I picked up my new project car, 2006 G35x sedan, for my son and I. I was told there was a small leak in the transmission pan but nothing big. After driving away for 40 miles, the transmission started slipping and I barely can get the car moving forward and back. I was able to get it off the road safely, but the engine did revs high during this adventure.

I wanted to ask if anyone has had this type of bad luck. What kind of damage did I cause to the CVT? I will be picking up some Castro CVT fluid, but do I need something else in this situation?

If there is anyway to save from swapping out a transmission, I would want to go that route otherwise this could be the end of the project car my son was eager to work on.

 

CVT? I think those were only offered on a couple of Australian and Japanese models for the Skyline 250GT/350GT.

Any of the Infiniti badged G35's never came with the CVT.

As for damage from going low on fluid that rapidly, no damage. Usually you start slipping after losing the first 1-2 quarts but there's still 12 quarts remaining in the system.

If you ruptured a cooling line and purged out all 14 quarts and CONTINUED to keep running the engine after it was dry then yeah you can damage stuff due to no more lube.

 

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. I thought the 2006 model was CVT.

 

Matic S or Matic J fluid, do NOT put CVT fluid into a hydraulic transmission, they have different and very SPECIFIC friction modifiers to keep the CVT band from slipping but will probably screw with your hydraulic auto tranny.

 

Castro Auto Transmission Fluid for Japanese imports good?
https://www.pepboys.com/castrol-impo...197?quantity=1

 

Also, is the slippage due to low fluid a way to protect the transmission? Is this by design?

 

Slippage is because there isn't enough fluid to generate pressure. I would ONLY use Nissan Matic J or Matic S fluid in these transmissions, they're fairly notorious for not playing nice with anything else.

 

Thank you so much! Now I guess i need to change my transmission fluid as it smells burnt from this adventure.

 

I've used Idemitsu Type J a few times without issues, I think they make the OEM fluid. Sometimes you can find it cheaper online or get better deals of it.