How To: Reduction Gear Oil Change

[jaap]

So the dealer is going to contact Nissan and hopefully I will get a new gearbox some time soon.

Finally, last week, the dealer installed a new gearbox on my Leaf. I didn't get to see the inside of the old reduction gearbox, so we'll never know what the production error was that make it leak. I think it must have been a faulty oil seal.

Now that the whole reduction gearbox has been replaced, there's no need to worry about wear caused by driving without oil in the gearbox. But it's a pity we don't get to see what the damage of approx. three years driving with almost no oil actually was.

The Nissan dealer didn't charge me anything for all the work they did, nor for any parts. They just had me sign some kind of form that this part replacement was done under warranty.

Thanks to all of you who helped me to find out what the actual cause of the leak could be! The dealer needed a lot of convincing before they admitted something was wrong and also pin-pointing the problem on the seal inside the gearbox was not something they would have done without me telling them where to look (which I could not have done without the help on this forum).

Just to be safe, I will check for leaks after 6 months :roll:

 

[Stanton]

The Nissan dealer didn't charge me anything for all the work they did, nor for any parts. They just had me sign some kind of form that this part replacement was done under warranty.

I've been following your saga, so good for you...and kudo's to Nissan for (eventually) stepping up and doing the right thing!
Now you can think about putting some of that Valvoline ULV stuff in there (and see the miles/kWh gains)...

 

[knightmb]

But it's a pity we don't get to see what the damage of approx. three years driving with almost no oil actually was.

Yes, that would be interesting to see how much/little was caused.
It does tell us a few things, that the gears are built in such a strong way that missing lubricant isn't enough to destroy them immediately. If you drove an ICE around without any oil, the engine would be dead within a few miles of driving.
At least if you were in some bizarre accident in your Leaf that it lost all of it's gear oil, provided the gears were not destroyed, you could still drive it quite a long distance to a repair shop without worrying about an immediate seize up along the way.
Second, the amount of gear oil it in by default is more than enough to keep things lubricated properly, even if you wait a long time to change it.
Third, really thick gear oil is not necessary, provided what you use isn't so thin that it leaks between the seals, which is good news for those of us trying to squeeze out every last mile of range.

 

[revatron]

Hello all. First post. We have entered the EV world with a 2013 Leaf bought a couple weeks back. I always like to do a service/fluid change when buying used vehicles as I don't know the history of the vehicle and I then know all fluids are new.
I came accross the reduction gear oil change during my research. Having read all 33 pages of this thread I am wondering if this would be OK to use.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MANNOL-MN8207-1-DEXRON-VI-1-Litre/dp/B00FMA9NMO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3SV5D18DMN4PF&keywords=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs&qid=1668260043&sprefix=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-3

I'm struggling to find geniune OEM Nissan Matic S ATF from my location (an small island off the North coast of Scotland) but found this on Amazon. Looks to have Matic S compatibility. Also need to find new washers if possibile as, again, struggling to find OEM here.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[alozzy]

This website rewrites Amazon links and breaks them in the process...

So, when posting Amazon links, use a URL shortener.

Here's your link, now fixed:

https://amzn.to/3UMJlAp

 

[GaleHawkins]

Hello all. First post. We have entered the EV world with a 2013 Leaf bought a couple weeks back. I always like to do a service/fluid change when buying used vehicles as I don't know the history of the vehicle and I then know all fluids are new.
I came accross the reduction gear oil change during my research. Having read all 33 pages of this thread I am wondering if this would be OK to use.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MANNOL-MN8207-1-DEXRON-VI-1-Litre/dp/B00FMA9NMO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3SV5D18DMN4PF&keywords=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs&qid=1668260043&sprefix=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-3

I'm struggling to find geniune OEM Nissan Matic S ATF from my location (an small island off the North coast of Scotland) but found this on Amazon. Looks to have Matic S compatibility. Also need to find new washers if possibile as, again, struggling to find OEM here.

Thoughts appreciated.

That sounds like good ATF. We used Valvoline full synthetic that is available in usa. I expect most light weight motor oil would work fine.

