Thread: a simple transmition fluid change

Ive always done a lot of basic work on my cars as I enjoy working with my hands. I decieded i needed to do a service on my nissan trans. Got to reading all about the CVT and found a transmition shop in town would do the work for me and the markup was not extreme. So i let them do it. The fluid is over 22 bucks a quart.
When i picked it up and seen the bill i asked why the filter wasnt listed on it. They said its a special filter that is inline and that cost extra. So they didnt do it. I wouldnt have known it wasnt changed if I hadnt asked. I wasnt happy with this and told them to order the damn filter and let me know when its in.
I got home and looked under the car and found they didnt drop the pan. Hadnt replaced the gasket. They just did a drain and fill. I was pissed. By then they called and said they had the filter and i told them id be in in the morning and will wait while the filter is replaced being its just inline. They agreed.

When i got there the manager/owner was there and he apologized about the filter not being changed. Said it cost him 40 bucks but he wasnt going to charge me for it or the extra labor. I then asked if they dropped the pan and he said yes. We went to the car in the air and i showed him they did not. Then he found he would have to order the gasket. I said forget it as i was pissed. After i got home i checked and the fluid level was low. Dammit!

The wife said we should do her car next. So i checked and found i could buy the matic s fluid at the dealer and just drain and fill myself. Bought the fluid, crawled under the car (infiniti suv) drained the fluid, then went to put new fluid in through the dipstick. What, no dipstick? I did some more reading on the web and found its a big deal as it takes a scanner to read if the fluid level is right and it has to be pumped in through a hole in the trans i couldnt find.

I dug out my marine pump i had used years ago to change the fluid in a manual trans on my ford ranger. Measured the fluid i took out and pumped thatmuch back in thru the drain hole. What a PITA and a mess. Then i set up an apointment at a friends shop for him to check the level next week as he had an opening in his schedule.

The moral to the story is... Even if you can do it yourself, besure to read first. And besure to see where the fluid goes in before taking the fluid out.