That looks to me like a plug placed in a dipstick hole.
bobkart said:The real mystery then, is why the service manual doesn't utilize this clearly-more-accessible opening for refilling. Maybe they're worried about contaminants falling into the hole?
The factory may use this top hole with a dry gear box and then add the exact quantity called for during assembly.
bobkart said:Thanks Alozzy, that helps.
The plug in question does access the same space as the other two plugs, and is different in that this topmost plug apparently has no magnetic part to it. ...
Learjet said:or over filling. you still need the middle plug out for the level.
Sure . . . that middle plug still needs to come out with the new approach (so I can know when to stop filling). I'll get to clean it then.Nubo said:I'd opt for the normal routine in order to clean the magnetic fill plug.
bobkart said:That might be why the service manual fills there, as it comes to one less plug removal/replacement.
Learjet said:what about the dissimilar metal corrosion...using the copper washer on aluminum?
Dala said:I did a step-by-step video on this subject a few days ago when I did this on my ZE0
https://youtu.be/xQda4531plQ
I change mine last week, at a little past 25K miles, using the Redline D6 ATF. I also sensed less power needed for the same speed, but it's difficult to be sure, as rain and air temperatures probably have a larger effect on efficiency, and both of those changed for the worse here around the same time.RajGiandeep said:Did this tonight, used the Redline D6 ATF. Noticed a difference on the way home. Seemed to take less power to stay at cruising speed. Happy I did it. Thank you for the videos & photos. Gave me the confidence to jump in there as do it. Very simple process. I'll do it again in another 30-40K miles. Seems like this is the first time it's been done at 51K.
Yep, that's the one I just put in. Had to buy 2 quarts, and it comes in those tooth paste type tubes, flexible, squeezable with a narrow spout to squirt in the fill plug. I didn't have to use a hose and funnel it in. Just crawled underneath, safely supported (jack stands or ramps, levelled), and the Amsoil unique bottle contorted right in. It's mostly PAO GroupIV and known to last a very long time.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/
Amsoil is slightly thicker when hot, but probably doesn't thicken up as much as a lot of ATF choices, like Matic S, in winter conditions.HRTKD said:This result prompts me to ask, "What fluid did you use?" OEM? Aftermarket?
My plan is to use AMSOil ATF Fuel-Efficient. I'm assuming that it has a slightly lower viscosity than the regular ATF.
voltamps said:Yep, that's the one I just put in. Had to buy 2 quarts, and it comes in those tooth paste type tubes, flexible, squeezable with a narrow spout to squirt in the fill plug. I didn't have to use a hose and funnel it in. Just crawled underneath, safely supported (jack stands or ramps, levelled), and the Amsoil unique bottle contorted right in. It's mostly PAO GroupIV and known to last a very long time.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/
You can choose about any ATF, preferably one that says "synthetic" somewhere on it, and in the "Dexron VI"-class. Dexron HP works too. Nissan Matic S of course is great. Redline D6 or the Amsoil Fuel Efficient ATF are likely the best, longest lasting, but Dexron HP is very close. Valvoline Maxlife Synthetic ATF is very good as well. Mercon LV acceptable.
Watch the youtube video posted earlier. Support your car safely (jack stands and/or ramps, levelled).
I torqued the drain and fill magnetic plugs to 25 ft lbs.
Get cheap aluminum or copper crush washers to replace the old ones.
My Leaf is very new, only 1,740 miles, & I was curious about how much iron particles might be on the magnetic plugs. Plus I wanted to get the GroupIV based ATF in there to get a "sealed-for-life" status that Nissan says we already had with the OE Matic S from mile 1. ....
In the picture below, notice the iron dendrites, whose tips continuously get shed in the oil flow to crunch into the gear teeth to some extent.
Also, earlier in this thread, somebody else's Blackstone report showed a lot of iron suspended in the ATF fluid (120 ppm is high) at around 60k miles.
Gear teeth surface wear-in (break in) mostly happens in the first thousand miles out of the factory. After that there should be a lot less iron worn off.
Picture is of a '20 Leaf with only 1,740 miles! Enough metal there to make the Brooklyn Bridge. (OK, a very tiny scale one.)
I drained & filled all from under the car after removing the plastic under-shield. Easy to reach plugs.
A concern is if a magnet inserted would somehow get pushed up into the gear teeth (ouch!!) or on the side of a steel gear, imbalancing it. On the Chevy Bolt, they keep their internal magnet stuck to an oil baffle, right next to a big helical gear, and it could break free eventually. I prefer the Leaf's way of embedding 2 large magnets fixed securely to the drain plugs. My '19 Tiguan's Aisin auto tranny's magnet just sticks to the pan inside, prevented from "walking" around the pan (vibration over time) by small indentations, for comparison. To clean a Bolt or Tiguan magnet means you have to take off some large pieces, another advantage to the Leaf's drain plug magnets!Precise1 said:An old trick is to put a magnet into the drain hole so you simply have that much more magnetic surface area, but it is best if the pan is iron as well, for adhesion.
Best to put in an ATF like all-PAO Amsoil Signature Series Fuel Efficient, or similar Redline D6, or Mobil 1 Dexron HP, since they have the best base oil chemistry to resist oxidation for more miles. Use of other ATF brands is fine, just change every 75,000 miles or so if using others. I think Amsoil/Redlne/DexronHP can hit 150k or 200k if you get the initial early break-in metal fragments out first.Precise1 said:That said, I have drained a few Leaf gear boxes, and most of them are nasty. It is like transfer cases or differentials, most people never even consider it, but I haven't seen what I would consider "terrible" fines on the magnet. Maybe 2-3x of yours, but one of them was claiming 80k miles, so not bad considering.
I ran across an Eaton co. patent the other day ( https://patents.google.com/patent/DE60130835T2/en ) which said the Ra (RMS peaks/valleys asperities roughness) should be between about 3 microinches to 10, ideally. From the looks of my Leaf magnets above, taken out at only 1,700 miles from new, Nissan must just let the gear teeth polish themselves in normal usage down from, guessing, 30 microinches surface polish at the factory. Hopefully ending up at 3-to-10 microinches Ra from normal use! ... Don't know any exact factory original Ra target value here. ...... All similar to ICE engine wear surfaces, so, yes, change the break-in oil or ATF fluid early, then not so much from then on is fine.Precise1 said:And you are right about the majority of the wear being in the first "few" miles... one of the reasons the first oil change for a new car should be at 200-500 miles.
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