in PA, now it's being returned to service as a cheap far for a coworkers kid
I've been deputized

It's the MR20DE 2.0 I4, with a Jatco RE0F10A CVT
It drives, it will do highway speed
But it needs a crank sensor and an intake boot, I suspect that's causing most of the drivability problems
I wanna drain and fill the transmission, I've got a scan tool and dipstick, I should be ok on that front

I'm trying to minimize costs, so I went with the older just CVT orientated Castrol Transmax
6qts should cover a drain and fill right?

It's $45 and it arrives tomorrow, is it really too far off the mark of the Nissan NS-2 it calls for?
I don't really care about the color, warranty ended years ago
Idemitsu/Ineos/Aisin fluids cost more and take longer to arrive
I kinda wanna trust this stuff a little more than the newer green label ATF/CVT dual use fluid
Something about that doesn't sit right with me?

I've also never serviced a CVT before, I've finally moved past the old wives tale about a fluid change killing a unit
Did that ever apply to CVTs

 

[CharBaby]

I have used that exact Castrol Transmax CVT fluid in my previous 2015 Altima with a CVT requiring Nissan NS-3 and 2015 Civic with a CVT requiring Honda HCF-2 both with great success.
I still have 4+ quarts in my stash and I believe that the bottle states that it is suitable for Nissan NS-2 as well.
Sadly those JATCO CVT are hit or miss but I don't believe that the Castrol CVT fluid will hurt the tranny.

 

[hrv]

Why take a chance...OEM fluid

 

[JavierH19]

Yes you can use it. But you can also get valvoline cvt which is a bit better.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

There's nothing wrong with Castrol CVT fluid, but it is red, which some people don't like. I agree with you that I'd rather use a dedicated CVT fluid than an ATF/CVT combo.

For something green, Cam2 would be a better choice. Valvoline CVT is amber, which also shouldn't cause any problems.

6 qt should be enough.

 

[The Critic]

Acceptable and Ideal are two different things.

But here's the issue: this isn't your car. Most mechanics will freak out if they see "red fluid" in a CVT trans when the OE fluid isn't red. Do you really want to put yourself in that position?

 

[GSCJR]

In the past I would say yes to universal CVT fluid but lately, from what I've been reading, get a dedicated NS-2.

 

[michaelluscher]

Acceptable and Ideal are two different things.

But here's the issue: this isn't your car. Most mechanics will freak out if they see "red fluid" in a CVT trans when the OE fluid isn't red. Do you really want to put yourself in that position?

The car was free to a ~20 year old, after sitting in a driveway in rural PA
His last hand me down car from his father ('04 Buick LeSabre) caught fire on the GSP
It may or may not have a nest/dead mouse in the blower motor
It doesn't have one clean body panel

I'm fairly certain I'm the best thing that's ever gonna happen to this car
I would've paid and waited for Ineos/Idemitsu/Aisin CVT fluid, but they cost more in time, price, and shipping costs
I'm trying to do something that I'm notoriously bad at
Save money

It's out for delivery now, should be waiting on my stoop when I get home from work
OTOH, this review has me thinking I'll be returning it
If it's the newer ATF/CVT fluid, I'm returning it
He's driving it right now with one key, lights out, a torn intake hose, and a bad crank sensor
I guess the CVT fluid change is lower down the list of priorities
It's coming by Saturday, I guess an OCI will be good enough

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

It's a 2007 Sentra, 83k abouts
It was driveway abandoned for a few years in PA, now it's being returned to service as a cheap far for a coworkers kid
I've been deputized

It's the MR20DE 2.0 I4, with a Jatco RE0F10A CVT
It drives, it will do highway speed
But it needs a crank sensor and an intake boot, I suspect that's causing most of the drivability problems
I wanna drain and fill the transmission, I've got a scan tool and dipstick, I should be ok on that front
View attachment 219707
I'm trying to minimize costs, so I went with the older just CVT orientated Castrol Transmax
6qts should cover a drain and fill right?
View attachment 219706
It's $45 and it arrives tomorrow, is it really too far off the mark of the Nissan NS-2 it calls for?
I don't really care about the color, warranty ended years ago
Idemitsu/Ineos/Aisin fluids cost more and take longer to arrive
I kinda wanna trust this stuff a little more than the newer green label ATF/CVT dual use fluid
Something about that doesn't sit right with me?

