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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / March 2007flush or not to flush
I have 2001 Nissan Altima. 62000 miles and I though it is a good time to do some check ups here and there. Transmission fluid replacement is one of them. While I do not experience any problems with transmission (transmission fluid is a little dark red, does not smell burnt nor it has any particles on the dipstick) just preventive care. I have a few options ...flush or drain. 1. Flush. Well I asked here and there and I am a little confused. Many people do not recommend doing it at all. Nissan Altima 2001 does not have filter but screen. A guy told that flushing means reverting the flow of the fluid to the opposite diretion.so all the debris gathered on the screen will flow back getting stuck in some places causing real harm to transmission. True I did not find any particles on the stick ..it does not mean though that they are not somewhere there (in torquet?). Generally I heard flushing might cause more harm then good..because (now is funny) I will get rid of the fluid that has some 'good little debris of clutch around it' that supposedly help to function clutch better. New fluid will accelerate the process of wear and tear of my transmission (?!). Why all the shops recommend doing that ? Well it is because of that machine that keeps the process easy and clean and is a good return for shops to sell the service. They do not care that you might not be able to shift gears after the flush ... 2. Drain. Old school method .. the process is simple .. uncap, let the old liquid drain and pour new liquid . Problem : about 50% of old fluid will stay, we mix old transmission fluid with new (heck if I know whether old fluid was synthetic or not and if the 1 qrt I poured some 1 year ago was synthetic or no ....) Supposedly it is not a problem. The good thing is that the parts of clutch will still live in the environment where the particles are all around and help to function the clutch (?!) This will extend the life of my transmission and is the best option for preventive care ... Please let me know what you guys think about it. Looks like there are 2 schools ... Those who want to do a decent job and those who want to sell service .. the problem is I am not sure who is who ..my guts are telling me : just as you maintain your engine with new oil you should maintain every other part of your vehicle ....so there the answer should be out there ;-))) >I have 2001 Nissan Altima. 62000 miles and I though it is a good time >to do some check ups here and there. Transmission fluid replacement is [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >.... My thoughts... I have heard others' only experience problems after changing fluid for the first time on high-mile vehicles. The thing that happens is the new fluid dislodges old gunk and that caused problems... like slipping, bad shifts, etc. If you're getting a flush then they have to remove the pan and screen anyway, so they should put back on a new screen. That shouldn't be an issue. I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean out the gunk from the pan bottom). DON'T START CAR YET! Remove the fluid line that provides hot tranny fluid to the radiator (the supply line) and lead it into a catch-pan. Have a friend start the car and idle it to let fluid run into the pan while simultaneously putting new fluid into the tranny... keep this up until the fluid running out turns from dark to light fresh fluid and about one quart more. Stop, button up, run it up to temperature and top off/drain out excess as necessary. Much cheaper... gets all the old fluid out... and no chance the flushing action will dislodge anything. But... there's still that concern new, fresh fluid will dislodge gunk in the innards. In the future, drain the transmission and refill every 20K or so (old school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. On 3/17/07 11:00 AM, in article d44ov25j5ps561c2ov3vtj7daog05mtckm@4ax.com, >> I have 2001 Nissan Altima. 62000 miles and I though it is a good time >> to do some check ups here and there. Transmission fluid replacement is [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > anyway, so they should put back on a new screen. That shouldn't be an > issue. That's not true. When they flush them, they disconnect the hoses that circulate the fluid through the radiator and hook them up to the machine. They don't even open the drain plug, much less change/clean the screen. > I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain > overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny > fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. >On 3/17/07 11:00 AM, in article d44ov25j5ps561c2ov3vtj7daog05mtckm@4ax.com, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >circulate the fluid through the radiator and hook them up to the machine. >They don't even open the drain plug, much less change/clean the screen. That's crappy... What's the purpose of spending all that money and not pulling the pan to clean out the gunk and replace the screen? just another good reason not to get a flush!. The way I've seen it is they removed the pan and screen, hook up the pump to the pick-up and flush it from there. >> I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain >> overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >> school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny >> fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. On 3/17/07 7:15 PM, in article 4r0pv29g16tjogd55aq6nn8mdp68idsgh7@4ax.com, >> On 3/17/07 11:00 AM, in article d44ov25j5ps561c2ov3vtj7daog05mtckm@4ax.com, >> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > The way I've seen it is they removed the pan and screen, hook up the > pump to the pick-up and flush it from there. I'd like to know where you saw that. No one I have ever encountered removes the pan and screen and cleans anything if you order the flush. They just don't do that. Its one or the other. >>> I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain >>> overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>> school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny >>> fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. >On 3/17/07 7:15 PM, in article 4r0pv29g16tjogd55aq6nn8mdp68idsgh7@4ax.com, > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >the pan and screen and cleans anything if you order the flush. They just >don't do that. Its one or the other. PepBoys in El Paso Tx... on George Dieter... for one. They pulled the pan, cleaned it out and replaced screen. >>>> I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain >>>> overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>>> school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny >>>> fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. On 3/24/07 3:15 PM, in article q11b0315krsoabjpt1fug8tack2pv5bevp@4ax.com, >> On 3/17/07 7:15 PM, in article 4r0pv29g16tjogd55aq6nn8mdp68idsgh7@4ax.com, >> [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > PepBoys in El Paso Tx... on George Dieter... for one. They pulled the > pan, cleaned it out and replaced screen. And then after they put it back together they hooked up the machine and did a flush? That's got to be a first. Too bad they're 650 miles away or I'd go there myself. >>>>> I've always used that old-school method, modified somewhat: drain >>>>> overnight then refill (if you want, remove pan, replace screen, clean [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>>>> school method). You only get 1/2 the volume, but it keeps the tranny >>>>> fluid fresh and gunk can't build up. > I have 2001 Nissan Altima. 62000 miles and I though it is a good time > to do some check ups here and there. Transmission fluid replacement is [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > maintain every other part of your vehicle ....so there the answer should > be out there ;-))) i work at a sevice senters and we do quite a bit of tranny flushes. that one guy is right, you dont reverse the fluid, you disconnect one line by the radiator and you hook it up to a machine and drain the pan using the machine, then take the pan off and replce the filter/ screen, then put the pan back on, fill it up and finally flush it. > I have 2001 Nissan Altima. 62000 miles and I though it is a good time > to do some check ups here and there. Transmission fluid replacement is [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > maintain every other part of your vehicle ....so there the answer should > be out there ;-))) While I do agree that a properly implemented flush is better than a drain, how much better is it? I mean if you do a periodic drain to your tranny fluid your tranny will most probably last hundreds of thousands of miles, no? If you do a flush the tranny could last 500,000 miles I would gather. So is a flush overkill? CD |
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