To do 7A trans fluid change or not??

AstatenateZ

Ok I have 70k miles on my car and VERY OCD! When it comes to service intervals. I have done rear diff every 25-30k , oil & filter every 3-5k , coolant & brake fluid every 15-20k , and about to change spark plugs at 70k instead of 100k cause like I said... OCD... and was told the 7A is a non serviceable / sealed trans with “lifetime” trans fluid ...

Which I have since researched the forum (and found to be NOT true) , I am not having any issues out of my trans the random hard downshift which I’ve noticed is after I use paddle shifters and I guess just the car does that from time to time. No slips or anything weird, like noises.

But I am OCD and saw people’s 7A fluids come out black as coffee at 50-60k miles, so I’m scared to see what mine looks at 70k lol , so I had some of my friends who are techs at Nissan print me off the sheet explaining how to do it. And doesn’t seem like it’s a DIY job like the rear diff where you just drain, top off until it overflows and put filler cap back on. It’s stating you just read temps by using the Nissan computer system and other things. I’m full confident as I DIY everything else that I could drain and top back off and use the right fluid.

But how would I 100% accurately read the proper level of fluid without knowing temps and using Nissans computer software? Id like to change it for safety measures and my own peace of mind even tho I’m not experiencing any issues , but if it’s a bad idea to service it since there’s no issues currently I’d like your opinions and inputs. If it’s a good idea to do so, then I plan to do it and may pay one of my Nissan techs to do it on his off time at work in a Nissan shop. But only if one of my friends has done it before , if not I’d probably just like to tackle it myself.

So anyone wanna give me their .02 cents on when / or if I should even change it , who should change it , is it a DIY job or go to Nissan? What fluid to use? How much fluid? Or any DIY posts on here (I found none when I checked)

wideglideleon

I did mine at 40000 I had the steelership do it. It's the only thing I let them touch actually.

EZT

For peace of mine, I would say its worth the 180$ it cost to have a flush, and fill done via the dealer. I have 133k on my Z, and I've had this performed twice.

SG4247

I would suggest every 30K miles.

You can drain it, measure what comes out, and refill with that same amount.

Quicksilvers

Changing your transmission fluid is a necessity for maintenance on your Z. I change my transmission fluid once every 2 years. You will notice your A7 transmission shifts smoother and more efficiently after you change your transmission fluid. Changing your transmission fluid at least every 30K will help prolong the life of your A7 transmission. I would use any synthetic transmission fluid like Mobil 1 or Amsoil. The transmission fluid capacity of your A7 transmission in your Z is about 10 quarts. You only drain 3 quarts of transmission fluid at a time and the only way you can drain all your transmission fluid is by using a machine like at your local Nissan dealership service department or by removing your transmission from your Z. If you don’t trust yourself or are a novice I wouldn’t recommend DIY. Have the Nissan dealership service department or a reputable shop change your transmission fluid for you.

SouthArk370Z

If you can do all the maintenance list, you should be able to do a fluid change on the 7AT. There is at least one DIY (by a reputable contributor) on here that doesn't require reading the temp from the TCM.

When to change? Going by what others have reported on this site, if you do any spirited driving, 40K miles seems to be a good target. If the car is a glorified grocery-getter, you can probably get away with 90-100K miles.

FWIW: You can use Google (or any of the other major web search engines) to search this site. Just add "site:the370z.com" to your search string. Eg, "7AT fluid change site:the370z.com" (or "site:the370z.com 7AT fluid change").

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AstatenateZ

I searched a few times using google and the forum search bar. I couldn’t find any DIY for 7A , only 6M! Well I drive it pretty spirited so like I stated 70k on it now. I’m roughly 30-40k over what I should change it only because I was told it was sealed and thought you physically couldn’t change it. Til I saw the plugs on the trans!

Agreed, I thought it was weird for it to be “lifetime” fluid. That and sports car just don’t seem to mix to me. So roughly 10 qts of a good full syn trans fluid? I saw Valvoline MaxLife in a thread on here that seemed to do well. Full syn and works in compliance with Nissan specs.

Ok so if only 3qt at a time drain, how do you get it all swapped out DIY? Driving it? Draining? Driving? Draining? Until it is all fresh? I’m assuming...

