Just use the J-matic fluid! There is no reason not to, if you change your fluid ever 30k miles the extra money for this is not worth screwing anything up.

 

So how many quarts do I need to buy to just do a drain/refill. Would 4 be enough? I only have 31xxx miles on my car but I want to swap out atleast some of the fluid.

 

4 is enough for my 03 G35 Coupe. Every time I used about 3.3qts.

 

its basically the same transmission correct? i am gonna do the drain and refill method a few times over and start doing that every 15k miles.

-i hate service people at the dealers, its why i do my own work. they know no more about cars than the people that walk through the door seeking assistance.

i called to see how much they would charge to do a fluid exchange on my 5at in my 2007 infiniti g35.
......he said,"well if its a cvt transmission it will be 179 plus tax and to change the rear differential fluid will be 79-99 dollars."

WOW~! i know its a nissan dealer with all fwd cars, but you should atleast know the "other" vehicles in the family.

in one sentence he basically said if i have a fwd only transmission, it will be 179 dollars, but the rear differential of my driveline will be 79-99 dollars. i wish they had a direct line to talk to actual master techs.

 

I think your taking this far out of proportion. I worked at a dealership as a tech.

1. there are not too many master techs in this nation. I dont think there is enough to say 1 per shop. Just because there is so many certs you need.

2. I agree some service advisors are not that bright, they might not know all the ins and outs of what things do or how its done but they have people skills. A lot of techs don't have people skills, they can't deal with customers all the time. They are paid to work with their hands and not talk to you. Even if you talked to the master tech, he will not be able to give you pricing. aside from the " i'll charge you 1.5 hours to do all your ATF related drain and fill" now you have to go to parts and get a part quote, do your own math in terms of 1.5 x labor rate + tax and etc etc. that is what an advisor is suppose to be doing.

3. yea they might not know if your car is RWD, FWD, AWD but he did cover all the cases. You came in asking for a price and he did just that. yea its not a detailed price but a ballpark and i think thats fairly accurate.

4. they get asked questions on the fly. imagine being in their shoes, EVERY 15 min someone comes rolling in and asks you prices on the spot how much is this, what if i get this done. they have answers for some and dont for others but they give you an idea. so how if 150+ 100 is too much in your mind you can get back into your car and keep rolling. if you express interest then he can give you more details.

you have to understand a lot of people ask for quotes just as a FYI type deal, they shop around first. I've seen days where advisors would make like 50 quotes for people and only 3 people would get the service.

 

i dont like the advisors....

i respect the techs....

i actually will ask how much the materials are and then how much "book time" they charge for the job...

i went straight to parts and picked up a case(12qts) of nissan matic fluid. 9/qt with my nissan discount. I also ordered a new drive belt since its also about time to be replaced(im at 36k miles)

I did the fluid exchange myself. I jacked the front up and put it on jack stands. Then i took off the numerous 10mm screws and 3 pushpins that holds the entire front splash gaurd on and removed it. I pulled off the return hose thats connected to the radiator on the drivers side and let the fluid flow out with the car idling(its the upper hose, not the lower) while 6 qts came out, i was able to get three quarts in before i shut the car off. then i filled another another three to catch it up. I started the car again and by the time it hit 11qts total, i had put in another three(9 total in) and turned it off. At that point i put the final 2 qts in to match the total 11qts that came out. wasnt to bad of a job, but it was messy. the fluid that came out was medium brown with a "used" smell. luckily it wasnt the "burnt smell". the fluid that went in was nice and pink.

after that, i jacked the rear up and drained my rear differential. put in mobile 1 75w-90 synthetic lube with one of those 5 dollar pump handles you attach to the bottle. i had to replace 1.5 qts of fluid. The fluid that came out was medium brown, the fluid that went in was a nice golden color.



after the test drive i immediately noticed that car shifts like new again. VERY smooth. Also, it feels as if more power is being transferred to the wheels. acceleration is quicker as well as smoother. Gear shifts are faster too. thanks for the help, i am glad i got my hands dirty and figured this out. i trust only myself to work on my car.

i kinda want to look into getting the VB upgrade that boosted people get since i am considering nitrous. any suggestions there?

 

also might be a good idea to install an in-line automatic transmission filter while you are getting the trans serviced.

Here's a video of me installing one, it's really easy:

http://x.infinitihelp.com/forum/show...85.html?t=4585

 

BG has a machine that the tech use for this, same entry method but the machine controlled the amount taken and put in.

if my memory serves me right, most flushes at my dealership were 119-149$ each. a drain and fill for the rear diff was with another machine, in a sense it was just a pump. you roughly saved yourself $200-300

oh SOME advisers are techs. I wanted to do it but i couldn't sell BS to customers compared to the other guy. I guess its easier to answer questions and sell stuff without knowledge.

 

Is anyone using Amsoil Universal ATF in their auto? It specifically says it's good for replacing Matic D, J and K but I'd like to know if anyone has firsthand experience.

 

well when you get under the car you see a label specficly saying, do not use matic D and this car should only be matic J

 

Heat and degraded ATF are the 2 things that will kill the stout 5AT. I've never thought about having the car running and disconnecting the return hose, potentially running the trans dry of fluid! Doesn't seem like a prudent idea even just parked.

Drain and fill is safe and easy. I believe the current Infiniti recommendation is now 1/yr for a drain fill.

 

So it seems that a simple drain and fill is the safest easiest and cheapest method to maintain the tranny. I'm gonna continue doing it every 30k and see how it goes. I'm at 83k now with no probs.

 

Hmmm...my car has 90K miles and I'm pretty sure the tranny fluid has never been changed... Guess that's my next mini-project.

 

Be careful, I was told by more than one mechanic that once you get past a certain point, changing the fluid can lead to some serious problems. The issue is that the fluid is a detergent and after a long enough time, enough crap builds up inside the transmission, and when you flush it all out you can then have crap start leaking. So just be forewarned when changing the fluid on something that hasn't had it changed in 90K miles!

 

Yeah I know...I have to check the fluid first to see if it hasn't decomposed to the point where a change will do more harm than good. I won't be doing a flush though anyways so either way I should be safe. I'll find out I guess.