# 98 Transmission oil change



## Gino45 (Oct 18, 2005)

I was planning on changing my own tranny oil on my 98 Altima :fluffy: (automatic transmission) and was wondering how many litres/quarts of oil will I need. I know that a lot of oil remains in the torque converter, hence I won't need to buy as much oil as is listed in the owners manual. Is there anything I should look out for when doing this? What type of oil do I need.


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## tremer88 (Aug 18, 2006)

your best bet is to get it serviced at an oil change or transmission place. its about 100$ but i got it done and theres a big difference, shifts great. you're supposed to do this every 40k. If you try to do it your self you wont be able to drain all of the old fluid out, as the machine actually puts pressure through the transmission, and pushes all of the old fluid and the fluid in the torque converter. You doing it yourself is better than nothing at all I guess.


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## Gino45 (Oct 18, 2005)

*Tranny oil change*

Well, I changed the transmission fluid this weekend on my 98 SE. I put in 5.4L of Dextron III. I had measured what came out of the pan so that I wouldn't overfill the tranny when I put in the new fluid. It cost me $24 for fluid as compared to paying $100 for having a dealer do it. Pretty easy job since you don't have to remove the pan. Just unsrew the bolt and let the fluid drain out. Similar to doing an oil change.


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## tremer88 (Aug 18, 2006)

nice. I just might do this the next times i have to to it. I would just do it little more often that 40k


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## stancho (Aug 26, 2006)

Does it make sense to drop the pan and replace the filter as well? I'm contemlating this for my wife's car. She just complained that it shifts rough.


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## Gino45 (Oct 18, 2005)

*Tranny oil filter*



stancho said:


> Does it make sense to drop the pan and replace the filter as well? I'm contemlating this for my wife's car. She just complained that it shifts rough.


Don't bother with dropping the pan. The filter on my 98 is a steel mesh filter that doesn't need to be changed. The dealer mentioned that they usually do not change these. If your oil is really dirty you can have a tranny oil flush at a dealer. I would check the oil level first of all. Make sure that the car is warmed up- drive it for 5min - and leave the engine running when checking the level. Put your handbrake on and shift through all gears (P,R, N,D). Then put the tranny into Park and check your level.


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## Kraut-n-Rice (Jan 10, 2007)

If the fluid is still fairly dirty after your DIY change ,just do it again . Think about the percentage of dilution of the old fluid with the first and then second flush. It will get your fluid much cleaner this way and if you get fluid on sale it can still be under $40-50 . Its a good alternative to a dealer doing it with a flushing machine.


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## stancho (Aug 26, 2006)

Thank you guys for your replies. What kind of ATF fluid do you use in these cars? At Autozone they offered me Dexron III. It was fairly cheap.


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## SHIFTVAX (Jan 15, 2006)

Dexron Mercon 3 ATF yeah.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

so why are people concerned with overfilling the tranny. when I change tranny fluid I put 2 quarts of new fluid. drain 3 quarts from return line which goes into radiator. put 3 quarts again. drain 3. so I am either 2 quarts overfilled or 1 quart underfilled. the main concern is not to have 3-5 quarts less fluid. your tranny can go bad in minutes.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

stancho said:


> Thank you guys for your replies. What kind of ATF fluid do you use in these cars? At Autozone they offered me Dexron III. It was fairly cheap.


go to dealership see what they have. I think dealers also sell dextron III for altima. then go to autozone and buy it cheaper.


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## I'm3rd (Dec 24, 2003)

Get almost the equivalent of a flush this way. Warm up the fluid by driving a few miles. Drain the pan, add 3 quarts new fluid, drive 3 or 4 m miles, drain pan again, add 3 quarts and drive some more, repeat 2 or 3 more times and almost all the fluid in your tranny will be fresh and clean. I used 12 quarts of Dexron III which cost me about $30 at Wallyworld if I remember right. It took me several hours to do because I probably drove farther than necessary between drains. I think a mile between drains would probably be far enough to mix up the new and old fluid.


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