I've also never serviced a CVT before, I've finally moved past the old wives tale about a fluid change killing a unit
Did that ever apply to CVTs

Generalized grammatical rant of the day:
“orientated” is not a word. Period.

Acceptable uses/spellings: orient, orients, oriented, orientation, orientations, orientor.

Thank you.

 

[michaelluscher]

Generalized grammatical rant of the day:
“orientated” is not a word. Period.

Acceptable uses/spellings: orient, orients, oriented, orientation, orientations, orientor.

Thank you.

I watch too much British media, that's the problem

Duly noted
I'll work on perfecting my perspicacity
Go check on your head gaskets

 

[JTK]

Yes, it is acceptable.

This is a 17yr/old Nissan with a CVT. That last thing that's going to kill it or it's CVT is a suitable for use Castrol product.

 

[kschachn]

Just to reinforce the above, in accordance with your specific question Castrol states the fluid is acceptable for those applications which specify NS-2.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Go check on your head gaskets

They’re still there. Mostly.

 

[michaelluscher]

Oops indeed Amazon
That's an L
So this is gonna go back, I can secure 5qts of Valvoline CVT Fluid locally for $50 (instead of this 6qt for $45)
If I decide to service the CVT tomorrow

 

[DynBlin]

We own a 2015 Murano FWD with 186k, driven daily commuting 30 to 60 miles depending on which of us is driving it, over rural roads. Original CVT. It's a dream to drive.

At 60k I started doing drain and fills every 15k, first with Castrol Transmax, then with Valvoline after Castrol changed their formulation. (nothing against it, others here have used the universal with success). Took it on a 1k trip last week & love the low RPM at high cruise speeds.

My interval is overkill, but drain and fills are easy when I'm already under changing the oil, and it's served well so far. Regular discounts on Valvoline Direct put cost on par with 5 qt full synthetic oil purchases at Walmart.

We're one data point. Others have had worse luck. We've been very happy with the car.

 

[bbhero]

Acceptable and Ideal are two different things.

But here's the issue: this isn't your car. Most mechanics will freak out if they see "red fluid" in a CVT trans when the OE fluid isn't red. Do you really want to put yourself in that position?

True…

Eneos Eco CVT fluid wa green and quieted down my Nissan Altima VQ with a CVt quite a lot… Even my wife noticed how much quieter it was.

I didn’t change my CVT fluid until after 285,500 miles. It made it to 365,500 miles before it went out.

 

[CharBaby]

True…

Eneos Eco CVT fluid wa green and quieted down my Nissan Altima VQ with a CVt quite a lot… Even my wife noticed how much quieter it was.

I didn’t change my CVT fluid until after 285,500 miles. It made it to 365,500 miles before it went out.

What NISSAN & JATCO need to look into is, why did your tranny and others like your's last so long and then build them all that way.
They already know why the JATCO CVTs fail but why do some last so long.

When I worked for one particular large manufacturer, they would alway ask why their machine operated so poorly day-to-day?
Then I asked them to look at it differently. I asked their engineers to look into why those machines would sometimes run without a hitch for shift after shift after shift. And all too often these(multi-million dollar) machines would, run/shut down, run/shut down, turn-on/turn-off etc. Shift after shift.

They never did look into it. 20 years later their equipment still runs poorly with lots of scrap and machine & maintenance downtime and wasted labor hours. Apparently they are making money so they must not care.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Oops indeed Amazon
That's an L
So this is gonna go back, I can secure 5qts of Valvoline CVT Fluid locally for $50 (instead of this 6qt for $45)
If I decide to service the CVT tomorrow
View attachment 219866

sorry that they did this

Make sure you leave a review on Amazon that they sent you the ATF/CVT combo. It is possible that Castrol stopped making the old CVT fluid you wanted and replaced it with the combo ATF/CVT.

 

[michaelluscher]

Well, I got 5qts of Valvoline CVT for $49 locally
I used that, felt better about it
It's a 2007 with 83,000 miles on it
What does this figure mean?
The old fluid was a pale ish amber
I'm assuming it's factory

I cleared it after the fluid change

4.5ish qts came out
I put 4.5ish qts back in
I'll recheck the level when it returns next week

 

[slacktide_bitog]

That is a good price

How does the car drive now?

Since the old fluid was amber, you made the right choice with Valvoline