When Would You Replace Auto Tranny Fluid - Interval ?

[zeroptzero]

It seems like Nissan expects the auto tranny fluid to be a filled for life deal under normal driving conditions. There is a severe duty schedule, of 20,000 miles and 24 months though.

On my manual tranny cars I tend to dump the fluid every 2 years regardless of mileage. My pleasure-use summer-only driven cars don't get many miles on them so I prefer to go by time rather than mileage. It seems like the entire pan and filter is changed when you dump the fluid, and it helps to have the special/right tools. I don't want to repair or replace this tranny out of warranty so the longer it lives the better, and fluid is an important aspect of longevity IMO.

Has anyone given thought as to when to change the auto tranny fluid on their Z ? Thanks for any replies.

 

[alutwon]

I will be doing mine at 20,000 then again at 50,000. I think every 30,000 is a fair interval

 

[zeroptzero]

I will be doing mine at 20,000 then again at 50,000. I think every 30,000 is a fair interval

Thank you, that sounds like a good plan. Doing the first one early might be good at 20k, miles, then 30k afterwards if you are doing normal driving mostly.

 

[KrackaC8]

As an Amsoil fan I'm surprised you don't want to do it earlier. Could be a decent winter project?

 

[zeroptzero]

As an Amsoil fan I'm surprised you don't want to do it earlier. Could be a decent winter project?

It looks like a fun project - but have you seen the steps involved , it is kind of crazy. Too bad the pan and filter get changed together, seems like a waste and more of an expense that way. As my car sits it only has 2200 kms on it, so too early even for me. I haven't even checked if Amsoil has an ATF for this tranny - MB spec 236.17 - Motul has one and Ravenol, and Nissan.

So far on this car I've done 2 differential fluid dumps, and two oil changes. A bit excessive. You alerted me to the fact that the oem oil pan keeps up to 1 quart of dirty oil in it (due to the drain bolt design), or I probably would not have done the second oil change until later. I have come up with a method to tilt the car to get more oil to drain out now on oil changes. On this last oil change it used over 6.5 quarts , so I 'm thinking I got more oil out of it than the first time.

Winter storage season is boring as hell around here

 

[KrackaC8]

It looks like a fun project - but have you seen the steps involved , it is kind of crazy. Too bad the pan and filter get changed together, seems like a waste and more of an expense that way. As my car sits it only has 2200 kms on it, so too early even for me. I haven't even checked if Amsoil has an ATF for this tranny - MB spec 236.17 - Motul has one and Ravenol, and Nissan.

So far on this car I've done 2 differential fluid dumps, and two oil changes. A bit excessive. You alerted me to the fact that the oem oil pan keeps up to 1 quart of dirty oil in it (due to the drain bolt design), or I probably would not have done the second oil change until later. I have come up with a method to tilt the car to get more oil to drain out now on oil changes. On this last oil change it used over 6.5 quarts , so I 'm thinking I got more oil out of it than the first time.

Winter storage season is boring as hell around here

6.5 qts is a complete drain, so nicely done! That's exactly how much my car took when I did the Dorman aluminum oil pan install.

 

[zeroptzero]

6.5 qts is a complete drain, so nicely done! That's exactly how much my car took when I did the Dorman aluminum oil pan install.

Oh good to know, I was surprised when it took that much to refill it, so I was sure it took more than the first fill. Angling the vehicle from driver side to passenger side is odd but it worked.

 

[adamste19]

For those of you changing out the transmission fluid at 20,000 miles, do you track your car? I track my car and change out the transmission and differential fluid once a year regardless of mileage. I usually put 5,000 to 6,000 miles a year on my Z. This is how I maintained my ‘18 370 Nismo too.

 

[KrackaC8]

Not a bad price for a replacement pan + gasket: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=10880716&cc=3453735&pt=8546&jsn=462