For my Diff, the NISSAN mechanic used Castrol . Good brand

 

The topic is trans fluid, but I don't think it matters for the diff. I have Castrol in mine also.

 

You're aware it's the same... rebranding in nissan bottles.

 

oo ya, i got the diff and tranny drained at the same time , but i got J-matic for free since they started to switch over to S-matic

 

Have 117,000 miles and have done 4 drain/fills with the matic S.

Since I prefer the "stick with what works" approach, I'll just continue to do the same fluid change every 25k miles

 

So you haven't had any issues using S-Matic? My dealer told me I can only use J-Matic, and that only 08-present can use S.

 

You got J-Matic for free? My dealer wants $18.95 per quart.

 

None at all.


I get my s-matic off eBay. I think it works out to about $10/quart shipped.


I use Mobil 1 synthetic for every other fluid (F&R differential, transfer case, power steering fluid)

 

You could be right, but I'm not risking it.

For the price of a new transmission, why risk using something else? I drain every 15-20k, which is probably way overkill consider I have a cooler and drive easy, but even then - we're talking about 10 bucks difference in price, maybe 15.

Even my ****hole beater (a 99 Chrysler) gets OEM licensed fluids. It isn't worth the risk to me.

I work for a Tier 1 supplier and you'd be surprised what little things vary from OEM to OEM that 'appear' similar. Or what standards vary... The Japanese are definitely much more picky than domestic manufacturers.

I am not saying that your trans will fail if you don't go OEM, but there alot of threads on many boards of when non-OEM fluids were used and yielded less than pleasing results.

And no I'm not gonna scour the internet for sources, do some legwork of your own and decide for yourself

 

I work for Toyota and when Mitchell (Largest automotive estimator and infostream in the world) Recommends something, it is what it is. There is cases where Mitchell will recommend a dealer specific fluid (MK4 6spd Supra's for instance) but when they say use Dexron3, they're not lying.

You're caught up in the dealer hose of saying only use "J matic"

I'm at 120k miles in my Q (trans fluid done with Dexron3) and 110k miles in my G. Trans fluid the same. I also drive pretty aggressively.

 

ya i know right, lucky me. I guess it helps to know someone at the dealership.