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Synthetic Transmission Fluid


natedawg
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Just thought i would drop a line on my experiences with synthetic trans fluid. About 3 months a go i switched to Royal Purple in the in the tranny, me and a friend of mine did a flush, waht we did was take off the line going in to the cooler, and attached more hose, we had a five gallon bucket which we had previously filled up 10qts of water to mark a line. we ran the car while dumping the new fluid in through the dip stick, which worked pretty well, when you get to the 10 qt line u quit, you can actually see the fluid changing color coming out of the hose.. But any way the new fluid made a huge difference in shifting smoothness, it ran like a new vehicle, the wife was very pleased with the outcome. Anyone have any similar experiences with synthetic??

Edited by natedawg
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Heheheh, I recently flushed my tranny with Red Line ATF using the same method, and as I poured each quart in, my friends helping me that day kept saying "Ka-CHING Ka-CHING", since the stuff is so d@mn expensive.

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:tonguefinger:

 

Expensive, but quite possibly worth it.

 

I went with Royal Purple as well, and notice the shifting got smoother almost immediately. Had my rig out wheeling in the desert last month, it perfomed beautifully with the new fluid. I changed my T-case fluid to the RP ATF and am going to swap out my diff fluids as well.

 

I' was very impressed.

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Hmmmm.. I've been wanting to change my ATF fluid for a while so this is going to be very helpful.

 

It seems that all you're doing is using the new fluid to basically "push" the old fluid out?

 

If the the ATF capacity is 9 quarts and you're using 10. I'm assuming the 1 quart is just used to get rid of whatever is left.

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  • 1 year later...

Don't remember from where, but I heard that the tranny filter no need to be replaced for the Pathy R50. Is that right? The manual doesn't say anything about replacing transmission filter, just require drain and refill the ATF.

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The filter is just a screen. No need to change it. However, drain/fill isn't the way either. The best way is to flush with new, clean fluid, and recover the old fluid with the truck runnning. Run 14L through to ensure that as much of the old fluid comes out as possible.

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fskc sythetic

 

I have been running dino GL4 for years.. NO problems.. well, its nearly impossible to find Dino GL4 these days, so i went with redline as everybody has suggested.

 

a month later, my tranny starts screaming at me.. when i get home, i pulled the plug and only 1 quart came out (max).

 

come to find out, that my t- case was holding it All.

 

I pull the T-case, check input shaft seal.. its all good. but my gasket on the front of the t-case housing cover was.. how do shall we say.. in poor condition.. I changed it, resealed, put dino back in.. and its all good.

 

thumbs down for synthetic in a manual transmission!

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I used Mobil 1 synthetic...that was expensive enough....worked OK, used Lucas transmission additive...this stuff is awesome!! Smoother/Quicker shift in just a few moments after adding it just like the bottle says...even more after several miles.

 

Penzoil Sunchromesh is the ULTIMATE for manual trannies...lesst there is a super expensive brand that is more than marginally worth it! I have used Synchromesh for years in manuals....this stuff really really makes grinds go away!!!

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I changed my atf in my 2 other cars and noted a difference in Gas mileage. I was not able to make 2 trips to work and back. after i changed the ATF to royal purple synthetic, I was able to make 2 trips to work and back plus have some fuel still in my tank. I am a Highly recommend it. Note I work 80 miles from home. I also noticed smoother shifts. My Pathfinder is a manual so it got the Redline mt90

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The filter is just a screen. No need to change it. However, drain/fill isn't the way either. The best way is to flush with new, clean fluid, and recover the old fluid with the truck runnning. Run 14L through to ensure that as much of the old fluid comes out as possible.

 

There are two hoses connected between the tranny and the cooler, one on the driver side, the other one on front passenger side. Do you know which one should I disconnect for ATF flush? I guess should be the outlet hose from the tranny to the cooler, but don't know which is. Please help, I gonna flush the tranny this weekend.

 

Thanks.

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Here's a quick way. Disconnect both, put them both in a bucket. Have someone turn start, and shutdown the truck VERY quickly, and see which one the fluid comes out of.

 

The best way to do it is with a dual chamber (one for new, clean fluid, one for the old, dirty fluid) fluid pump used by mechanics, as there's no chance of your transmission running dry at all. Be sure to keep a lot of fluid in the tranny at all time if you're going to do it yourself.

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What ive done in the past is get (2) 5 gallon buckets, pour all the new fluid into one of them and get long lines when you disconnect the cooler lines. Have the input line go into the 5 gal bucket with all the new fluid and have the outlet go into the empty 5 gal bucket. When all of the fluid is out of the new 5 gal bucket then you know for sure you have 9-9.5 quarts of fluid in your trans. I think it actually takes 9 3/8s or something like that. I cant remember off the top of my head.

