7AT / 7 Speed Transmission Service
12-28-2011, 03:18 AM
#1
7AT / 7 Speed Transmission Service
UPDATE: DO THIS ONLY IF YOU CAN PROPERLY VERIFY THE FLUID LEVEL BY ACCESSING THE TRANSMISSION OIL TEMPERATURE SENSOR
My wife and I picked up an 09 FX35 AWD with around 60k on the odo and I just finished the complete 60k service. I did service the 7 speed transmission, even though you are supposedly not supposed to touch it until 100k.
So this thread is basically for those of you wondering how to flush the 7at without a scan tool capable of reading the transmission oil temperature using the transmission oil temperature sensor.
I used a method similar to the 5AT. I started off with the vehicle cold. I drained the AT fluid and measured. 2.2qts drained out.
I refilled with 4qts through the fill bolt - which is inconveniently placed upside down, just like a drain plug. After filling in about 1.5 qts, the fluid starts to leak out of this plug, so you have to make a good effort at creating a seal while pumping in new fluid - good luck with that...
Needless to say, I was covered in ATF by the time I was done with this service, but at least I know I have fresh Amsoil ATF in my tranny
Anyways, after filling in the 4 qts into the pan, I disconnected the return line and directed the line into a bucket and started the car to drain out 3 qts. For those of you wondering which line is the return line, it is the line closest to the passenger's side - can provide photo if necessary - I couldn't find the info specified anywhere in the service manual.
I drained out 3qts using the above method and again filled the pan to 4 qts using fill bolt. I repeated this process a few times until the ATF was coming out clean (~11qts).
To finish off and balance the fluid level, I drained whatever was left in the pan (yes it was good fluid). I refilled with about 2.75qts to cover for fluid losses as I was switching bottles and not pumping in entire bottles and to accommodate for fluid lost through hoses and new space created by my in-line magnefine filter.
Yes, the magnefine will have to be replaced once a year, but I don't mind that so much, I'll give me an opportunity to refresh the fluid between services.
Test drove the car and appears to be well - key here is put back in exactly what you take out and at the same temperature.
My wife and I picked up an 09 FX35 AWD with around 60k on the odo and I just finished the complete 60k service. I did service the 7 speed transmission, even though you are supposedly not supposed to touch it until 100k.
So this thread is basically for those of you wondering how to flush the 7at without a scan tool capable of reading the transmission oil temperature using the transmission oil temperature sensor.
I used a method similar to the 5AT. I started off with the vehicle cold. I drained the AT fluid and measured. 2.2qts drained out.
I refilled with 4qts through the fill bolt - which is inconveniently placed upside down, just like a drain plug. After filling in about 1.5 qts, the fluid starts to leak out of this plug, so you have to make a good effort at creating a seal while pumping in new fluid - good luck with that...
Needless to say, I was covered in ATF by the time I was done with this service, but at least I know I have fresh Amsoil ATF in my tranny
Anyways, after filling in the 4 qts into the pan, I disconnected the return line and directed the line into a bucket and started the car to drain out 3 qts. For those of you wondering which line is the return line, it is the line closest to the passenger's side - can provide photo if necessary - I couldn't find the info specified anywhere in the service manual.
I drained out 3qts using the above method and again filled the pan to 4 qts using fill bolt. I repeated this process a few times until the ATF was coming out clean (~11qts).
To finish off and balance the fluid level, I drained whatever was left in the pan (yes it was good fluid). I refilled with about 2.75qts to cover for fluid losses as I was switching bottles and not pumping in entire bottles and to accommodate for fluid lost through hoses and new space created by my in-line magnefine filter.
Yes, the magnefine will have to be replaced once a year, but I don't mind that so much, I'll give me an opportunity to refresh the fluid between services.
Test drove the car and appears to be well - key here is put back in exactly what you take out and at the same temperature.
Last edited by bythabay; 01-04-2012 at 01:33 PM.
12-28-2011, 07:54 AM
#2
Registered User
Interesting write up. I'd be interested to hear your long term thoughts after you've had the ATF in there after 500,1000,5000, etc. My 7 AT has no dipstick and no published maintenance interval, with the manual saying that it takes only Matic S. I didn't see any fluids claiming Matic S compatibility when I did my searches last summer.
This is all interesting to me, as I'm trying to convince my wife to get a used SUV this year over new....FX is one of the leading candidates.
This is all interesting to me, as I'm trying to convince my wife to get a used SUV this year over new....FX is one of the leading candidates.
12-28-2011, 04:11 PM
#3
Interesting write up. I'd be interested to hear your long term thoughts after you've had the ATF in there after 500,1000,5000, etc. My 7 AT has no dipstick and no published maintenance interval, with the manual saying that it takes only Matic S. I didn't see any fluids claiming Matic S compatibility when I did my searches last summer.
This is all interesting to me, as I'm trying to convince my wife to get a used SUV this year over new....FX is one of the leading candidates.
This is all interesting to me, as I'm trying to convince my wife to get a used SUV this year over new....FX is one of the leading candidates.
Just put on about another 50 miles - no issues as of yet.
01-04-2012, 01:20 PM
#4
I wanted some reassurance that the fluid level I had filled was correct, so I bought the auto engenuity scan tool which is supposed to connect to the automatic transmission module so that I can pull up the transmission temperature sensor. Unfortunately, the tool did not work for that particular module out of the box because for some reason nissan had changed that particular module and neither the auto enginuity nor the latest offering from snap-on are able to access that module.
I am currently working with auto enginuity to correct the issue and provide the proper readings from the transmission module - will update everyone once I am able to successfully connect to the transmission module and properly check the fluid level.
In the mean time, I brought it over to the dealer to have the fluid level checked using the Consult scan tool - turns out I was about 2 qts low on fluid. In summary - DO THIS ONLY IF YOU CAN PROPERLY VERIFY THE FLUID LEVEL as apparently mine may have been slightly under filled from the factory - at this point it is unclear what the situation is exactly so the only way to be sure is to check the fluid level using the proper procedure.
I am currently working with auto enginuity to correct the issue and provide the proper readings from the transmission module - will update everyone once I am able to successfully connect to the transmission module and properly check the fluid level.
In the mean time, I brought it over to the dealer to have the fluid level checked using the Consult scan tool - turns out I was about 2 qts low on fluid. In summary - DO THIS ONLY IF YOU CAN PROPERLY VERIFY THE FLUID LEVEL as apparently mine may have been slightly under filled from the factory - at this point it is unclear what the situation is exactly so the only way to be sure is to check the fluid level using the proper procedure.
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