How To: Reduction Gear Oil Change

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Kev994 said:
Has anyone tried AMSOIL Signature Fuel Efficient ATF? It says that it is Matic S equivalent. https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-prod...cient-synthetic-automatic-transmission-fluid/

If it's equivalent then it meets the owner's manual service requirements.

But in fact I doubt if even that is technically needed by a simple reduction gearbox. Most of what distinguishes the plethora of ATF fluids are the special "friction modifiers" which are tailored to the specific requirements of the clutches and friction bands of the automatic transmissions they're used in. There's no such wizardry inside a LEAF gearbox, the fluid is needed for lubrication only. The service manual warns against "deterioration in drivability" if other fluid is used, a reference to poor shifting. A sign that someone just cut and pasted the Matic S boilerplate.
 
The leaf transmission is lacking a torque converter and therefore most of the heat normal autos have to deal with, no pump, no filter, no clutches, no bands, no hydraulic solenoids, no valve bodies, doesn not use multiple quarts of fluid, only has one speed, no "rubber band drive" as seen on CVT type transmissions.
About the only things a leaf transmission and an regular auto have in common is they both use oil, have drain plug magnets and have a parking lock.

Any oil that doesn't eat the seals and doesn't foam up like mad should work. Anything that would be put into an automatic transmission, differential or transfer case would be what you want.
 
Any oil that doesn't eat the seals and doesn't foam up like mad should work. Anything that would be put into an automatic transmission, differential or transfer case would be what you want.


With no brake bands or clutches, you don't want an ATF fluid with friction increasing additives.
 
Oilpan4 said:
Do we know the matic s doesn't have these friction modifiers?

None of the ATF fluids I've worked with in a DIY capacity have had friction modifiers. The only fluid I've worked with that sometimes has the friction modifier built in is a gear lube designed for a rear differential. In that case, the gear lube explicitly is labeled as having the friction modifier.
 
HRTKD said:
Oilpan4 said:
Do we know the matic s doesn't have these friction modifiers?

None of the ATF fluids I've worked with in a DIY capacity have had friction modifiers. The only fluid I've worked with that sometimes has the friction modifier built in is a gear lube designed for a rear differential. In that case, the gear lube explicitly is labeled as having the friction modifier.

I don't think there's any way to know unless Nissan (or others) revealed their ATF formulation. A friction modifier for a limited-slip differential is intended to avoid chatter by reducing friction in the clutch pack that conventional diffs lack. But auto transmissions have multiple clutch packs. You can buy a friction modifier supplement for ATF to reduce converter lockup chatter or potentially soften hard shifts in an AT that you're not quite ready to rebuild: https://www.lubegard.com/products/black/

Since there are no clutch packs in the Leaf reduction gear box, friction modifiers are irrelevant as some others have noted. (Which is also true for the differential inside the transaxle of nearly all front-drive automatics.) Nissan presumably didn't want to formulate a new lubricant for the Leaf, so they took the most suitable product off the shelf. No need to overthink this one, just run the OEM ATF or a compatible 3rd-party product. Presumably, Nissan designed the box for minimal friction loss and an acceptable lifespan with the viscosity and and other characteristics of ATF. Gear oil is much thicker (higher viscosity) than ATF, which would undoubtedly affect energy efficiency.
 
I changed out the fluid in my '18 SL yesterday at 35k miles. The magnets were covered and the fluid was very dark. I used Redline D6. I'll keep doing it at 30-35k from here on out.
 
Wow 35k, I wouldn't have guessed it would be that bad.
I did mine at 68k. I will be sure to do it again before 100k.
 
your first fluid change will be darker as there is more initial wear as parts wear in. take the fill plug off in another 35k after a drive and stick a hose in there to pull out a touch of fluid, i bet it won't be very dark the second go around.
 
If the first change gets done say at 20k or 30k them the next one could be over 100k.
 
I just finished mine. I used ramps instead of having the car up, it worked well, no need to take the front wheel off, there was plenty of room. I used AMSOIL fuel efficient ATF, it comes in a squeeze pouch so I filled from underneath without a hose. When it came time to dump the second pouch of fluid in I jacked up the rear and used a level on the rocker panel. If you use Redline I have had good experiences using a pump to get the fluid out of the bottle, they’re $10-15 on Amazon. 1.5 hours is plenty of time.
The car has 48,000 kms (30,000 miles), the fluid was turning grey, I’d say it was a good time to change it.
 
