dry tranny

catchandkill · 02-03-2007, 06:53 PM

well here i am at the house waiting for my case of nissan matic j trans fluid to show via stealership runner. i had the dreaded transmission backflush and fill yesterday at the stealership yesterday and today running around town i noticed that if i put my foot in it a little after making a corner my rpms revved up a little and i lost power like the tranny was slipping. i went home and checked the fluid and it does NOT even show on the dipstick, i mean it does even come out wet!! i called my dealer and got the run around from the receptionist queen about the service dept being closed so i jumped in my wife's pilot and went to the stealership and read the riot act to a sales manager

who initially told me he had no way

to get in the shop

for j

fluid. after my dramatic pause he excused himself to make a phone call and then asked for my address for the fluid to be delivered. my concern is my tranny is already toast, maybe not now but at a very inopportune time in the very near future...more to follow i'm sure and im sorry for the long post.

Yellomantis · 02-03-2007, 06:57 PM

make sure you get this documented! take the truck in and get it in writing that the tranny is ok.

**konigfritz** · 02-03-2007, 08:17 PM

Agreed! I have toasted a tranny before, Long story, but it didn't take long with very little fluid in it.

LawyerRon · 02-03-2007, 09:37 PM

NEVER FLUSH A TRANNY. It's not necessary and a waste of money. Further, it can do damage if done improperly.

TitanBlue · 02-04-2007, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LawyerRon

NEVER FLUSH A TRANNY. It's not necessary and a waste of money. Further, it can do damage if done improperly.

I TOTALLY disagree with you on that. Excusing exact recommendation of the Titan, doing a Tranny flush every 60K for most, or less miles if a tow vehicle, will maintain the tranny extremely well. Too many people tow heavy, don't even check fluid level or condition, and get a flush after having problems or see the fluid is very dark. Their tranny fails after the flush and blame the flush, when it is really the lack of regular maintenance on their part that is to blame. These shade tree drivers then blame tranny flush as always being bad for trannies. It isn't so.

Regular maintenace, as listed in the owners manual will give the "best chance" of a tranny going 200k miles or more. Check the fluid often if you do any towing, drain and fill at a minimum, flush or even do both if you tow on a regular basis. $150-300 vs $3,000 or more for the trans, makes it an easy decision. Think of it as an investment to protect your $30,000 truck.

Yeah, you could say I have a very strong opinion here. I manage a fleet of about 25 trucks from 1/2 ton Pickups though Class 9 Internationals. Interesting first post LawyerRon. I appreciate the eloquence or a lawyer's writing. I hope you do well in your practice, you'll need the money. Intersting you drive a 2000 Toyota Tundra. Now I understand why some are so quick to call someone a troll. I hope it isn't so. Welcome to www.Titantalk.com.

NorCal 4x4 · 02-04-2007, 11:18 AM

Here's what Jatco, who makes ours I believe says on their website.
http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/PRODUCTS/at_qa.html

"Q. How often should the oil be changed in automatic transmissions?
A. Our products basically do not require oil changes.
There are CVTs, however, that signal the need for an oil change and you should therefore check the handling manual of your vehicle for details."

I'm curious why so many transmissions, (not Titan specific), do go out right after a power flush, even if the original fluid is old, this method of removal seems to be the catalyst for the failure if not the cause. Sending debris, from the machine or from your own tranny at high pressure though the transmission with all of the tiny orifices, etc. can't be good.

That being said, the fluid can get damaged from over heating and should be changed then, but the service manual's procedure for engine power flushing, or multiple drain and fills is a safer way to go, IMO.

TitanBlue · 02-04-2007, 11:53 AM

Flushing a worn transmission frees up the gummy fluids and opens up leaks around the worn seals/orings, thus causing it to leak internally, and fail in just a matter of days or weeks. The dirt/gum is there, and damage is done, just not evident until you get it cleaned/flushed out. Sort of like seeing rust through after peeling off the loose paint from the outside of a car. The damage is hidden, then POW! You wonder when it happened. The pressure of the flush machine wont hurt the trans itself, just shows up what was happening. Im not saying someone can't do something stupid when servicing a tranny, just not the real problem usually.

Mfg recommendations are the best to follow for warranty coverage to not be jepordized. I'll be doing a drain and fill every 30K or whatever Nissan says (I only have 13k right now). I'll go read the link above, should be interesting info. Thanks for finding that.

EDIT: I read the post, very broad "basic" statement about not needing fluid change. Stick with Nissan recommendations on this. Don't let the exception become a faulty guideline to established standard practice.