Changed CVT oil today with brother's major help, me only assisting him. It was fun esp. since we tried our best not to spill any of the drained fluid but something here or there decided to spill anyway, nothing major though. Not many pictures taken since hands were full. Used the following link as help, with additional guidance from @Xulfiqar and @StrikerX, thanks to them both:
GSIC - Global Service Information Center
We were not facing any transmission related issues with the car but decided to do the change anyway to have peace of mind.
Tools used:
- Safety glasses
- Rubber hand gloves
- Allen/Hex keys
- Socket wrench
- Some old empty bottles to measure the fluid that came out and went in
- Lots of throw-able cleaning rags
- Small funnel attached with a hose
- CVT oil ofcourse
Steps:
Performed after engine warmed up.
Removed refill plug. Marked TC, present behind the plastic guard of front passenger side tyre. You don't need to remove the tyre as long as you have a long hose attached to a funnel.
Removed the drain plug of CVT pan. Some oil drained, we did not measure this separately but if I had to guess it would have been between 200-400 ml.
Removed the inner overflow plug. Then it started to really flow. The total drained CVT oil was about 3 liters.
Inserted the inner overflow plug and filled until the fluid started draining from the overflow plug. We stopped and closed the drain plug of CVT pan when it started dripping instead of continuous flow. Also closed the fill plug. The total filled till this point was 2.3 liters.
Started the engine and shifted through the gears in optimum temperature.
Opened the drain plug of CVT pan again to check the fluid level. About 15 ml came out after which the dripping started so we closed the drain plug and done.
Use of GOOD quality & proper sized allen/hex keys is a MUST:
It took some real elbow grease to remove the drain plug of CVT oil pan. Make sure to use good quality and the correct sized allen/hex key or you run into risk of slipping the drain plug (also noted by someone here on PakWheels who made a topic about the same). We initially used the usual black coloured keys that are wide spread I think... and when force was applied, it twisted! See for yourself:
Luckily, found some old allen keys in the toolbox which are not the usual black coloured but steel/chromed finish:
The difference between OLD & NEW CVT Fluid:
Self explanatory!
The difference of Quantity:
@Xulfiqar @StrikerX @SER_GTR
Does this sound right?
The total amount of CVT fluid which drained = 3 liters
The total amount that was filled, after which the overflow plug started to overflow = 2.3 liters
Update 14-Jan: Wanted to verify the CVT fluid level one more time so this morning, did a cold start*** and waited for the CVTF to reach the optimum temperature for checking the level, as listed on the link above. It was noted that no overflow happened once the temperature was reached so we poured more oil until overflow started, we stopped filling and waited for the overflow to finish, drain nut closed as soon as it changed to drops. The approximate amount added today was between 600-700 ml, in addition to the 2.3 liters added yesterday.
(*** yesterday it was a hot start, the engine and oil temperature were high, we had to wait for it to cool down to optimum temperature)
So to recap:
The total amount of CVT fluid which drained = 3 liters
The total amount that was filled back in the transmission: 2.9 - 3.0 liters
I don't know the reason. As far as I know, we followed the procedure properly... feedback & comments are welcome. I suppose the inevitable is gonna happen i.e. someone is surely going to say my tranny is doomed unless I fill all 4 liters to it [emoji14] or at least add the total 3 liters that I took out.
I have seen some CVT oil change videos of Nissan. They do a full flush of the system, without removing the oil pan. I don't think such is possible with Axio's CVT?