Fluids and LubricantsMotor oil, transmission oil, radiator fluid, power steering fluid, blinker fluid... wait, there is no blinker fluid. Technical discussion and analysis of the different lubricants we use in our cars.
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You are fortunate, IMO, to NOT live here anymore. Things are bad. Really bad. Unless you are in medical field. They just said on news recently that foreclosures are worse now than they ever have been, and worse than the Great Depression. Some is due to overextended mortgages, but many from the economy here. I don't see it getting any better for a long time. GR area has like 1,000 foreclosures already this year.
Sorry to hear that...we enjoyed the three years we lived there...it was a nice place to live. There used to be lots of manufacturing firms in the area...some big, some small..but they provided jobs for folks. Hopefully things will turn around.
So you suggest unhooking the return line and keep the bottle full and run the car a few secs? Or, just keep using turkey baster over and over..
Either way will work...it just depends how involved you want to get.
Disconnecting the return line is a good way to flush it...advantage there is that you will get it all swapped out. Recommend you have a helper to turn the car on and off as needed.
The suction/turkey baster method is the easiest way to do it, but it will take several times to raise the concentration of fresh fluid to a high level.
Thanks. Which one is the return line? I "assume" it might be the one that leads to the front of the radiator and loops back again? The other one leads straight down to the pump so not sure which one it is??? And if it is the one that loops toward the rad then where in the line works best? ---Right at the reservoir?
Thanks. Which one is the return line? I "assume" it might be the one that leads to the front of the radiator and loops back again? The other one leads straight down to the pump so not sure which one it is??? And if it is the one that loops toward the rad then where in the line works best? ---Right at the reservoir?
Not sure about the configuration on your year. Recommend you just stick with the suction/turkey baster method...it's easy, clean, zero risk and it will be effective in the long run.
BTW, the capacity on my PS system (4th gen) is one and one-eighth quarts. Run a couple quarts of fresh fluid thru the system over the next week or so and you will be good to go.
Looked for turkey baster, but the diameter was too large in my opinion to fit inside the reservoir, and so for $3 I got a cheap suction "pump" that was merely 5 feet or so of tubing and a sqeeze thing to get air suction and the fluid going into my jug. Works great - tubing is flexible and perfect for this job. Takes out fluid slowly, but takes less than 10mins or so and reservoir is nearly empty. I get just shy of 8oz. at a time out so it will take a good 12 times to really reduce the concentration of the old fluid, based upon my assuming 40 oz or so in the system from what others have said. Then, I figure every oil change (3,500mi for me) I will just suction it out while I am doing the oil and it will always have new fluid and the math tells me that doing it this way I am basically changing the fluid every 35,000 miles or darn close to it. It may be overkill, maybe not, but considering I will do this only 4 times per year or so, it will cost just 1 qt of fluid....CHEAP protection!!! I don't care if it's overkill since $4 in fluid an my few minutes is cheaper than leaky ps system that new fluid may just prevent for me.
Thanks for all everybody's help! I hope this helps somebody, too!
I found current turkey basters to large in OD to fit the ID of the PS container. I used my Mighty Vac and sucked it out and refilled. wasted my 2.99...LOL.
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2001 Maxima SE VQ30DE-K (5 Spd)
1991 MR2 3S-GTE (Gen III, 5 Spd)
2007 Rav 4 2AZ-FE (Auto )
no need for turkey baster, jsut disconnect the hoses leading to and fron the resevior and empty it into a wide container good enough to catch the fluid (use a plastic bucket some people make salads in)
gets more fluid out and its faster
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Toronto Maxima Enthusiasts Club (TMEC)
Keepin' it all JBL
I also spoke with a Nissan dealership like TopSpeedNY and they told me that if you are doing a complete drain and refill for an 02 max, you must use power steering fluid when refilling. However, if you are just topping off, you can pour in some Dexron compatible ATF, aka M1, Amsoil and so on.
The parts guy I spoke was real cool. He explained that ATF does not have the proper additives for the PS system to work properly. Draining and refilling with ATF will lead to an eventually breakdown of your system. The PS system in an 02 max requires a higher viscosity substance like PS fluid.
I hope that clears some things up.
That is so dumb for a parts person to say that. The owners man clearly states ATF ONLY. Go with Amsoil and don't look back!
I cant find the mobil 1 thats dexron iii compatible, the new mobil 1 is mercuron compatible. What can i get from pepboys or autozone to use for my power steering? Thanks
not sure if its matic-D or not, it was whatever the dealer sells for tranny fluid for our cars. ill be doing another drain and fill ill just get the power steering fluid this time. are there more tahn one kind of ATF from the dealer for the max?
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2003 Maxima GLE Steerling Mist.
not sure if its matic-D or not, it was whatever the dealer sells for tranny fluid for our cars. ill be doing another drain and fill ill just get the power steering fluid this time. are there more tahn one kind of ATF from the dealer for the max?
Yes, there's D, J and K fluids for different transmissions. It will say on the bottle what it is.
doesnt say, just says Keyline. atf fluid for nissan and infiniti.
I didn't notice you're in Canada. I can't tell you why, but it appears that Nissan labels their ATF differently for the Canadian market. Service manuals for my '98 and '00 state that for the Canadian market to use "Genuine Nissan ATF"...no mention of type-D like they state for the US market. So you should be fine. If in doubt, check back with your dealer and see if that's the only ATF they offer. Good luck.
thanks, i think im just gonna get the power steerin fluid they sell next time. Will do a drain and fill again soon, this time with the power steering fluid. doub i got enough concentartion of the ATF to mess anything up.
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2003 Maxima GLE Steerling Mist.
I cant find the mobil 1 thats dexron iii compatible, the new mobil 1 is mercuron compatible. What can i get from pepboys or autozone to use for my power steering? Thanks
That is the Dexron III compatible version, however the front of the bottle only shows Mercon V.
bit of a bump, but it seems relevant. What could be ideal.. would be to find some sort of high temp stable dye, inject some into your fluid, run the car for a few mins to mix it, then use that to determine when your turkey baster job has removed enough of the old fluid...
I was a little weary of trying to remove the hoses, so I came up with an idea. I was out at a store yesterday, and walked passed soap bottles. I came up with the idea of using the soap pump thingy to get the remaining fluid that the turkey baster couldn't. There is a barrier in the actual reservoir, but on the side in the tank there is a opening, and was able to put the pump in there to pump out the remaining fluid. I got pretty much all of it out. So, if your scared in other words like me, lol, on taking off the hoses, this method works.
I know this is an old thread, but the soap bottle pump thing worked very well. Was able to get like 95% out the reservoir. I actually used a lotion-bottle hand-pump thing which has a longer neck and was able to stick it in the reservoir pretty far.
My old PS fluid was brown and lumpy!
Something like above with a longer neck (if you don't know what we're talking about).
__________________ 137k miles
To-do: Belts, Fix suspension problem Major probs fixed: Lower oil pan | Radiator | EVAP canister/valve| VIAS Control Valve | Rear VC | MAF (2k1 w/swapped thermistor)
Last edited by ridinwitha35; 06-14-2009 at 01:09 PM.
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