I'm surprised that this video only recently showed up when attempting to search for this specific video. Like others, many thanks, Alex, for posting this video. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Infiniti would disagree with this approach, you've made it simple to understand for DIY. I watched the video yesterday and went to the store today to pick up 2 gallons of Valvoline MaxLife ATF (which meets Nissan Matic S requirements) - about $36 at Walmart where I live. To make life easier, I did end up getting a wireless laser thermometer that worked well. Armed with the confidence of watching this video, I decided to do the transmission service. I already had the transfer pump and a ball point pen is often readily available. Total "investment" - about $60, far cheaper than taking it to the dealership. Like Alex, I used the same transfer pump and a ballpoint pen. It might seem a little on the simple side, but it works perfectly. I made sure my G37 (2013, Journey, 2WD) was level per Alex's guidance. I followed the procedure that Alex laid out. Drain and fill couldn't have been easier. I've been wanting to service the ATF on my car for about 25K miles now. It's a few hundred miles over 100K. I drained approximately 6 quarts of transmission fluid and replaced the fluid per the video. The fluid was extremely worn out - no red/pink just lighter brown. To say that this transmission is non-serviceable with lifetime fluid is ridiculous. Doing a simple drain and fill on my car means about 40% of the fluid in the transmission, torque converter, etc. was changed out (based upon a pan drop yielding about 15 quarts of transmission fluid). There may be other ports or techniques to improve over Alex's process; however, I'm perfectly fine with the simplicity of this video and totally satisfied with the results. No codes. Much better performance. Win win. Did it make a difference - YES. Shifts are noticeably smoother and snappier under normal and sport shifting modes. There were points in the shifting between 3rd and 4th gear where it felt as if it wanted to "slip" but proceeded normally. I found this to occur frequently when the transmission was very cold. On this cold night (around 35F), the transmission was well-behaved and responsive. Given that around 40% of the fluid was changed out - and about 60% of the fluid is still the lighter brown variety, what I have learned? The fresh oil and detergents in the new fluid has restored the well-behaved transmission. Performing a flush service (adding new fluid, putting some miles on the transmission, and draining again) would yield more worn fluid to be replaced at the cost of new ATF. My goal isn't to get another 100K miles out of the transmission fluid. The drain and fill method is simple - taking a little time and patience to perform. My plan is to perform this drain and fill in about 30K more miles when the two fluids have mixed and mingled enough - putting another batch of fresh fluid - from there, keeping the fluid in a perpetual state of "refreshment" will certainly be better than sticking with the OEM's stance that the fluid will last the lifetime of the transmission. Indeed, "lifetimes" can vary greatly depending on conditions.
You are really lucky that you didn't damage it by switching brands of ATF. I learned the hard way you can't substitute when I tried this on my Ford. Moving forward, I will not risk it with my g37x and will stick to the Nissan brand.
Just bought a 2010 370Z with 102,000 miles on it and didn't know if the transmission fluid had ever been changed. Thought about doing it myself but your video was all over the place and sideways. A couple of questions, when you put the fluid in with the pump, does the fluid want to come back out or is there a one way valve in there? If it stays in why not pump in the same amount that came out and put the plug back in?Thanks
Does anyone know if you need new washers for the fill and drain plug? Also, is it recommended to slightly overfill with ATF then drain the excess as shown in the video?
PLEASE READ: for all my 7at guys if you do heavy spirited driving for long periods of time or You have a Tune on your VHR i HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do this every 3rd or 4th oil change (so about 10k)! I'm on my third torque converter (they would last about 30k) and am barley learning how to combat the problem. 9/10 times when a 7at fails its the torque converter and people automatically assume the transmission and the dealer/indi shop will have no problem taking all ur money to replace a trans when all you need to do is this every few months or so 👍
I think I found my answer. When car is off, the fill hole will indeed drain 1.5 qt (likely because fluid is not being cycled in tq converter) When car is running, it should not drain any fluid since the 'additional' 1.5 qt is now being distributed throughout transmission components.
Ive been wanting to do my own tranny fluid but cant find any videos on it this the 1st. I was about to just give in amd take it to a shop but i rather not
I was able to get 4.5 Quarts out of the drain plug. However, after pumping about 3.5 quarts in the fill plug fluid gushes out. Should I keep pumping until I get 4.5 in there and quickly screw in the fill plug?
Alex didn't really explain this well in the video, but normally you would need to fill the fluid through the drain plug as much as you can (which is what you did). When it starts gushing out like that, it means that you overfilled the drain pan. At this point you let some excess fluid pour out for a few seconds until the fluid starts dripping out instead of pouring, then screw the plug back on. Hop into your car and start the ignition so that the transmission sucks in a portion of the fluid from the drain pan. Since you were only able to drain 4.5 quarts (which is totally normal), continue pumping fluid into the pan until you have 0.5 quarts of unused fluid left over.
