I don’t think anyone else on here has an Xterra, but the VQ and 6 speed manual tranny is based on the 350Z, hence the thread title…
So I’ve got this shiny new truck that I plan on keeping for ~12 years/200k. I’ve got 1500 miles on it so I’m starting to think about what lubes I want to use from now until forever.
Anything special to know about caring for a VQ40 and it’s transmission?
For 7 bucks I’m going to be using an OEM Nissan oil filter. Then probably either Amsoil or Redline motor oil, depending on whether I feel like driving to autohaus or KS auto. (I think KS carries Redline.)
I think I’m going to switch the transmission oil to Redline MT90.
The owners manual explicity states not to touch the t-case or diffs yourself, so I’m going to leave those as-is until after the warranty period.
Any other things you would do to keep this thing happy for many years?
Oh, any special tools/procedures for draining and filling the tranmission?
As far as I know, these trannies are pretty rock solid. I’m not sure you need to do much to maintain it other than the normal maintenance. Just change the fluids when they’re needed and don’t do too many burnouts and you should be fine.
I would also suggest royal purple oil. it’s as good if not better than amsoil and can be had at any napa
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Not from what I’ve read on bitog. Amsoil and Redline routinely return the best results if you send your oil to a lab for analysis. Royal Purple not so much.
Hence I’ve got 100 bucks worth of redline engine and tranny oil waiting for me and the morning.
hope to god the new ones dont rust like the old ones did
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Yeah I’ll keep an eye out for that. I’m debating getting that Schmidts rust stop treatment every fall since I get to start from square one.
I’ve pretty well settled on Redline in the tranny every 30k, Redline in the engine every maybe 6k, and once the warranty’s over I’ll crack the diff’s and the t-case and put redline in there.
Otherwise just not doing anything stupid with it, like scratching the exhaust itch I already have…
Gonna agree with 93dx considering it’s under warranty. Should something go wrong they can claim you didn’t use THEIR specified oil and such, thus causing a huge problem.
Not from what I’ve read on bitog. Amsoil and Redline routinely return the best results if you send your oil to a lab for analysis. Royal Purple not so much.
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:word: Study up
[quote=“BikerFry,post:6,topic:34991"”]
Yeah I’ll keep an eye out for that. I’m debating getting that Schmidts rust stop treatment every fall since I get to start from square one.
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12 yrs = $1200 before inflation & price changes.
Imagine a '95 Pathfinder with minimal -to- no rust underneath and i’ll say the cost is worth it.
my 1st 240 had layers of undercoating all over the underside, the only thing is they avoid the engine/tranny/driveshaft/diff so they miss some spots although it works for most of the body i still had some really bad spots in certain areas
i had my Xterra undercoated… it was worth it. through all the offroading and winter beatings it held up very nicely compared to most of the Nissans Ive seen. I ran Royal Purple in my tranny [auto] and my diffs… on steep inclines going from drive into 1 or 2 used to be really tough- but with the RP it was as if I was sitting in my driveway. I never had a problem with getting anything covered under warranty… and mine was lifted on meaty tires and caked in mud underneath [bonus undercoating ]… any tech at Nissan knows what people use their Xterras for theyre usually pretty leinient on covering stuff even if its modified… the service managers knew me by first name at West Herr Nissan :tup:
and if u keep up on regular maintainence with even just regular dino oil and changing out the diffs every 60k… i know atleast 15+ guys with OVER 200k on their stock motors and thats with beating the crap out of them down in Tremont… there’s even 2 guys with 05 Xs that are already pushin 150k and running like they just drove off the showroom floor. I <3 Xterras!
Sweet. And, uh, yeah I didn’t just change the tranny OIL (it’s a manual) with Redline MT90. Well, not as far as Mike Barney is concerned. :snky: Besides, there’s a DIY section in the owners manual telling you how to change it and with what. MT90 conforms to the “with what” part. It only explicitly states that you cannot service the diffs or t-case yourself, which I am thus leaving alone.
I’m glad I changed the tranny oil. When I lifted the drain pan out from under the truck into the sunlight I noticed a lovely metallic shimmer. :ohnoes:
Mechanically, I’m probably being over cautious. There’s a reason why the VQ has been winning awards for over 10 years, and it isn’t because it’s fragile.
Plus part of my thinking is that I’m going to have the drivetrain warranty for 5 years and the truck for 12, so I’m going to do what’s best for the truck not for the warranty.
Gonna agree with 93dx considering it’s under warranty. Should something go wrong they can claim you didn’t use THEIR specified oil and such, thus causing a huge problem.
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^ Yeah that does matter for warrenty stuff, although if you can find oil that is whatever the Nissan rated spec then it would be fine. Go have a look at Bobistheoilguy.com, those forums are very helpful I’m sure you find it interesting being an engineer and such too.
However a lot of manufacters are doing 5-10k oil service intervals these days which is just plain stupid. It’s been proven with oil analysis that this isn’t the greatest idea.
[quote=“BikerFry,post:12,topic:34991"”]
I’m glad I changed the tranny oil. When I lifted the drain pan out from under the truck into the sunlight I noticed a lovely metallic shimmer. :ohnoes:
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Not surprising, depending on the engine it can happen after the first oil change too. It’s just things breaking in, I would only be worried if you go to change engine/tranny fluids a second time and you get the same thing.
]… any tech at Nissan knows what people use their Xterras for