In the repair manual, it says:

"To replace the A/T fluid, pour in new fluid at the charging pipe with the engine idling and at the same

time drain the old fluid from the radiator cooler hose return side."

What is the radiator cooler hose, what does it look like, and where can i find it on the car? If someone has pictures, that would be even better. Thanks.

 

Anyone?

 

Hello? has no one on here done a tranny flush on their car themself?

 

I had it done at the dealer. They use a specific machine that removes all the old and replaces with the exact about of new fluid as the old stuff is removed

I don't see how you can do that by yourself? Sorry, wish I could be of more help.

 

Thats the ghetto way of doing it man, you wont get all the old stuff out like that. You have to hook it up to a machine which sucks all the old fluid out while pumping new fluid in. Itll run you about $200 + depending where you go. Otherwise what you are doing is a drain and refill.

 

You can do it yourself. All the flush machine does is monitor and extract the fluid automatically, the car does all the work as the engine is running and the fluid is pumped in and out. You may want to price it at a dealer, even a Nissan dealer as the 350Z is the same, specifying you need Nissan J-Matic fluid also called Matic-J fluid. Search home or do it yourself automatic transmission flush on google and there are several hits to instructions as linked below.

See this link for a general overview although it is for a Chrysler http://www.allpar.com/eek/atf.html

And this one for a Toyota http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/do-yo...ion-flush.html

Use this site to find the service manuals for your car and print the transmission chapter and cooling system chapters. They will identify the tranny cooler hoses and describe their fluid change procedure in greater detail. The cooler lines are the two small hoses on either side at the bottom of the radiator. The one on the driver side is the return line. As you stand in front of the car looking over and down at the area between the radiator and engine it is the hose on the right (driver) side leaving the radiator. It is obvious.

Here is a link:
http://psedog.com/cars/fsm/g35/coupe/

I have done the ghetto flush on many cars. I prefer to call it a home fluid exchange. It helps to have 2 people ( I have done it by myself, but this was after doing it many times) and the hardest part is the set up and clean up. Place the car on jack stands. Our tranny has a drain plug. So drain the pan and fill with fresh fluid. Then pull the (outlet) return line hose and attach to the radiator side several feet of clear tubing from Lowes or Home Depot into a large container. I use a 6 gallon plastic gas can. Clamp the hose to the radiator connection where the outlet line was connected. It does not hurt to plug the return line, stick a bolt in it. Line up all your fluid bottles with the tops off and stick a funnel into the tranny fill tube.

I think the tranny holds 12 quarts. You have to use Nissan J-matic fluid, anything else will wreck the transmission. It is cheaper at Nissan dealers than Infiniti dealers and the price varies a lot from dealer to dealer. I have seen it from $9 a quart to $15 a quart.

You should flush at least 15 through including the 3 or so you poured into the pan. Have friend start car while you pour fluid into the charging tube funnel as they call it. You have to work fast and pay attention. Most vehicles pump out faster than you can pour in so you have to tell your assistant to shut off the car after a very short time, often 30 seconds and keep pouring fluid in. However it is slow pouring it thru that small tube. The reason for the clear tube is to watch the fluid change color as it is flushed, when it turns from dark to bright red you are done. Have your car on jack stands so the assistant can run the tranny through the gears for a few seconds to get more fluid flushed (this may not be necessary, there are a 2 schools of thought on this issue,I have done it both ways). Save some to correct the fluid level after you put it together again. Hot fluid registers differently on the dipstick than cold so you will have to check it several times after the fluid exchange. YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO PUMP THE TRANSMISSION DRY! I am not responsible if anything bad happens, these are just suggestions for a procedure that has worked for me.

I also recommend you install a Magnefine inline filter on the return line. I have used them for many years. They have been tested and approved by Ford and Toyota and dealers use them when they install new/rebuilt transmission. It will protect the transmission more than the window screen in the pan they call a filter. See www.emergingent.com for more information, although I get them from www.bulkpart.com for less. You want a 3/8 size filter. You can also install them on the power steering line. A recent thread here discussed that procedure and bythabay provided a video showing an installation and power steering flush. Here is the link:
http://www.infinitihelp.com/diy/gsed...stallation.htm

 

Thanks for the replies. Is the return line the two little hoses on the bottom of the radiotor facing the engine labeled #13 "to A/T fluid tube" in the radiator diagram? Is that the right one and is it the same as on the Transmission assembly diagram labeled, #4 "fluid cooler tube?" Which side should i disconnect from? Also, I see that there are two fluid cooler tubes on the tranny and on the radiator. I'm assuming one is sending fluid to the radiator and one is sending it back to the tranny? Does it matter which one i drain the tranny fluid from? Is it possible if you could take a picture of where i should disconnect the return line and what it looks like? Thanks again. I'm going to do this, brake pad change, diff oil change, oil change, and install some toys at the same time so i can with this .

