I just did the bypass with the send hose to large cooler method.
I unfortunately lost some precious matic j in the process, and as luck would have it, I live about 60 miles from the nearest stealership.
I started my pathfinder and let it get to operating temp,
Parked it in neutral for 5 minutes, then shifted to reverse and let it idle for 5 minutes.
When I checked my fluid level, it read at the top of the COLD graduation on the dipstick.
Is my vehicle safe to drive?
Is there a safe available alternative to matic j that is sold at places like autozone or advance auto?
I should have prepared better when I started this project .
Tranny cooler bypass question
Moderator: volvite
Welcome To The Forum 
without actually driving it (having the transmission under load), i doubt that your ATF was hot enough to expect it to read at the hot level
let it cool down, check the level cold
if it reads OK for cold ATF, then it's probably safe to drive
then you can check it when hot to verify that the level is correct
how much fluid was lost when you did the by-pass?
when i did both of mine, the amount of fluid lost was probably the amount contained in the hose & internal cooler
i didn't have to add any ATF at all
without actually driving it (having the transmission under load), i doubt that your ATF was hot enough to expect it to read at the hot level
let it cool down, check the level cold
if it reads OK for cold ATF, then it's probably safe to drive
then you can check it when hot to verify that the level is correct
how much fluid was lost when you did the by-pass?
when i did both of mine, the amount of fluid lost was probably the amount contained in the hose & internal cooler
i didn't have to add any ATF at all
Thanks for the welcome and the info 
It's hard for me to say exactly how much fluid I lost.
I'd say around a 12 circle of fluid on the cardboard I was laying on.
I was pretty stupid, I took the long line from the block, disconnected it from the rad, then took loose the short hose on the pass. side from the vertical external tranny cooler line at the fitting.
While I was trying to connect the block side line to the vertical fitting running down the side of the rad, I lost the fluid from both the trans side and the cooler line. I did not have any clamps or vise grips and that was pretty ignorant of me.
I took a # 10 coffee can and blew the internal rad/transcooler out and got about enough fluid to cover the bottom and settle at a level of about 1/8 of an inch.
Thanks for the info, I will try checking the fluid level at cold and if i need more I'll add what I scavenged from the bypassed cooler.
For reference: my pathfinder is a 2005 se off road with 56,xxx miles on it.
As a side note, my rad looks like it may be leaking or had a small seap on the bottom. Glad I found the awesome forum!
It's hard for me to say exactly how much fluid I lost.
I'd say around a 12 circle of fluid on the cardboard I was laying on.
I was pretty stupid, I took the long line from the block, disconnected it from the rad, then took loose the short hose on the pass. side from the vertical external tranny cooler line at the fitting.
While I was trying to connect the block side line to the vertical fitting running down the side of the rad, I lost the fluid from both the trans side and the cooler line. I did not have any clamps or vise grips and that was pretty ignorant of me.
I took a # 10 coffee can and blew the internal rad/transcooler out and got about enough fluid to cover the bottom and settle at a level of about 1/8 of an inch.
Thanks for the info, I will try checking the fluid level at cold and if i need more I'll add what I scavenged from the bypassed cooler.
For reference: my pathfinder is a 2005 se off road with 56,xxx miles on it.
As a side note, my rad looks like it may be leaking or had a small seap on the bottom. Glad I found the awesome forum!
are you checking it specifically per the service manual instructions?FAULTLINE wrote:I changed my oil and then let the pathfinder coil down.
When the vehicle was cooled down I checked my ATF, the dipstick read full on the hot side. I checked this about 10 times and got the same result.
Is this ok?
Thanks
The way the service manual explains it ( or how i interpreted it) it should read to the top of the COLD range when cold, and the top of the hot range when hot. I have not added any additional fluid and my dipstick read at the top of the HOT crosshatching after i let it sit for 30-45 minutes.
i started the vehicle , shifted to neutral and idled, then shifted to reverse and idled. I have not driven it yet because I love my pathfinder and I don't want to nuke my tranny after I went to the trouble of doing the bypass.
I am pretty ignorant to transmission issues, I don't have alot of knowledge and this is the nicest, most complicated vehicle i've ever owned. I'm comfortable changing my oil, differentials and if it's a jeep xj, i know my way around one pretty well. my pathfinder is about as foreign to me as an alien tank of some sort.
thanks
i started the vehicle , shifted to neutral and idled, then shifted to reverse and idled. I have not driven it yet because I love my pathfinder and I don't want to nuke my tranny after I went to the trouble of doing the bypass.
I am pretty ignorant to transmission issues, I don't have alot of knowledge and this is the nicest, most complicated vehicle i've ever owned. I'm comfortable changing my oil, differentials and if it's a jeep xj, i know my way around one pretty well. my pathfinder is about as foreign to me as an alien tank of some sort.
thanks
Ok, i did this and now my fluid level barely reads on the stick.08Datsun wrote:Try shifting it to each shift position, pausing a second or so on each one before checking again.
I have no intention of undoing my bypass, other than maybe adding a B&M cooler and temp gauge later. i bought this thing used and got an 8/84000 used warranty from the Nissan dealer i bought it from.
i will try to add the matic j i recovered from the rad, but I know i'll need more than i recovered.
will it trash my transmission if i get some castrol multi vehicle import atf, like a pint maybe, and drive it for about 2 weeks until i can afford to have it flushed with some matic j'?
thanks everyone for you help, i really appreciate it!
don't know, but not a big fan of the idea.....FAULTLINE wrote:will it trash my transmission if i get some castrol multi vehicle import atf, like a pint maybe, and drive it for about 2 weeks until i can afford to have it flushed with some matic j'?
you could check with Castrol and see what they say
FAULTLINE, are you reversing the position of the dipstick cap when checking the level?
BTW: Matic-S has replaced Matic-J for the transmission
[/quote]
FAULTLINE, are you reversing the position of the dipstick cap when checking the level?
[/quote]
No, should I be?
I May have a local AMSOIL dealer who has their synthetic atf , would this be a better short term choice?
It states on AMSOIL's website that their syunthetic is compatible with matic j.
thanks again.
FAULTLINE, are you reversing the position of the dipstick cap when checking the level?
[/quote]
No, should I be?
I May have a local AMSOIL dealer who has their synthetic atf , would this be a better short term choice?
It states on AMSOIL's website that their syunthetic is compatible with matic j.
thanks again.
oil level checking procedure (in the service manual - 3rd sticky in at the top of this forum. see maintanance section page MA-22) 
http://www.thenissanpath.com/filelib/R5 ... ce/fwd.pdf
it may make a difference in the measured level..........
adding a different oil may be OK but i prefer not to
http://www.thenissanpath.com/filelib/R5 ... ce/fwd.pdf
it may make a difference in the measured level..........
adding a different oil may be OK but i prefer not to
FAULTLINE wrote:Wow i can't believe I missed that!
I added what I recovered from the rad and drove it about 3 miles.
I rechecked the fluid level (the right way)and it now reads to the middle of the HOT section.
Thanks so much for helping this green horn get squared away!
That's great & you're welcome
I know that when I did the bypass on mine, I didn't lose much S-matic, I caught every drop in a plastic cup and I lost exactly 4 ounces of it. That shouldn't be enough to matter considering the tranny/torque converter holds around 4 gallons/16 quarts/ 512 ounces. I went ahead and did a drain and fill on the tranny anyway while I was there... your best bet is to check it cold.
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