Our 2016 got totalled in 2019 at 37K miles so while the front cap including radiator etc was stripped off in the rebuild process we drained, flushed and refilled while we had line of sight view a three plugs. The fluid was very dark and both magnetic plugs were loaded with steel shavings sludge. I read stories from other Leaf owners that thought was it makes most of the metal in the first 5,000 miles. I bought a new Nissan in 1973 and after 600 mi they drained the motor oil the transmission and the differential .

Have you downloaded Leaf Spy Pro to monitor your battery pack? I really use it often. Our 30 kWh pack triggered the battery warranty at 25K miles and we have put 17K miles on the new 40 kWh pack from Nissan.

Best of success.

 

[knightmb]

Hello all. First post. We have entered the EV world with a 2013 Leaf bought a couple weeks back. I always like to do a service/fluid change when buying used vehicles as I don't know the history of the vehicle and I then know all fluids are new.
I came accross the reduction gear oil change during my research. Having read all 33 pages of this thread I am wondering if this would be OK to use.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MANNOL-MN8207-1-DEXRON-VI-1-Litre/dp/B00FMA9NMO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3SV5D18DMN4PF&keywords=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs&qid=1668260043&sprefix=nissan%2Bmatic%2Bs%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-3

I'm struggling to find geniune OEM Nissan Matic S ATF from my location (an small island off the North coast of Scotland) but found this on Amazon. Looks to have Matic S compatibility. Also need to find new washers if possibile as, again, struggling to find OEM here.

Thoughts appreciated.

If you search for "Nissan Matic-S Automatic Transmission Fluid" on Amazon, you don't get any matches or you don't get any matches that can ship to you directly?

Here is what I found if you want the real deal.
First Link
Second Link

 

[bobkart]

I used Redline D6 ATF, but that doesn't seem to be available on UK Amazon. Here are a couple good ones that are:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid/dp/B00B80UVUU

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amsoil-ATLQT-Signature-Fuel-Efficient-Trans/dp/B00E7LJ88S

 

[revatron]

@gale
Thanks for the input on ATF. Not downloaded Leaf Spy. Car has 70k miles and 11 battery bars (24kwh) so think we’re about as good as we can be. And being a new EV owner I already have minor range anxiety while I get used to the small range so constantly checking my battery health won’t help with that

@knightmb
Both your links say “currently unavailable” when I click through hence I’m looking for an alternative.

@bobkart
Thanks for your suggestions. I will check these out. Looking for a middle ground between value and quality.
I usually rate castrol and they do a Dex VI but it’s £28/litre and I’m not wanting to pay that much.

 

[knightmb]

@knightmb
Both your links say “currently unavailable” when I click through hence I’m looking for an alternative.

They show in stock for me, so my guess is Amazon is restricting by location then.

 

[dsevier]

seals: No problem since the seals are silicone rubber & don't react to squat.
[/quote]

New to the Leaf forum with a 2014 S but can see this group gets technical real fast, which is fine with me. I had an old SAAB and transmission oil was a heated discussion. Some said Redline MTL killed their transmissions and while others raved about it. There was discussion about it being unkind to the plastic bearing cages in Hondas and others said it attacked the seals. So good to know the Leaf uses silicone seals.

 

[Nubo]

Crush washers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072627HB9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[dsevier]

I just changed the oil in my new to me 2014 Leaf with 66k miles. I have no record of previous owners changing the oil so expected a lot of fuzz on the magnet. Well, it was pretty bad. Fluid was very dark and you can see the amount of metal. I picked up some Nissan Matic-S for the job and put it in but after seeing the wear, would certainly consider putting an oil aimed at reducing wear such as (edit) Valvoline MaxLife or similar. I am not sure if Google Photos will automatically show the picture so am attaching a separate link.

Thanks to all that have contributed to this topic and made it easy for first timers like me.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LsazMDVYcP2sEGSF7

 

[GaleHawkins]

Thanks for the photo. That is what our 2016 look like at 37,000, mi as far as metal on the magnet. Some have posted that most of the metal is made in the first 5000 mi of use..

MaxLife is our to to ATF. We flushed using max life until it stopped coming out with dark streaks. Then we let it drain out completely and refilled. We did add Archoil AR-9100 just for the heck of it.

