Transmission Fluid: Too Much is a Bad Thing?

[leojharris]

My tranny has been hanging in the high end of the first two gears of late.

 

Takes a long time for it to shift ... uncomfortably long.

 

This has become more pronounced after a surf trip last weekend when I used the 4X4 drive in some rather deep sand for most of the day; also, same day, upon taking the tranny back to 2x2 drive ... it remained stuck in 4x4 for about 10 minutes.

 

Anyway, today I checked the tranny fluid (engine warm and running, ran the shifter through all automatic gears and then left it in PARK while running as I checked it): the dip stick shows levels about a half inch over the indicated HOT levels. It shows this same thing after each check.

 

1. Does the above stated process of checking the tranny fluid look correct

2. What sort of adverse affects will too much tranny fluid cause?

 

Does anyone have a ballpark what it might cost to have the tranny serviced and flushed at a Nissan dealership?

 

My truck's got about 150k miles on it and I'm beginning to stress about the transmission ...

 

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

.jbh

[Simon]

1) That's the correct way to check the fluid

 

2) Too much fluid shouldn't hurt it, however, what condition was the fluid in? Nice and red? Or brown-ish and burnt smelling?

 

It could be that your stock cooler is clogging, thus, creating more pressure in the tranny. You should install a BIG aftermarket tranny cooler, and bypass the stock one which is located inside the rad. They're known to clog, causing premature tranny failures in WD21 Pathfinders.

 

There is no real need to go to Nissan to have the tranny fluid flushed and filled. Any shop can do that for you. Make sure they run 12-14L through the tranny while doing it to ensure they get all the old fluid out. I just had mine done at a Mr. Lube that my friend manages, and it's shifting very nicely now.

 

Oh, and when you switched back to 2WD, did you reverse after shifting the transfer case to unlock the hubs? If not, your indicator light staying on for 10 minutes is not uncommon.

[msavides]

1) That's the correct way to check the fluid

 

2) Too much fluid shouldn't hurt it, however, what condition was the fluid in? Nice and red? Or brown-ish and burnt smelling?

 

It could be that your stock cooler is clogging, thus, creating more pressure in the tranny. You should install a BIG aftermarket tranny cooler, and bypass the stock one which is located inside the rad. They're known to clog, causing premature tranny failures in WD21 Pathfinders.

 

There is no real need to go to Nissan to have the tranny fluid flushed and filled. Any shop can do that for you. Make sure they run 12-14L through the tranny while doing it to ensure they get all the old fluid out. I just had mine done at a Mr. Lube that my friend manages, and it's shifting very nicely now.

 

Oh, and when you switched back to 2WD, did you reverse after shifting the transfer case to unlock the hubs? If not, your indicator light staying on for 10 minutes is not uncommon.

 

 

I am not sure about Nissan Automatic transmission but too much ATF in some transmissions can cause foaming. This would introduce air in the valve and could cause problems like eratic shifting and oil starvation. too much fluid could also force fluid past seals in some transmissions

 

mark

Edited November 14, 2007 by msavides

[leojharris]

Oh, and when you switched back to 2WD, did you reverse after shifting the transfer case to unlock the hubs? If not, your indicator light staying on for 10 minutes is not uncommon.

 

I don't have manaul hubs ... don't know if that's the impression I gave ...

 

But otherwise ... I just switched back to 2 wheel drive and started driving.

 

Are you saying I should change to REVERSE after switching back to 2 wheel drive?

 

Thanks for the comments BTW.

[Simon]

Yes...you should. That's how the automatic hubs unlock.

[leojharris]

Yes...you should. That's how the automatic hubs unlock.

 

Much gratitude.

 

I was so freaking at the beach.

 

We thought we were going to have to drive 100 miles at 40mph ...

 

(not real sure how fast you can go for sustained periods in 4x4)

 

Thanks again ...

[Simon]

On dry roads, not far. The 4wd system will bind up on itself on dry pavement. You need some slip to allow the system to run freely.

[MadManMike]

My tranny has been hanging in the high end of the first two gears of late.

 

Takes a long time for it to shift ... uncomfortably long.

 

This has become more pronounced after a surf trip last weekend when I used the 4X4 drive in some rather deep sand for most of the day; also, same day, upon taking the tranny back to 2x2 drive ... it remained stuck in 4x4 for about 10 minutes.

 

Anyway, today I checked the tranny fluid (engine warm and running, ran the shifter through all automatic gears and then left it in PARK while running as I checked it): the dip stick shows levels about a half inch over the indicated HOT levels. It shows this same thing after each check.

 

.jbh

My pathy has the exact same symptoms this week.... and I talked to my dad about it yesterday and his A/T hard body is doing the same thing. We we figured that it must be due to the cold weather?

I was just about to ask about this.... like you said I checked my dipstick and my tranny fluid is above the hot level. Strange.....

 

Oh and make sure you have the button on the left hand side of the steering wheel set to "Auto" not "Power" I made that mistake once And some times if you accelerate hard there is a button behind the gas peddle that will trip your tranny into power mode... next time it happends look for the Light on the left hand side.. if it's lit up switch it to Auto..

 

 

-Mike

Edited November 15, 2007 by MadManMike