@@ephraimkaravan I'm in the process of doing this now. A rust hole caused the fluid to leak out. I have put in 6 quarts so far. With engine off, I fill until it starts dripping out, then I plug it. I start the engine and go through gears (let wheels spin?). I turn off engine, remove fill plug and no dripping so I add more. I'm confused as to 1) should brake pedal be off so wheels can spin 2) when do I check fluid while engine is running...every time after adding fluid?
Alex, Why didn’t you use the side access plug to fill the tranny. This is where you check level after you bring it up to operational temperature and drain excess fluid. Drivers side of the transmission and on the side of the case.
I have a 2012 same transmission. The plug is on the same side as drain plug but above on the transmission housing, drivers side. You undo this plug after bring transmission fluid up to temperature to let out excess fluid. You can fill after draining here too, less messy the pushing fluid through drain plug. The factory uses the OBD port to monitor trans. temp. before undoing this plug to release the excess fluid or add more fluid.
I have the 2008 G37S. After seeing this video, I thought sure I can do this. But I got it all jacked up and can see the drain plug. But I really can not find the fill hole.
You pumped all the 5 quarts inside??? If you did, approximately how many quarts were left inside after you finished the draining step with the engine idling?
I removed barely less than 6 quarts, so I pumped just shy of 6 quarts in. When checking the level with the transmission @ 95 deg. F, NOTHING came out. Some mechanics say to just put back whatever you took out. Obviously, this implies you have NO LEAKS, which I did not. Southern California, warm, 90 deg. day. I'm glad I bought gallon jugs of Valvoline Max Life fluid instead of having to run to the dealer for another quart. I only have 1 car!
Great video. I took mine to a mechanic. I had them do a flush & refill. They used 5-6 quarts to refill. I saw on the forums the 7at transmission has max capacity of 9.8 quarts. Should I be worried they didn't put enough fluid back in when they refilled?
Remember this always you will never get all of the transmission fluid out usually thiers always 1/4 of the fluid in the transmission example. The transmission takes 10 quarts total but you only can remove about 3/4 or 7 quarts of fluid thats why it may seem to you they didnt add enough because thiers always some left over in the transmission remember
@@tylerandrews9244 Good point. I'll just add that some people mistakingly use the terms "flush" and "drain and fill" interchangeably, when in fact they are 2 different procedures. As you noted, flushing is a no-no for the G37 transmission, but draining and filling should be o.k.
If you zeroed out the scale you wouldnt be able to know exactly how much oil is taken out once you fill the pan up with used oil, unless you drained it in another pan and poured it into a pan you zeroed out again. Really an irrelevant extra step. Much easier to just weigh and make a note of your weight then subtract.
If there's no dipstick, absolutely. If you have a dipstick though, makes more sense to use it though. The amount of fluid you refill with can be the same amount drained - as a starting point.
I removed barely less than 6 quarts, so I pumped just shy of 6 quarts in. When checking the level with the transmission @ 95 deg. F, NOTHING came out. So your point is well-taken. Some mechanics say to just put back whatever you took out. Obviously, this implies you have NO LEAKS, which I did not.
I like that g37 alot I'm thinking of getting one only thing that stopping me is that I hear g37,s from 2008 to 2012 having gallery gasket crack and break in the engine cost like $3,000 to fix. that's alot of money.
roushspeedfreak1989 you don’t want to refill the transmission too much. He used it as a baseline to see approximately how much to add back in so he wouldn’t overfill too much and aerate the fluid.
There's a bolt on the side you remove when filling up the trans and when fluid comes out the hole you're done. There's no need to measure what came out.
First time I change the transmission fluid on mine I dropped the pan. Second time I use the same type of pump you used and just sucked fluid out of the dipstick hole and filled through the dipstick hole. Also OBD2 fusion has the PID for Infinity transmission fluid temperature so you can get the super accurate reading of 149°.
Yes, it does have an oil filter under the tray. But typically you don't change it until your car hits 140,000 mile mark (if you did fluid change at 60,000 miles). That is a tricky question though, whether to change the filter and fluid... If you have maintained your transmission fluid at 60,000, then go ahead and change the filter at 120,000. If you have not done any fluid maintenance, and fluid looks dark and burned - just sell the car. The filter change won't do any good, and may even make situation worse and cause shifting gear slips, since transmission clutches are worn-out and basically only function due to particles in the fluid, if helps to work properly. Changing the fluid and filter may have opposite effect on the transmission, if it was not maintained properly.
I know the answer is yes if you are willing to spend the dinero but here goes. Can you drain, flush then after the flush do another drain, R/R filter and reservice? This should pretty much remove about 99 % of the old fluid, refill the torque converter and then have a fresh new filter and fluid as a baseline mileage for future wear? Ideally I would want the old fluid from the torque converter to hopefully go through the filter but if ii still means that the old T/C fluid gets flushed through then still a win win.
I would think that any filter that is replaceable should be changed especially transmission where there is limited inspection opportunities on modern transmissions as in sealed filter and or no owner access to easy immediate fluid quantity and or quality.