We refill through the third plug at the top side which has no magnet. The check level and the drain plug both had equal amount to metal on them. We never plan to drain again even if we decide to keep it long-term. Now with the 2023 Tesla Model Y dual motor long range it isn't seeing many miles..

Per my understanding, the Tesla Model Y gear box oil filters are no longer removable but they are built inside of the case for life. That supports the position that all the metal is made initially and it is not a matter of concern long-term if you capture the initial metal made.

 

[voltamps]

I just changed the oil in my new to me 2014 Leaf with 66k miles. I have no record of previous owners changing the oil so expected a lot of fuzz on the magnet. Well, it was pretty bad. Fluid was very dark and you can see the amount of metal. I picked up some Nissan Matic-S for the job and put it in but after seeing the wear, would certainly consider putting an oil aimed at reducing wear such as (edit) Valvoline MaxLife or similar. I am not sure if Google Photos will automatically show the picture so am attaching a separate link.

Thanks to all that have contributed to this topic and made it easy for first timers like me.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LsazMDVYcP2sEGSF7

Valvoline MaxLife is a good choice. It basically matches Nissan Matic S in viscosity, and MaxLife has about twice the anti-wear phosphorus compounds in it (evidenced from spectral fluid analysis "voa" parts per million density).

You actually can't go wrong using any ATF fluid, any brand, you find that says "Dexron VI" on the label somewhere.
I use Redline MT-LV, which has the right Matic S viscosity & actually has 5 times the anti-wear stuff Matic S does, and is all Group4/5 base oil.

The amount of metal on the plug (picture of yours below) does seem about normal. Some have reported less and nobody knows how they did it ! I changed my fluid out early on a '22 Leaf, and it should be good for 200,000 miles or so after that, if the break-in metal is gone, as @GaleHawkins mentioned in the post above.

 

[NedSlc]

Hi,everyone..Theoretical question,and i would love to get your input..Would it be a bad idea to mix 1 bottle of Valvoline ULV fluid with 0.4 quarts of Dexron VI,to make the viscosity slightly closer to 5,and get the benefits of ULV fluid with some additional protection,or would that be a no-no?TIA

 

[Stanton]

Unless you are a chemical engineer, I would not try to "mix" your own batch of oil.
Either use the stuff recommend and tested in this thread (I used Valvoline ULV), or stick with what Nissan put in the car to begin with (Matic S).

 

[voltamps]

Hi,everyone..Theoretical question,and i would love to get your input..Would it be a bad idea to mix 1 bottle of Valvoline ULV fluid with 0.4 quarts of Dexron VI,to make the viscosity slightly closer to 5,and get the benefits of ULV fluid with some additional protection,or would that be a no-no?TIA

It likely is not a problem mixing them. There is some risk that I can't quantify of mixing, maybe small risk(???). Mainly inducing foaming (aeration) is what I'd be slightly concerned about. Racers will tell you that is why they don't dare mix stuff in the engine or gearbox or diff.

I can't agree with some others on this forum that Valvoline ULV should be used, if you care about long-term wear & durability. The viscosity is too far below what Nissan says it wants. Dexron VI or Mercon LV type fluid is very close to Matic S's visc.

 

[Nubo]

Redline D6 got a "very impressive" from "Project Farm" [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2jlNc9Tqw[/youtube]

 

[voltamps]

Redline D6 got a "very impressive" from "Project Farm"

Not a bad Project Farm video there! Yes, Redline D6 is a high-performance tranny fluid (PAO, POE, high phosphorus).
Similar to Amsoil Signature Series ATF fluid (the thin one, "Fuel Efficient" in the name), made as a stronger longer lasting formula.

In the Project Farm video, he showed the Redline D6 having similar phosphorus levels as what we know Valvoline MaxLife ATF has, around 500-600 ppm, great for better anti-wear in gear teeth like ours.
I use Redline MT-LV which is a similar product as Redline D6, but with even more anti-wear phosphorus.

(All the fluids mentioned here are the right viscosity for a Leaf too, Use where DexronVI, MerconLV, or MaticS is needed.)