what fluid needs to go in for the 5AT ? Or does it have to go to the dealer for a flush ?

talked to a shop yesterday about flushing mine since I have 60K miles now. He said $150 and some import universal AT fluid he uses on Nissans ??

sound normal ?

 

You need Nissan's "J-matic" fluid. There are some companies that make tranny fluids that supposedly meet the J-matic specs, but I wouldn't risk it. Additionally, Nissan doesn't recommend a "flush" with a flushing machine. The FSM procedure involves draining the tranny and then disconnecting the tranny cooler lines, and with the engine on, drain the cooler and torque converter while adding fluid until it comes out clean. It sounds like a messy two person procedure. I think most of DIYers will drain the tranny, drive around a little. A drain the tranny again. This should remove a majority of the old fluid.

 

how many quarts does the transmission hold ? how much are they each quart ? seems like draining then adding 10 quarts then doing it again could be a lot of transmission fluid to dispose of and to buy.

thanks for the info

ordering a transmission dipstick now....

 

Mine has a dipstick and I didn't buy it separately?!?!

 

Must be a Canadian thing. I haven't heard of any US-spec 2003 sedans that have a dipstick. On the US-spec 2003 sedan, it's just a cap with no provision for a dipstick. On the dipstick caps, you'll notice writing that states in order to check the fluid level, you must install the dipstick backwards so that the bolt hole opening is facing towards the passenger fender. This lack of wording on the US-spec 2003 cap is a tell-tale sign that the dipstick has not fallen into the tranny because there was no dipstick to begin with. The only dipstick is the jerky making that claim

 

You need about 4 quarts of J-matic fluid for a simple drain and refill. I paid around $45 for 4 quarts at the local Nissan dealer.