Login  |  Register
Nissanhelp.com - All About Nissan
Do-It-Yourself Maintenance Owners Manuals Recalls/Campaigns Service Bulletins Service Manuals Nissan OBDII Codes Glossary & Acronyms More...
Member's Ride Photos Stock Photo Gallery
Classifieds - For Sale Classifieds - Wanted To Buy Classifieds - Mechanic Wanted Classifieds - Auto Services Search Auto Parts
Register FAQ Social Groups Mark Forums Read
2008 CVT Maintenance Forums > > > 2008 CVT Maintenance 2008 CVT Maintenance
Forgot Password? Join Us!


Altima Coupe Nissan Altima Coupe Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-13-2012, 02:42 AM
davedat's Avatar
davedat davedat is offline
Registered User
2008 Altima Coupe
2001 Frontier
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: new hampshire
Posts: 19
Default 2008 CVT Maintenance

I'd like to do my own fluid changes, I live about an hour from the nearest Nissan dealer, and do all my own work anyway. Is there a filter and gasket to change like old school ATs? Can I get the proper fluid, filter and gaskets from sources other than Nissan without voiding the warranty or at all? Are there Nissan documents available here that outline the procedure? All help is certainly appreciated! Thank You.
__________________
2003 Sentra/1995 Maxima/2004 Altima/2008 Altima Coupe/1998 Frontier/1985.5 D21/1980 210 (some still here, some long gone)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-13-2012, 06:05 AM
Boland01 Boland01 is offline
Enthusiast
2009 Altima
2005 Armada
2005 Armada Le
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 66
Default

There is no CVT filter. You can do a drain and refill which takes 5-6 quarts or a total fluid change which take about 12 quarts.
To do the latter, drain the pan or if you have no drain plug suck out the fluid with a $8.00 autoparts pump. Refill with the amount of NS2 you just took out. Then disconnect the return line (top rubber hose line on my car) where it connects back in to the CVT, have a way to measure by the quart the old NS2 that will come out of the line when you start the car and with a helper start the car until 1 quart comes out of the return line. Next replace the lost quart of NS2 with new fluid via the dipstick and repeat until the NS2 coming out of the return line is once again green. You need two people to do this and it only takes 7-8 seconds to evacuate a quart of the old fluid. When you're done resecure the rubber return line, Check to make sure your new NS2 is at the correct level and call it a day. Only took my son and I 45 minutes or so to finish the entire process and we used just under 12 quarts. Good luck. ps. Look on ebay for the NS2 fluid. I got mine for around $12.00/quart
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 06-15-2012, 02:33 PM
davedat's Avatar
davedat davedat is offline
Registered User
2008 Altima Coupe
2001 Frontier
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: new hampshire
Posts: 19
Default

Thanks for your help Boland01, doesn't sound too hard. Do you think this is something Nissan would give a hard time about in case of a warranty issue?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-15-2012, 03:53 PM
Boland01 Boland01 is offline
Enthusiast
2009 Altima
2005 Armada
2005 Armada Le
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 66
Default

As long as you do it right and refill to the correct level I doubt it.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-16-2012, 06:40 PM
smj999smj's Avatar
smj999smj smj999smj is offline
Master Enthusiast
2006 Pathfinder
2003 Frontier King Cab
2003 Frontier KC SVE 4x4
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Prospect, VA
Posts: 1,866
Default

Unless you do some really heavy duty driving, you should never have to replace CVT fluid. Even in "severe duty," Nissan doesn't specify a replacement interval, only "inspections" every 15000 miles. The CVT is different than a conventional trans in that you don't have the friction material entering the fluid like you can in a convention trans design. You can replace it, but IMO, you're throwing money down the drain unless you find contamination in it (and if you do, you'll likely need more than a fluid service).
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-17-2012, 05:45 AM
Boland01 Boland01 is offline
Enthusiast
2009 Altima
2005 Armada
2005 Armada Le
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 66
Default

Everyone has their own opinions on fluid changes. I changed my NS2 at 50,000 miles as a preventative measure. Before I did looking at the dipstick it was still green. However as I started to drain it, it was a very dark color.

Any fluid used in a car will degrade over time. There is no such thing as permanent or lifetime fluid. A Nissan dealership for a fee can test the expected remaining life of the fluid if you wish via their Consult system. Knowing the dealer price structure it probably will be half or more of the cost of doing it yourself.

To me my personal choice was to change the fluid at 50,000 miles and I plan on doing it again at 100K. Total cost was around a $160.00. To me that was cheap insurance for piece of mind. BTW I now have 72,000 miles on my 2009 2.5 SL with no issues.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 07-19-2012, 08:12 PM
KlubMarcus KlubMarcus is offline
Registered User
2008 Altima
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 21
Thumbs up Change your CVT fluid!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boland01 View Post
Any fluid used in a car will degrade over time. There is no such thing as permanent or lifetime fluid. A Nissan dealership for a fee can test the expected remaining life of the fluid if you wish via their Consult system. Knowing the dealer price structure it probably will be half or more of the cost of doing it yourself.
I totally agree. One of my cars is a 1998 Volvo with over 120k miles of short distance city driving with long drives every few years for vacation. Volvo claimed that the automatic transmission fluid never needed replacement, just level checks and refill if needed. Guess what all Volvo owner clubs have found out over the years? It doesn't last! Just a simple drain and fill every 3 years / 36k miles works for Volvo's "lifetime" transmission. I figure that an Altima CVT should be drained and filled every 3 years / 36k miles too.

Last edited by KlubMarcus; 07-20-2012 at 05:40 PM. Reason: Matching up years/miles
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
2008, cvt, maintenance

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:31 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.42 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.