I bought an '89 Maxima early this year with 101K on it. It currently has
106K on it.
Twice recently a friend said she detected an transmission fluid odor, although it was faint. Last couple of days, the car doesn't creep when I take my foot off the brake like it used to. Other than that, it seems to shift fine and run fine.
Should I be worried? What is the cheapest way to diagnose the tranny? Could it be as simple as changing the tranny fluid? I am recently retired and can't spend a lot of money on a new tranny.
If you really need this car you sure don't want to lose that Trans. I would get a full replacment of fluid and the filter. Then just hope this helps. ronm
If you really need this car you sure don't want to lose that Trans. I would get a full replacment of fluid and the filter. Then just hope this helps. ronm
What is the maintenance history of the car? Did you buy it from a dealer or privately? Transmission oil wears out after a period of time depending upon the heat generated in the transmission. The designed ATF oil temperature is about 170-175 degrees. Any hotter and the life span of the fluid is reduced exponentially. Each 20 degrees over 170 reduces the life span by half. 170 degrees = 100, 000 miles, 190 degrees = 50,000 miles, 210 degrees = 25, 000 miles, etc.. If it hasn't been changed in 101,000 miles, it is probably overdue under the best conditions. Check the auto transmission fluid using the dipstick. Is it a brownish color, or a pink or red color? Does it smell like it is burnt? If brown, or it smells like it is burnt, the fluid is bad. Take it to a trusted mechanic and have it drained and flushed and the filter replaced. You can also do it yourself, but it takes a little mechanical ability, it's not just a drain plug and a separate screw-in filter like the motor oil. The transmission pan must be removed completely, and also, unlike the motor oil, the transmission retains half the oil in the torque converter and oil cooler when the oil is drained only from the pan. The rest must be flushed from the system with the engine running. Google "changing transmission fluid" for do it yourself help.
Thanks to all for the help. The fluid was last changed at 62000 miles by the previous owner. So it's a little overdue. The car has been meticulously maintained by the previous (original) owner.
I took it down to the local Jiffy Lube and had them change it. Forgot to look at the original color of the fluid though, but since it has been
45000 miles since the last change, I did it anyhow. They suggest changing the trany fluid every 30K miles.
Overkill my a**! A simple drain & refill should be done at 15k increments to keep the fluid operating effectively. If you can do it yourself even better. You change your engine oil every 5k, why wait 30k+ for the tranny? I know it's hydraulic fluid but it breaks down too. Your car will shift a lot better on fresh fluid.
Exactly... I'm pondering changing ATF every 2 oil changes since it costs me about $4 to change it. Walmart ATF is about $4 a gallon. I'm surprised people are are obsessed about engine oil but neglect the other fluids.
Engine oil is in a different situation, it has to cope with higher temperatures and gets contaminated by blow by, which causes the oil to become acid after a while. Transmission and gear oil doesn't have to cope with these problems and thus will last a lot longer. We have some cars here in Aus. that do not have an auto transmission filler plug or dipstick, and the manual states that the transmission oil does not ever need to be changed unless there is a mechanical failure within the transmission, and most of these transmissions will easily do over 250,000km untouched.
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