That’s actually a really good idea. Drain it. Measure it. And then add exactly what came out! Only issue I see is the above comment says only 3 qt at a time comes out. Kinda confusing.

Sweet thanks! $180 isn’t bad. And I have friends who are techs . So I’m assuming I could get this done for around $100

Okay great. Thanks for you input!

jchammond

If you don’t have access to one of those bladder type flush machines; drain,fill,drive around short distance & repeat a couple times will get all old fluid out of converter etc...
You’ll use some extra fluid doing it this way=but it will work.
Mine was close to 4qts on level surface (drain/fill) and between 5.5-6qts. While on ramps.
Just be sure & check while level...some shops familiar with these trans will actually let it come up to operating temp before installing overfill plug,,,but I plugged mine when pan was just beginning to warm & ensured it with scan tool...I want to say the engine oil temp had come up to around 140* or so before trans hit the target,,,but you won’t mess up if you hit it close.

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Quicksilvers

DIY method you will never get all the transmission fluid out removing the drain plug. I would say it’s just about 3.8-3.9 quarts purchase 4 quarts you will use to refill your transmission back up with new transmission fluid.Yes the only possible way to remove all the transmission fluid in your A7 transmission would be to remove your A7 transmission from your 370Z and drain from your drain plugs and completely drain your torque converter or use a drain machine like the one’s you will find at your local Nissan dealership service department and they still can’t remove all the transmission fluid from the torque converter only some transmission fluid will come out. In total your A7 transmission holds about I would say 10.2-10.3 quarts of transmission fluid. The worst thing you can do is not change your transmission fluid because the fluid itself will degrade over time and get darker so you would have to do the drain/refill/drain/refill drain/refill method over and over again until your transmission fluid begins to come out clear which can be a pain. The Nissan transmission fluid that all the Nissan dealership service departments use is a semi synthetic type transmission fluid to last a long time. You can use any semi synthetic or full synthetic transmission fluid you choice. Nissan will never know what transmission fluid you are using. That is why I recommend using a higher quality synthetic transmission fluid like Amsoil or Mobil 1 etc. as long as you change your transmission fluid by 30K miles you should be fine. I change my transmission fluid every 2 years because the service on my Z is severe duty with track and street duty.

FPenvy

same here except i did mine at 50k.

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AstatenateZ

Okay cool, I may just have Nissan do it. It’s not like it has to be done a lot and it’s not crazy priced. It seems kind of a hassle the DIY way. I was just told by some of the techs it’s sealed and best to leave it alone if it’s not making noises or slipping. And others said it’s a good idea to change it every 60-100k depending on how I drive. So I guess I’ll be talking to my local Nissan friends and see if I can get a good deal on it. After hours

wideglideleon

I sure doesn't hurt to do more then less maintenance especially with an automatic.

AstatenateZ

Yeah, I talked to my friend who’s a tech up there! He said he has done it before and can do it for me!! Just gonna get a price. Good to have friends at Nissan! Also how I got a steal on my Nismo bumpers!

AstatenateZ

Guess it really is who you know not what you know, my buddy told me he’d charge me $50 plus fluid 5 quarts ($10 a pc) $50-55 after tax so $100 for full flush using Nissan pumping tool and their computer system!

Tractionless

It's cake and if you're buddy is replacing just what comes out of the pan, he's doing you a disservice. I drain 5.5 qts out with car on stands in front and ground in the rear then you still have what's in the converter and valvebody. As JCHammond already said there's much more in the system that what is drained.

I followed the below theread, same sprayer, got a infrared temp. Gun from Harbor Freight for $20 and used Valv. Max Life without issue. Simply measure the trans temp. At the pan sump with the gun and at 104*'ish pull the full plug until fluid stops running out then replace. There's a standpipe at the hole so only the "overfill" is running out. If you want to go the extra mile pull the pan and clean the magnets off. Pan gaskets are available from whateverittakes.com. I did mine at 72k for the 1st time and it was nasty, did again 10k miles later and only drained the pan since it was like new. Proves JCHammonds technique gets all the bad fluid out.

Car shifts much smoother after the full flush and fill proving it's not a lifetime fill.

7 Speed Auto Trans Fluid Change

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