MANUAL TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGE

The following procedures were carried out on my '97 Maxima to replace the oem tranny fluid with Red Line MTL GL-4. This fluid was chosen in part because a less viscous fluid would make shifting easier in the cold winter of Toronto, Canada. Most folks in hotter areas tend to use Red Line MT-90 instead of MTL.

Tools
�� ratchet
oil drain pan
10mm socket
12mm open-ended wrench (for drain bolt)

Jacking Up the Car
To ensure the fluid is re-filled to the proper level, the car has to be level. This can be done by lifting up the driver side of the car evenly in the rear and front. Proper lifting procedures should be used including the use of wheel blocks and jack stands.

Accessing Bolt for Fill Hole
This bolt is located on the tranny box and faces the front of the car. To access the fill hole bolt, first remove or fold back the fender liner. There are two ways to do this:
(1) remove all bolts & completely remove fender liner
(2) remove front 3 bolts & fold back the liner & use the caliper to hold it out of the way of the tranny.

With the liner out of the way, you can clearly see the Fill Hole bolt. A �� ratchet fits in perfectly for removing the bolt. No fluid will flow out at this stage with this bolt removed.

Removing Tranny Drain Bolt
Bottom-left pic: (This picture was taken as I'm looking straight up from the the ground.) The drain bolt is difficult to remove as a black metal brace is in the way of the bolt. It is impossible to put a close-ended wrench into the tight space. Getting an open-ended wrench around the bolt is not very easy if the bolt is starting to get rounded (which is what happened to me).
Bottom-right pic: trying to loosen drain bolt...& not having much luck!

For me, it was much easier to remove the shifter sensor. CAUTION: since the sensor is made of plastic, do NOT use excessive force in trying to pop it out!! Only one 10mm bolt holds it in place. Pic to bottom-right shows me reaching in with ratchet extension to remove 10mm bolt from sensor.

It is easy to remove. Have your pan ready under the hole. Once you pull the sensor out of the tranny box, the fluid flows out freely.

Before replacing the sensor, ensure the rubber gasket is seated in place properly.

Re-Filling Tranny Box
A funnel with a metal gooseneck is easy to use for filling. My gooseneck was not very long so I placed the funnel in the wheel well and inserted the mouth of the gooseneck into the Fill Hole (bottom-right). An alternate way (if the tube/gooseneck is long enough) is to prop it around the battery area, then from underneath the car, pull the tube/gooseneck towards the Fill Hole and insert it in.


Since the MTL fluid (above-left) flowed down the funnel pretty slowly given its viscosity, I held up the funnel by attaching a couple zip-ties to my spring. It looks kinda ghetto but it works! The capacity of the tranny case is 4.5 quarts. I poured until the fluid started overflowing from the Fill Hole.

Once done filling, re-tighten the Fill Hole bolt with the �� ratchet.

Follow-Up
Three weeks after I changed my tranny fluid, I checked the sensor area for possible leaks. I'm happy to say there was none.

Initial Thoughts on Shifting
It is smoooooth!!!! Now for an STS.

Acknowledgements
MajesticBlueNTO for his help & digital camera!
multiplexor & MChapel for sharing valuable lessons-learned & insights!
vbxmaxima website (link listed above) for putting together one of the best pages on changing manual tranny fluid.