anyone here check there OWN TRANNY OIL?
 

dont really want to service my car, dont trust the stupid dealership. but they tell me i cant check the tranny oil, and i cant find the dip stick. and they said they put in the tranny oil from under the vehicle?

Thats correct its a sealed unit and any self maint would require specific tools and procedure that has to followed carefully if not damage could result.

If you need it serviced the dealers about the only ones that can touch it if you're lacking the tools and knowledge.

But to answer your question here I have seen very little people have serviced it on their own. Not that its impossible but just a pia. imo

Automatic tranny should have a dip stick but the manual does not show one.

Service and Maintenance manual says "Automatic transmission fluid for the 370Z is maintenance-free."

Manual Transmission has a drain and a fill plug. Oil level should be up to the fill plug. Differential oil is usually the same.

Supposed to check both after 15k and replace after 30k.

WTF... Check for what? Do you need to remove the oil to check it?

No dipstick on this AT. How many miles on it?

what do they mean by maintenance free? and the other guy said there isnt a dip stick, i know there was for the 350z but i dont see it for the 370z. it has 3000km = 1800 miles

It simply means there is NO service to be done since it's a sealed transmission

Thats the reason there is NO dipstick to check the oil level.

The idea is the fluid is good to about 100k if I remember right. But that doesn't mean it won't need servicing at one time in its life.

1,800 miles don't even think about it anymore. I have the extended warranty so I factored a tranny flush into the price of the warranty.

So what I mean is...

I will drive the car to ~100k miles. If I didn't get the warranty I would have the fluid swapped at 50k miles. The cost (when I called the dealer) was about $250. Since I got the warranty up to 100k miles I won't have it flushed and 'saved' $250 off the price of the warranty (mentally of course :p). The manual states that the fluid is lifetime so to remain under warranty I don't have to do anything.

To each his/her own. That's just what I'm doing, not a recommendation.

i guess the same goes for the rear differential fluid, it doesnt need service like the tranny oil? so how doesnt it run out of oil?

Just because it says no maintenance doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. The AT should have a fill and drain like the manual (though the location(s) may be different). For normal every day driving don't worry until 30k miles. Then it should be checked and probably drained and refilled. For hard driving, or track driving you should be doing this closer to 15k miles.

The reality is that it's probably a fluid that gets changes when it smells burned and there's not a set service interval. My Volvo is this way. We have full service for 50k miles and the transmission is not found on the list. I end up paying a different shop to swap it after track events when it's hot because the fluid will end up burned up.

TL;DR - Don't worry until you hit 30/60/90k miles. The dealer WILL change it, but you WILL have to ask them to do it since it's not on their regular schedule.

negative. the rear dif should be changed at about 30k mile intervals. if you abuse or track then do it more often.

No offense...

Didn't you get a manual to read with the car? It's pretty clearly written.

You _could_ use the same oil in the manual transmission and the rear diff, but it's not recommended. They both use a fairly heavy auto gear oil, but in reality you need two different weights. One for the transmission, and one for the rear end. The weights are listed in the owner's manual, and I personally use redline oils in both.

:confused:

Must have a big reservoir or it's not going to last much more than 100-150k. There must be a way to empty and fill it though. I think it might be time to crawl under the car and start looking.

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse anyone.

The MT (manual transmission) and the rear diff both use a "heavy" weight automotive gear oil. In a pinch (worst case!) you could use the same oil in both the transmission and the diff. HOWEVER, you should just use the oil weights as specified in the owner's manual.

I'm using Redline MT-85 in the transmission, and Redline 90w in the diff.

The manual transmission takes about 3.5 quarts. You are supposed to change it about every 30k miles, or sooner if you track the car. I change mine at about 20k.

You sure about that. if the manual calls for it to be services, Flushed and filled at 50k, and something goes wrong at 65k and you never changed it I'm sure the dealer will not honor the warranty.. Just asking . I have not even thought about mine @15k now. have not looked at the manual yet for it. sorry if a dumb question

Hey Guys, Op's talking about the 7AT NOT the Manual 6sp or dif

Lets try to keep it on topic

Thanks :)

We're talking about the 7AT dude, so yeah...I'm sure. :tup:

man.. im getting different answers everywhere, and i certainly dont trust the damn dealership.. but everyone is roughly saying to change it at "EVERY?" or once, 15K, 30K, 50K?? and im getting the same answers for the rear dif oil change, why couldnt the stupid dealership set a standard guideline to when to change it and leave it at that.. the stupid mechanic told me to come back in 6 months, salesperson says 2 months, nissan sends a letter in the 3rd month... like WTF.. ill stick to 6 months, for the maintenance im talking about.

seems like no one here services there cars at the dealership.. even if they bought the car used i would think they would still service it at the dealership since warranty is 5 years, and the car came out in 09

The way I read it...

7AT - 50k miles
6MT - 30k unless you track, then 15k
Diff - 30k unless you track, then 15k

cool

Mine is getting changed right now. Not just the AT fluid, the entire AT. Failed @51k of mostly highway miles. Wonder how fragile the transmission is, it is a $9k plus unit, thankfully warranty is covering mine.

What happened? You track the car ever?

No track, mostly highway, something just gave up inside. Dealer does not know, Nissan had them replace fluid and then check it several times over 2 days to see if the noise went away, which it didn't. They told them to replace the unit.

Picked it up yesterday, put 100 miles on it today, running great now. Paperwork said torque converter locked up, seems like something that can be fixed, but technician told me Nissan won't let them open up these transmissions anymore.

Glad you got it fixed. Yep, that seems to be Nissan's policy. My buddy's Cube had a slipping transmission and they just replaced it, no other option. Probably best that way.

The 7AT transmission gets the fluid added through a plug that is on the pan. The fluid has to be pumped into the transmission. This of course requires a special tool. Once you have that tool, you can pump fluid into the trans and then let the car run until it's up to temperature. Once warm, you open the fill plug back up and let the fluid drain out until it slows to a steady drip. Then it's full. It has a tube inside the pan that sets the level. No need to check it unless you have a leak. No need to service it as it's designed to go over 150K without being changed.

Yeah... Japaneese know the average American tech is incompetent. They would just screw it up more.

Just had my 7AT flushed today. Cost me $220 for a full flush, not just a drain and fill. All the talk about this not needing to be done till 100k miles, I almost just passed on it. I am glad I went ahead with it though. The car has 37k miles and the fluid was pretty dirty. No track use, just some spirited canyon runs on occasion. For me, it was worth the piece of mind. Now I know it is clean and it shifts a little smoother when moving between low gears.

...also, I was told that it is normal for the trans oil in 370 Z's to turn real dark after a few thousand miles. Not sure if that's true or not? But, mine is bright cherry red for now.

ya, better safe than sorry, so ill change it often