 

dizzam! That's a pretty concise explanation. . .someone move this to the DIY forum and sticky plz!

 

Many confuse a solvent flush with just a fluid exchange [replacement].

The solvent is used to remove varnish and loose friction material that the heat degradation of ATF leaves behind.

The newer ATF is more stable than the older 4 speed ATF [Dex 3] so in theory the newer 5AT ATF will need LESS solvent flushing. BUT only seeing hundreds of 100k+ units will confirm this.

Pretty easy to use the white paper towel color comparison brand new to old test, as all ATF has a temperature sensitive red dye which desaturates when exposed to excess heat. This occurs long before the ATF turns brown or redbrown or clearish.

 

Yes the two small hoses at the bottom of the radiator are the inlet and outlet ( or return line ) for the transmission fluid. The one on the driver side of the radiator is the return line and is the preferred line to use for a fluid exchange. It will flow the fluid out of the radiator after it has been cooled. It is labeled outlet in the service manual automatic transmission chapter. In the cooling system chapter they label both lines but do not differntiate between them.

I would loosen the clamp, I do not recall if it is a spring type and remove the outlet hose from the radiator. Then attach clear tubing to the tube that sticks out from the radiator. Use a hose clamp to hold it in place when you do the fluid exchange.

You do not really need to do the solvent flush, before the fluid exchange. I think they are of minimal benefit unless your transmission has seen extreme neglect. That is one questionable benefit of having a dealer do a flush, they may run the solvent thru your tranny with the old fluid while it idles for a while before flushing. They claim it loosens deposits that may have built up in the transmission and clean oil passages etc. If you want, such solvents are available at places like http://www.carfood.net/prottranad1.html Carfood is also a dealer of T-Tech professional transmission flush machines in case you have a little extra cash to spend or want to go into business. They also sell a great home fuel induction kit with a selection of chemicals. I have one and it works great, I have used it on a Ford, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, but my G35 only has 10,000 miles so I have not needed one yet.

I tried but am unable to paste a PDF of the service manual page that shows the cooler lines. They are very visible when standing in front of the car, you look down the radiator, the return line is the small hose on your right ( driver side ).

 

Oh okay, i c. So when i unplug the return line hose at first when the car is off, will there still be any fluid in there that i need to be careful not to spill or would this line be dry? Also, since the fluid exiting the radiator is coming out faster than me putting fluid in, at aproximately what intervals should i start and stop the engine? Thanks a lot clutchless. You have given me a lot of info and a lot of help.

 

It can be a messy job. Remove the under the engine covers before you start or you will ger fluid on them. Yes, the cooler is full of fluid and will leak when you remove the outlet line, but only as much as is in the cooler, less than a quart. It helps to have your other hose ready to attach, work fast and minimize leakage.

In my original post I discussed the recommended intervals for turning the engine on and off, these were about 30 seconds. It depends on the vehicle.
I have not done the G yet, so do not know how fast it circulates fluid out. You just have to watch the fluid flow and make a judgment call when to shut the car off.

My old Mazda spewed fluid rapidly and had to be shut off a lot, my 1995 Ford Explorer is very slow and I can do it myself as it can go a minute or more before shutting it off. Tranny is still strong at 108,000 miles doing these home fluid exchanges every 3 years with Mobil 1, an aftermarket transmission cooler and a Magnefine filter. I read the G35 does not need an additional transmission cooler as the tranny is under stressed and runs quite cool unless you add a turbo.

I have not done my G35 yet, but plan to next month, I already bought a case of fluid and Magnefine filter.

 

With the old 4AT after doing hundreds of machine exchanges [BG system] we developed an average time and a maximum time [plus input and output pressure] for the AT internal pump to expell all the old fluid [process 14 quarts thru system].

These times let us view the health of the ATpump and any internal leaks around valves , etc, unfortunately we haven't done 100 5AT yet to equate the old 3.5-4.0 minutes to the new 5AT.

 

While reading the www.auto-rx.com site ( a great engine and transmission cleaning product ) I noted their recommended transmission fluid exchange procedure which appears a little less hectic than my method.

To quote, " much easier way to get 100% change, disconnect the cooler return line, start the vehicle and pump out 2 qts, shut off, add 2 qts, and repeat until you see clean fluid come out,."

So just pre-mark the container for your fluid so you know how much is 2 quarts when you do the job.

 

Hey clutchless thanks for the insights man. I learned a lot from your posts, and now i might just do the flush, or as i called it "ghetto' way of doing it. Great write up, very informative. BTW, do you know what impact a B&M cooler will have on a slightly modded coupe? I just want to do it for the hell of it..... Will it affect it or help it? Thanks!