Alex, I still own the 2008 G37 coupe that I bought new in late 2008 and it is a 5 speed automatic. The transmission code only tell you that its a 7 speed not the year of the vehicle. You can check your car's year through your VIN number. Check out the Nissan/Infiniti 2009 press release about the new 2009 7speed automatic g37 coupe. I'm only trying to correct your misinformation. nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/9d19659c-b250-49b6-9d2e-9c93d0890af3
@@isaihaguirre6533 People just make up these numbers I feel. The official manual says 90k as an optional service. However, I drive my car really hard so plan to do it at 70-75k once we have better weather.
Basically measuring ensures you dont underfill. Also when starting car some fluid goes to transmission so you can underfill. That's why he ran car and switched gears to start pump throughout car simulating a normal car temp and pressure condition. Lastly to answer you question if you look inside the pan the fill plug tube sitting at the highest point of tray. So if everything has oil fully then the plug will drain if its overfilled. He opened it while its running and close it as soon as its drizzle meaning the oil is level with fill plug indicating proper level that it was designed by the car manufacturer for maintenance. You'd only know this becos it was created as designed by the manufacturer.
Yes, there is now a filter available, but it is DIFFICULT to find. The dealer will tell you they're not for sale. Autozone was the ONLY vendor I could find that stocks the kit (including gasket) for $29.99 plus shipping & tax (not in regular store stock; buy it on the web).
I did this, but forgot to let it run before I let the fluid drain from the fill plug. I noticed it was running funny afterwards. Now I am going to go back and fill it up more and let it run before I let it drain from the fill plug. Am I too late... am I completely f**ked???
@@bigconn9596 nah its chill. I took it into a shop immediately and they had one of those transfluid machines and it works normally again. Definitely shaved a few hundred miles off its life though
The G35 5MT has a dipstick, the G37 7AT does not. The fact that most cars don't have a transmission dipstick anymore is bad enough, many cars don't even have transmission drain plugs now!
D Fields I had to do a transmission fluid change in my 04 Chevy and there wasn’t a drain plug so I had to drop the pan but guess what was in the way? The fucking exhaust system. The pan would slightly drop down but get stuck on the pipes, and the pipes where rusted on so I scooped the fluid out with my hands.
@@alexcherkasov2221 my g37 has rough downshifts and it has 114,000 miles, I don't know it they have change the transmission oil before. If i do the transmission oil will it fix the rough downshifts?
@@eliseorobles1394 it will most likely run a bit smoother, but the hard shifts is a common thing with the G, unless you go too the dealer and get the transmission software update, but I have not done it before, but if you go on myg37 forum many have had the update done, and it reduced the hard shifts.
Just remember for all you X owners you also have an extra step involved with the transfer case fluid which remember takes 1.5-2 Quarts of Matic. And DO NOT go Amsoil or Redline in the tranny. use Nissan Matic only! the diffs you can use whatever you want.
300C 5.7 CB because of ignorance. Use a spec oil that is equivalent with matic S. I used Castrol trans max full synthetic in all the Nissan/infiniti auto transmissions.
Matthew Reimer I assure you it’s because he doesn’t have the slightest idea what he’s talking about. You can use any fluid that meets or exceeds the Nissan matic S spec.
All VQ series NISSAN engines has dipstick behind the engine near the firewall. There's a 10 mm bolt holding the dipstick that needs to bee remove for checking the AFT, and that's where you also fill the AFT not at the bottom of the pan. I did this on my 2008 Infiniti G and 2005 Infiniti FX. Also, I use Valvoline MaxLife Multi-Vehicle Fully Synthetic ATF with no problems on both vehicle.
That works for the 5AT... They changed this in 2010 w the 7AT and the fill hole shown in this video is correct. There's a special pump tool they have a Nissan and infiniti to perform this while they monitor the Consult III.. Stupid they went to this design but it is what it is and glad to see a shade tree mechanic make a video about this along w how viral the temps and correct level is for maintaing these transmissions correctly.
Yes, there is now a filter available, but it is DIFFICULT to find. The dealer will tell you they're not for sale. Autozone was the ONLY vendor I could find that stocks the kit (including gasket) for $29.99 plus shipping & tax (not in regular store stock; buy it on the web).
@@Josephjj27 2008 G37 Coupe is a 3.7L 7 speed AT model (or 6 speed MT) 1st Gen 2008 G37 3.7 coupe was stand alone model.(only coupe available for 2008) 2009 G37 Coupe & sedan available with no dipstick/trans pan fill only. 2008 G35 sedan is 3.5L 5 speed AT with dipstick. either way a drain & fill of 2.5 qts does nothing. usually by 68,000 miles the unit is low on ATF. top off first. drive car, raise on lift with engine running in drive with wheels rolling at idle, pull filler plug at proper temp. confirm full! then perform proper trans fluid flush with 12qt or 16qt machine we use 16qt machine with factory full synthetic ATF, works perfect!. only then has your transmission service been properly serviced. gwinnettperformance.com