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I flush the tranny last Friday using regular AMSOIL synthetic ATF, didn't replace the pan gasket as it still looks pretty good, it seems seal very well so far. I followed the Amsoil recommended flush process, it works well. The only problem is the ATF filling flow(through dipstick tube) is slower than draining flow, I have to stop the engine once to let the tranny getting enough ATF in it. The tranny filter was not changed as it's not recommended by Nissan dealer, it looks very clean though.

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About 2 months ago I finally took my manual transmission down to replace the throwout bearing, which had been howling when cold for well over a year. I went ahead and replaced the whole clutch while I had it down. I also replaced both the transmission and transfer case oil with Red Line MT-90 synthetic manual transmission oil.

 

At first the dealer's mechanic said I should only use ATF for the transfer case, but after I pointed out that the service manual calls for either Dextron II (ATF) or API GL-4 (gear oil) he asked the resident expert, and they confirmed the redline MT-90 would actually be a very good choice. I like the fact that both transmission and transfer now have the same oil.

 

I also drained and filled the rear and front differentials with Red Line 75W-90 NS synthetic gear oil (GL-5). The front probably had never been changed, but the oil still looked pretty good. The rear, on the other hand, had been changed when I installed the locker about 4 months ago, but had not been changed since. ARB calls for a 500 mile break-in period before heavy use (which I followed), but highly recommends changing the oil afterwards, which I had not done. After about 3,000 miles the rear oil looked a bit dark, with very fine grey particles. I understand this is normal, but I wish I had changed it earlier.

 

IMG_2596.jpg

 

The transmission and transfer now shift a smooth as new, or better...and I've had no problems at all with leaking or overheating. Actually, the transmision seems to run cooler (gauging by how hot the area around the shifter gets after a long drive...I think it used to get much hotter.) Overall, I am totally satisfied. By the way, I have also been using Castrol 10W-30 synthetic oil in my engine for over a year, with absolutely great results.

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  • 8 years later...

I am going to have to dis agree with most on the Synthetic being the better way to go. I had switched to the Mobil 1 Synthetic a little under 2 months ago now maybe it has to do with being a Mobil 1 Synthetic instead of a different Brand but ever since I have done the switch My 95 XE Pathfinder has gotten worse off each day that goes by. Did not have any issues with shifting on her up until after switched to Synthetic which now the shifting is nowhere near as smooth as it was from before the switch. I think I am going to get rid of the Synthetic & go back to using the ATF as I was before which she always ran great running that it her. Now as I said could it maybe be just the brand of the Synthetic I tried to use? I guess for now back to the original ATF which should make her run the way I am used to her running & will make her much happier as well.

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Macrow,

I'd check out your clutch plates. I don't really have much experience on the topic, but from what I've heard doing an ATF flush can cause any loose clutch plate material that's suspended around the plates to flush out with the fluid resulting in poor shifting performance after. That's my main concern about doing flushes. At the same time though, it could entirely be due to the Synthetic fluid. Just as an FYI I think this thread may be targeted specifically towards R50 Pathfinders.

 

 

I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm going to be doing a fuel and filter change soon. I have no idea if it is necessary but considering the 30 bucks I paid for the Filter, seal and pan gasket, I don't mind it. My 2001 Pathfinder SE is having the issue where it has troubles shifiting from 1st to 2nd and seems to hover around in neutral for a while before switching gears. Giving it more gas seems to help, especially on startup. I'm sure my neighbors hate me cause I drive down our street at a good 30+km/h or my Pathfinder just doesn't want to shift, it definitely is more prone to happening in the first five minutes of driving but it has happened on a highway turnoff once. ...Wasn't fun at all. Has switching to synthetic solved this problem for anyone here? I'm hoping it's the fluid otherwise I'm thinking it's the solenoids that need fixing.

Edited by ChemExposure
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Macrow,

I'd check out your clutch plates. I don't really have much experience on the topic, but from what I've heard doing an ATF flush can cause any loose clutch plate material that's suspended around the plates to flush out with the fluid resulting in poor shifting performance after. That's my main concern about doing flushes. At the same time though, it could entirely be due to the Synthetic fluid. Just as an FYI I think this thread may be targeted specifically towards R50 Pathfinders.

 

 

I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm going to be doing a fuel and filter change soon. I have no idea if it is necessary but considering the 30 bucks I paid for the Filter, seal and pan gasket, I don't mind it. My 2001 Pathfinder SE is having the issue where it has troubles shifiting from 1st to 2nd and seems to hover around in neutral for a while before switching gears. Giving it more gas seems to help, especially on startup. I'm sure my neighbors hate me cause I drive down our street at a good 30+km/h or my Pathfinder just doesn't want to shift, it definitely is more prone to happening in the first five minutes of driving but it has happened on a highway turnoff once. ...Wasn't fun at all. Has switching to synthetic solved this problem for anyone here? I'm hoping it's the fluid otherwise I'm thinking it's the solenoids that need fixing.

 

yes you are right just noticed i clicked on the wrong link so isn't meant for the pathfinder sorry to have posted here.

 

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