With the car leveled any extra trans fluid you put in should come out right? So when you're all finished and have you're car running and leveled, once you open up the fill plug all the "extra" should flow out right? So it should be the right amount of fluid inside? Thanks

 

@ghmzdanny Correct!

 

With the pan level. Where you take "level" my differ.

 

Spot on ...so as long as you have the Transmission fluid temp between & maintained at 95-113°F (35-45°C) during ATF level check.
If the ATF temperature is above 113°F, stop the engine to allow the ATF to cool down.

Level is level.....The pan needs to be level & ATF at proper temp for you to achieve the proper level of fluid, how you achieve level may vary but level does not ever change.

I achieved true Level with the car raised in my driveway by attaching a ( High Quality ) bullseye level to the pan. I achieved perfectly level by reversing onto Rhino Ramps for the rear wheels, while simultaneously reversing onto two stacked....... 2 x12's behind each of the front wheels (I purchased 2.... 2 x 12's of ground contact pressure treated lumber at 8 ft. lengths and cut into 4 pieces ( 2 ....48" inch & 2 "40" inch) with the shorter ones on top of the longer ones, all cut at a 20 degree angle on one end of each piece , glued and screwed the stacked boards for a total height of 3 3/4 inches) which when reversed onto & also onto the ramps.
​​​​​​​ With the emergency brake applied and the car in park this gives you plenty of clearance to slide a floor a floor jack underneath the front of the car in order to jack the car up to perfectly level and then supported with jack stands in the font. You reverse onto the ramps instead of going forward onto the Ramps so the the car does not roll backwards off the ramps as it would if you attempted to jack the rear of the car up instead of the front.....I've seen this happen and it is not pretty .

 

"The pan needs to be level &" ...
Is what I said...thanks for confirming. Some people think the body seam (or what ever the parts is) is "level" the car is level, may be however the pan may not be. Level is not level. Do you see my point? BTW did you check cross car as well as fore/aft? ;-)

 

I wonder how the dealership service departments make sure the pan is level. I assume they have the car on a two-post lift when they change the fluid. 🤷‍♂️

 

No, it doesn't matter but since we are splitting hairs...

 

I hear ya ...For checking Transmission Pan fluid level, why anyone would use anything but the Transmission Pan to check for and achieve an accurate Transmission Pan fluid level is beyond me .

For the transmission fluid level check I'm always narcotically accurate when it comes to the pan being level . The stand pipe (Fill Hole) on the inside of the pan needs to be level, the rest of the car isn't relevant because of the many variables ( Level Ground, Sagging Springs, tire pressure etc) . The metal around the fill hole on the pan is flat and on the same plane as the top of the stand pipe..... that's the location I use .

Of course ..... that's why I specified using a quality Bullseye Level to achieve perfect level .

 

How do you ensure the pan is perfectly level with the car raised on a two-post lift?

 

If you have a two post lift at your home ...GOD bless. A two post lift contacting the car at 4 spots should have the frame (if straight) level . The lift is level the car should be as well . I have not had the pleasure of attaching my bullseye level to the pan while on a 2 post lift so I can't confirm one way or the other if the pan is on the exact same plane as the frame .

 

Guys...it doesn't matter that much. If the trans is +/- .5qt it won't matter. Most people who would attempt this would probably have a standard level, just use it on the pan and get close, it doesn't have to be perfect. The $tealer isn't going to shim their the car/two post lift to get the pan level and none of them have a leveling feature...k? I hope this kills the discussion.

 

All,

My G37X Sedan 7AT is now getting close to 70k miles. I have never changed out the transmission fluid nor have previous owners at least per service records. I do have some questions if someone would be kind enough to answer:

1. Do you think dropping the pan is absolutely necessary? I do want to keep the car for as long as possible but am worried as pan bolts look bit rusted. I've changed the differentials, engine oil, clean the MAF, replaced the coolant, T-Stat and hoses but something about dropping the pan is making me nervous.
2. For the 2013, is it confirmed that the gasket around the pan is molded? Just trying to see if I should re-use the old gasket or just get a new one.

Thanks!

 

They dont. Most assume the lift is "level" when all four legs are locked. Lets say it's close but it's not level.

The dealer can do whatever they want and finesse you however they want. Coming from that world and having worked at Infiniti along with knowing many who still work for Infiniti they go off locked lifts level. I have confirmed that lift level relies on ground level which always changes.

Post #279 shows a visual of what the inside of the pan looks like.

I've edited a the pic to show.
Yellow: magnetic level placement
Red: incorrect area for level placement
Orange: flange height in comparison to fill tube.


Level to use


In reality anything magnetic stuck to the yellow areas of the pan will ensure you do the job correctly. There is countless info on oil leveling when introducing new dipsticks which is in the field of this. In those documents it talks about how crucial it is for every internal part to be covered and pan floor leveling to get the best oil measurement to determine capacity.

Now why should you? As expensive as these fluids can be and how stupids these trans will shift why shouldn't you? After all you're doing maintenance.

To touch on this as well, I suspected I was low on fluid but did not want to go under the whole process. I installed the dipstick and found I was 1/2 quart low which appeared to be 1/4 of a quart in the dipstick. Butt dyno confirms better shifting.
I replaced the trans on my car, new trans was empty, it took 10 quarts of fluid at my own eye level then 1/2 a quart after proper leveling.

 

Just following up on my two questions. Would really appreciate some feedback as I keep holding off. Car is actually at 65k miles by the way, for some reason thought it was 70k but hardly drive since I'm remote for time being.

 

I'm at 80k, completely stock xS sedan. Like you my trans pans bolts are quite rusty. So I did the 3x drain and fill, didn't drop the pan, used Valvoline MaxLife ATF (rated for Matic S)
Then drove it 800mi to VIR for SCCA national time trials tour, beat the absolute crap out of it, and drove it back. Seriously impressed with how well a 4000lb beluga whale handled on the track. Trans only shut down once because I was engine braking too hard and didn't upshift for a much longer time than I should have.

Haven't changed it again (and don't plan to until 130k, I'll drop the pan then) and it still shifts better than ever. Faster, more responsive, less harsh, etc.

Do it and don't sweat it.