I won't expect him to post much on here based on how most people are and will treat him. I have my own opinions about some people on here that others think are super intelligent on things they have no experience with.

 

Thank you Blue Dream!

 

my old honda blew up because i used the M1 tranny.. i learned my lesson.. spend the extra $20 and use the OEM tranny fluid.. god.. i hate my self for that $3k mistake..

 

I'm all for DIY mods and preventative maintenance but if you don't utilize a trans flush machine, you're only doing half the job. I believe the AT holds 10 7/8 quarts of Matic-J/S and if you got 6 qts out, you left the other half in the torque converter or the housing. While it can be argued that half is better than no new trans fluid, I suggest this is one job you leave to the shop or dealership unless you have access to a flush machine.

 

In the factory SERVICE manual for my 2004 X, it says in plain english on page AT-12 that using any fluid other than Matic-J (now Matic-S) will void the warranty on the transmission.... quote:

"Using automatic transmission fluid other than Genuine Nissan Matic J ATF will cause deterioration in driveability and automatic transmission durability, and may damage the automatic transmission, which is not covered by the warranty."

So if you are still under warranty, stick with Nissan fluids. Out of warranty, do what you want.

 

I agree completely. AT flush/fill is the one thing I let the dealer do, I pretty much do everything else myself.

 

I would avoid the use of machines to flush the transmission. They can tend to push small debris (clutch material) into areas where you don't want them. The FSM recommended draining procedure is to disconnect the lines to the cooler, run the car at idle, and allow the tranny to pump out the fluid as you continue to add more. That process is rather tedious and messy unless you've got a lift and the means to fill as you drain.

What I did at around 60K miles is I drained the tranny (3.1 QTs) and added fluid. Drove 50 miles. Drained and refilled. Drove 50 miles. Drained and refilled. I then drain and refill the tranny (just the 3.1 QTs) every 15K miles or so. The Nissan and Infiniti dealers I've dealt with in Kansas City and Atlanta recommend tranny drains every 30K miles in lieu of full drains. It's cheaper and easier.

 

Me too, though I know this comment was mostly directed at me

 

+1,000,000

I was at the dealer a couple years ago and there was a guy there fighting with them because his 5AT had failed and they knew it was another fluid in there. I didn't ask how they knew (color, etc) but they knew and told him they would not warranty the tranny. He fought with them for about 10 minutes and stormed out saying he would be back with a lawyer. Not sure how it turned out, my service adviser went to another dealership and this dealer moved to another part of town.

 

There is plenty of info on this forum about ATF and AT maintenance. So, whatever direction he decided to follow will be in his own detriment or benefit. What I can't accept is the lack of respect for other people knowledge, experience, and most important TIME. Time here explaining things to the rest of us.

 

So far I have logged about 1,000 miles with Mobil 1 ATF in the tranny. No issues whatsoever. The car is an 04 with 81k miles and no warranty. Again I did my research. Everyone seemed to read over the fact that I know 2 Nissan Titan owners who have used M1 in their trannys for 50k miles with no issues. Titans have the same under the hood sticker saying use Matic J. I am not a chemist but I am pretty sure that Mobil 1 ATF has the same friction modifiers and properties that the Matic J has. I don't see why Mobil would set themselves up for a class action lawsuit by just making $hit up and causing countless peoples trannys to fail. Either way I am not worried about it. It's running like a champ still. I will be sure to let you all know one way or the other. Again I am just trying to provide some useful new information to this forum. Don't need everyone telling me to go back flush it and put Matic S in it.

 

I think this is quite admirable and look forward to seeing how it goes.

Personally, I spent a lot of time developing automatic transmission components. I've been to the Jatco (Nissan x-mission) offices in Fuji and Shin-Yokohama a number of times and participated in developing components for the new 7-speed. Jatco absolutely insists that ONLY their fluid be used for all validation testing.

I have also shown in component testing that there IS a difference. However, since durability is monitored through some particularly arcane statistics, I strongly doubt that any one consumer would ever notice. The OEM requires tighter tolerance bands on the levels of individual additives to "optimize" performance. The variation in life due to different fluid is very small compared to the variation in life caused by other factors such as cleanliness, duty-cycle or component variation (within reason, of course).

 

The fluid will expand if it is hot, so if you took out 6 qts while the fluid was hot and refilled with 6qts of cold fluid, you overfilled. If both were at room temp, did you raise the front or the back for the AT service? I might try your approach as it would remove the step of having to disconnect the cooler line to replace 6qts.

 

I had the front raised by driving up onto ramps. I am thinking next time I will disconnect the hose and run maybe 3-4 quarts out of it first then see if I can still get 6 qts out of the pan.. Then just pour 9-10 quarts back in. That should exchange 80%-90% of the total fluid. I wanted to get more out because mine was at 81k and since I bought it used from Carmax I have no idea about it's history. I will probably exchange it again soon. So what's your thoughts on my use of Mobil 1 ATF instead of the Nissan fluid. Lots of people on here seem to think I am crazy.

I really have enjoyed watching your videos. It makes it SO much easier after you have actually watched it done instead of reading steps in a book.

 

In my opinion, if a major manufacturer has deemed their fluid as meeting or exceeding OEM specification, then there is no issue using that fluid per application. Additionally, if a vehicle manufacturer wants to blame fluid as the cause of transmission failure, that burden is on them, especially if compatible fluid was used.

As an example of where this is used in the industry, certain dealership use non OEM transmission fluid which is matic-J compatible to service our cars. My personal recommendation is the Amsoil ATF, which I have had great results with in all Gs. There is nothing special about OEM fluid that can't be improved upon.