Changing fluids

[QuismO]

ok so after all of this 4WD'ing in tahoe...i've been wondering about my fluids. I read the online pdf manual (for the '97 4wd pathy), and the differential fluids seem straight forward. but as for the transfer case (Page MA-19), what and where exactly is that part of the undercarriage in that diagram (diagram numbers: SMA439B and SMA444B)? The link to the maintenance section of the pdf file is HERE

 

 

Also, how often do you change your fluids? elapsed time or certain mile/km intervals? how often should i change a/t fluid?

 

and one more thing, i read about the external a/t coolers...how difficult is it to install an external a/t fluid cooler? would i need to get some sort of pump to make the a/t fluid flow through the aftermarket external cooler? how exactly does it "flow" through the cooler if no pump is needed? simply pressure?

 

 

i know i know...tons of questions...thanks again guys and gals.

 

ian

Edited January 19, 2006 by QuismO

[Trainman]

ok so after all of this 4WD'ing in tahoe...i've been wondering about my fluids. I read the online pdf manual (for the '97 4wd pathy), and the differential fluids seem straight forward. but as for the transfer case (Page MA-19), what and where exactly is that part of the undercarriage in that diagram (diagram numbers: SMA439B and SMA444B)? The link to the maintenance section of the pdf file is HERE

 

 

Also, how often do you change your fluids? elapsed time or certain mile/km intervals? how often should i change a/t fluid?

 

and one more thing, i read about the external a/t coolers...how difficult is it to install an external a/t fluid cooler? would i need to get some sort of pump to make the a/t fluid flow through the aftermarket external cooler? how exactly does it "flow" through the cooler if no pump is needed? simply pressure?

 

 

i know i know...tons of questions...thanks again guys and gals.

 

ian

Well, I can answer some of these:

 

AT cooler: no pump required, just uses the pressure developed in the trannie itself. Shop put mine in.

 

Fluid change interval: I do mine based on the recommended interval in the owners manual, ie every 40,000 km for the trannie. Look at your manual to find the interval for your year.

 

I get my local shop to do these so I can not help on the location of the drains etc.

 

If you bought the Q used and have not had the trannie serviced, you should get it done right away to save some grief down the road.

[QuismO]

i know that the fluids were changed before i purchased my used Q as we made the transaction in the infiniti service dept. waiting room...weird i know...but i was anxious to buy it! that was 7k miles ago. i guess i'll do some poking around the belly of the pathy to see what matches most closely to that horrendous drawing in the service manual =P

[JB3829]

The transfer case is under the front driver side door, the drain plugs for the diffs and TC are on the bottom and the fill is up top. Make sure you loosen your fill plugs first! You don't want to drain it and not be able to fill it if the plug is stuck. The front diff fill plug is in a tight spot...good luck. I used an old quart size gear fluid bottle with a length of fuel hose on the end to squeeze in the diff and TC fluids. The transfer case takes the same fluid as the tranny. Just fill until it starts spilling out of the fill hole. Hope this helps.