what maintenance should be done on high milage xterra?
I'm looking at purchasing a used xterra In the 2000-2004 year range. Most I've seen advertised have anywhere between 80k to 150k miles. I'm not interested in cars over that range.
That said, what regular, high milage maintenance should I expect already done or will need to be done soon for an X in the 100-130k range?
Timing belt seems like a must at that point but are there any other things I should look out for? It will help me to know if the X is being properly maintained and adjust my offer accordingly for repairs that should but haven't been done yet.
A#1 issue is the Timing belt - It's due at 105K. It's an interference engine so if the belt goes, you risk major internal damage.
Plugs, wires, and water pump should be done then as well. Beyond that, grab the FSM from here and run down the list in the maintenance section. Expect that the transmission, transfer, and diff fluids have never been changed. If the tranny's never been changed, do not do a flush as that can cause more damage; only do a drain and fill.
Sorry to bump a month old thread, but why is that?
I have an '04 with 143k on it. I've been slowly going through and doing PM on it as money permits, and tranny fluid is next on my list (yes, already did the timing belt ). I'd hate to make a mistake in my quest to keep my truck running.
Sorry to bump a month old thread, but why is that?
There are 2 groups of believers around: ones that take the owners & maintenance manual as the Holly Book and nothing else matters, and others that are open to listen & look behind that (which is not always a good thing).
The thing with the transmission fluid is that some people believe (and you can search online & see there are many testimonials) that an older auto transmission that hasn't been flushed since new it has a big chance to fail after a fresh flush.
Others stick with what the maintenance schedule say, so they will argue with that.
The reason I second that was because of my personal experience.
I do know quite a few people, friends & family, that did the flush on older cars that didn't had that done regularly before and the transmission failed shortly after that.
If you want more info do a search online and I'm sure you'll find tons of debates on this topic.
Heres the thing with ATF flushes...most people have them done at Valvoline, or Pep Boys, Firestone, etc. These shops park your car in a bay, turn the car on, and hook it up to a machine that pulls old fluid out and pumps new in. Of course new lubrication in a system will have positive fluid lubrication. However an automatic transmission is a intricate series of small passageways and valves which direct fluid based on throttle position, engine speed, etc. To properly flush a transmission, you need to get new fluid into these passages and in the same process remove old fluid and any deposits which reside. This cannot be done with the vehicle in park...it needs to be lifted off the ground and run through all the gears while fluid is pumped in and out of the trans.
I think a lot of information regarding these flush services is very mixed based on the fact a lot of people confuse causation with correlation. Since most people only perform service on their car or truck when there is a problem, for example a transmission shifting poorly, they decide to try and flush the system. Initially this may relieve some of the poor performance of the system but when the system fails a month or so after the service, they blame the service. When, in reality the system should have received a major overhaul or part replacement.
So if your car or truck has limited miles (<100k) and the transmission has no issues a flush will not cause any damage but if the transmission is older and shows signs of poor performance a fluid change MAY relieve the symptoms but cannot replace worn clutch packs or other wear items.
May family takes all our vehicles to a shop which specializes in transmission and driveline services. Which means rather than order a new trans like the dealer will do, they will take your trans out, rebuild it, and put the same case back in with new parts. I got all this information from the service manager at the shop.
This is coming from experience working at Valvoline and a Nissan Dealership/Service Center.
So take it somewhere that will actually do a proper flush, i.e. putting it on a lift and runnign it through its shifting paces? Such as a dealer? Or to a specialty shop? I avoid the Pep Boys / Jiffy Lube places like the goddamn plague.
My tranny is working just fine right now, so I wouldn't be one of those people who are trying to flush a bad transmission... but I definitely don't have the money to be buying a new (or rebuilt) one.
So take it somewhere that will actually do a proper flush, i.e. putting it on a lift and runnign it through its shifting paces? Such as a dealer? Or to a specialty shop? I avoid the Pep Boys / Jiffy Lube places like the goddamn plague.
My tranny is working just fine right now, so I wouldn't be one of those people who are trying to flush a bad transmission... but I definitely don't have the money to be buying a new (or rebuilt) one.
Oh, and thanks for the informative responses!
Reviving an old thread again.
I'd be wary of shops like Jiffy Lube or your local oil changing place. I let my local place that changes my oil drain the transmission and radiator on my Saturn SL2. They wound up screwing up the lines when they put it back together and I was leaking transmission fluid like they left the plug off not to mention I ruined a radiator.
To make a long story short, I needed a new radiator after they were done and my transmission never worked right again. They did wind up paying for the replacement radiator after I threatened them with a lawsuit.
My 07 X is coming up for a transmission and radiator flush and the ONLY place I'll take it is a Nissan dealership an hour or so away. Yeah, I'll probably get taken to the cleaners but I don't trust the oil change place to do anything more than changing the oil.
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). I'd hate to make a mistake in my quest to keep my truck running.
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