While given the noise from my gearbox at 162,000 miles I wish I had changed the gear oil earlier the fact it is still going fine makes me think that unless you plan to push the car well past 200,000 miles changing of the gear oil is a waste of time and money.
 
Valdemar said:
While given the noise from my gearbox at 162,000 miles I wish I had changed the gear oil earlier the fact it is still going fine makes me think that unless you plan to push the car well past 200,000 miles changing of the gear oil is a waste of time and money.

Perhaps, but for $43.50 CAD and 1.5 hours it’s worth the peace of mind for me. I’ll probably do it again in 4 years.
 
I will probably change mine again next time I put the car up and have the belly pan off.
 
You can use a poor mans jack stand, large block of wood railroad tie, 4 4x4’s bolted together.
Living in earthquake county I’ve never trusted the typical jack stand. Better safe than dead.
Cheers!
 
estomax said:
Hey Guys,

There has been some discussion, but no definitive thread on the procedure exists yet, so i took some pictures and changed my reduction gear oil. It really is a straight forward procedure almost not requiring this thread, but if you are 50/50 on doing this yourself then this should give you the confidence you need:)

first off, tools
you need a jack to jack up the car
edit: a jack stand to hold your car up while you crawl under it
you need a 10mm socket and a flat head screw driver to pop off the tray under the car
you need a 10mm allen wrench (preferably with 1/2 inch drive) and a breaker bar to loosen the fill and drain plugs.
you need a 13/16" socket to take the driver side wheel off for easier access to the transmission area
you need a 1/2" OD hose and a funnel to fill the transmission with the new fluid.
2 quarts of Matic S or equivalent fluid (i used Redline D6 ATF)
if you want new gaskets for the fill/drain plugs then order those from Nissan. They are metal washers, i reused mine, didn't have a problem.

a screenshot from the FSM, the torque spec for the plugs is 25 ft-lbs
UuHZL5N.png

HFcDhYD.png


jack the car up on the drivers side at the jacking point
qSxJaUQ.jpg


take the undertray off
slk3Yj8.jpg


locate the drain and fill plugs, drain plug right below the driver side axle, fill plug to the right of it
yEdSBVA.jpg


pop them both loose with a 10mm allen, make sure you can remove the fill plug before you remove the drain plug.
KM36xRK.jpg


mine had surprisingly little residue on it, i am ok with that. I don't know if the dealer changed the oil after the lessee turned it in but i doubt it. this picture is with 44k miles on the oil supposedly.

the oil itself didn't look Too black when dabbing with a paper towel, but it was dark flowing out when i removed the plug.
GQeOWNf.jpg


route the tube and funnel into the fill port and put the driver side wheel back on and level the car. put about 1.5 quarts of oil in there until it starts dripping out. Then remove hose, let the oil level out and install the fill plug.
Note: After putting in the fill hose but before filling up, put the driver side wheel back on and lower the car to the ground so it is level. Have an oil pan under the fill hole so that you don't make a mess once the gearbox is full.
jjE4iJl.jpg


Button up the undertray and go drive around the block. Nothing should appear different if everything went well. Check for leaks after the drive. This took me about 1.5 hours leisurely, including driving around the block afterwards.

cheers
Marko

Thanks for all of the photos. We are at 24K miles and plan to do this sometime in 2020 for our 2016 Leaf. Still have not decided on the ATF choice.
 
I use the Valvoline MaxLife ATF. It works on all cars, and with 5 cars, I really dont want to keep too many brands..

The important thing is to get the synthetic fluids..
 
GaleHawkins said:
...Thanks for all of the photos. We are at 24K miles and plan to do this sometime in 2020 for our 2016 Leaf. Still have not decided on the ATF choice.

FYI, when quoting someone, it's customary to snip out the images so that visitors don't have to scroll through them multiple times.

I tried the Redline that Estomax mentioned. It gets good reviews. Personally I can say that it is red, and the car hasn't broken down. :lol: Also, their plant is just a few miles from me.
 
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