Changing AT fluid on Altima

[fleshconsumed]

My 2005 Nissan Altima 2.5 has close to 40K miles on it and I want to change AT fluid as soon as it gets warm enough outside. I downloaded the Service Manual, but it's incredibly unhelpful for someone new to car maintenance. Section MA-31 says refer to section AT-273 for the location of the AT drain plug and section AT-273 says look at MA-31 for the location of the drain plug. Both sections cite each other without actually telling me where the drain plug is. I also cannot find proper torque for the drain plug bolt.

So I want to ask AT garage forum to go over my plan, correct me if I'm wrong on anything and give me any hints and pointers if possible. I'm pretty sure the transmission reservoir is on the driver side. I'm just going to do drain and refill several times. Manual says my car takes 9 3/4 Qts of AT fluid. How many drain and refills would you guys recommend I do? 2 or 3? And if so how many quarts of AT fluid should I buy? 12? I guess that would depend on how much will be drained each time, but I don't know how much fluid will drain when I unscrew the bolt. Anyone knows? Also what torque should I use to screw the drain bolt? And do I have to actually drive my car after doing a single drain and refill before I do the next one, or can I simply turn on my car and let it idle for a couple of minutes?

 

[ShawnD1]

It might be best to just pay the $50 or whatever and have the dealership do it. You can screw around quite a bit with engine oil and it will still work, but transmission fluid is not something to screw with. Lots of people have permanently destroyed the automatic transmission because the wrong fluid was used or not enough was used or too much was used. The entire transmission can be destroyed in less than 100 miles if the fluid is changed incorrectly.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I can call around on pricing, but I would rather do it myself. Lots of people change their own transmission fluid. Service Manual states Nissan Matic D fluid, which is what I'm going to use, there is also dipstick with tells me how much fluid to put in. It should be relatively simple job, not much different from changing oil, raise the car, drain, refill. I just want to make sure there aren't any hidden gotchas before I do it.

 

[Bignate603]

It might be best to just pay the $50 or whatever and have the dealership do it. You can screw around quite a bit with engine oil and it will still work, but transmission fluid is not something to screw with. Lots of people have permanently destroyed the automatic transmission because the wrong fluid was used or not enough was used or too much was used. The entire transmission can be destroyed in less than 100 miles if the fluid is changed incorrectly.

The right transmission fluid for his car will be listed in his owner's manual. The transmission also has this thing called a dipstick to see if there is the right amount of fluid in the car. Those aren't really issues.

To the OP, go get a Haynes or Chilton manual for your car. They aren't the most in depth things out there but they'll have step by step instructions (usually with pictures) showing how to do stuff like this. They're handy to have for each of your cars.

 

[BUTCH1]

The right transmission fluid for his car will be listed in his owner's manual. The transmission also has this thing called a dipstick to see if there is the right amount of fluid in the car. Those aren't really issues.

To the OP, go get a Haynes or Chilton manual for your car. They aren't the most in depth things out there but they'll have step by step instructions (usually with pictures) showing how to do stuff like this. They're handy to have for each of your cars.

Unless you have a newer model GM, my '05 Malibu has no tranny dipstick and I was pissed off as hell when I found out, gee, some bean counter must have saved a whopping $3/car on that idea. Owners manual says, "if you see fluid leakage, take it to a dealer". I used to do "cheater changes" on my other vehicles by using a clean piece of tubing and then siphon out 4 quarts then refill, did this twice a year, not an option now. OP, buy a manual as already suggested, be thankful your car has a drain plug, some you need to drop the pan to drain/refill, measure how much fluid comes out and just replace that much, of course check the stick to be sure it's at the proper level to start with.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Unless you have a newer model GM, my '05 Malibu has no tranny dipstick and I was pissed off as hell when I found out, gee, some bean counter must have saved a whopping $3/car on that idea. Owners manual says, "if you see fluid leakage, take it to a dealer". I used to do "cheater changes" on my other vehicles by using a clean piece of tubing and then siphon out 4 quarts then refill, did this twice a year, not an option now. OP, buy a manual as already suggested, be thankful your car has a drain plug, some you need to drop the pan to drain/refill, measure how much fluid comes out and just replace that much, of course check the stick to be sure it's at the proper level to start with.

Oh, I highly doubt it was as much as $3 a car.

Unfortunately, it was still plenty to pay that bean counter's salary and his Christmas bonus too.

 

[LTC8K6]

My 1997 Chevy had no trans dipstick, so it started a while ago.

 

[BUTCH1]

My 1997 Chevy had no trans dipstick, so it started a while ago.

Asinine IMO, if you give the buyer a way to check the fluid he/she might be able to detect a small leak and bring it in under warranty for a possible cheap seal replacement, ect. Without a stick that slow leak can wind up starving the tranny of fluid for a long time causing damage that requires a replacement/rebuild of the entire unit..