How to Change Transfer Case Fluid 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder
Created on: 2018-07-10
How to check and fill your transfer case fluid on 00 Nissan Pathfinder
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step 1 :Draining the Transfer Case
- Remove the fill plug from the transfer case with a 1/4" ratchet
- Visually inspect the fluid
- Have a drain pan ready
- Remove the drain plug from the transfer case with a 1/4" ratchet
- Allow the fluid to drain
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step 2 :Installing the Drain Plug
- Clean any metal shavings off the drain plug
- Apply Teflon sealer to the drain plug
- Clean the drain plug threads on the transfer case
- Thread the drain plug into the transfer case by hand
- Tighten the plug with a 1/4" socket
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step 3 :Filling the Transfer Case
- Fill a suck gun or fluid transfer pump with the recommended fluid for your transfer case
- Add fluid to the transfer case until it starts to leak out the fill hole
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step 4 :Installing the Fill Plug
- Clean the fill plug threads on the transfer case
- Apply Teflon sealer to the fill plug
- Thread the fill plug into the transfer case by hand
- Tighten the plug with a 1/4" socket
- Clean the outside of the transfer case with brake parts cleaner
- Wipe off the transfer case
Tools needed
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1/4 Inch Ratchet
1/4 Inch Socket
Drain Pan
Transfer Case Fluid
Liquid Thread Locker
Fluid Transfer Pump
Hi. I'm Mike from 1AAuto. We've been selling auto parts for over 30 years!
We're going to do a service on this transfer case. Before we drain the fluid out, I want to take this fill plug out. The reason you want to take the fill plug out before you drain it is if you drain it and then you can't get the fill plug out there's no way to get the fluid back into the transfer case, so we'll make sure we can get the fill plug out first. I'm going to use a 1/2" extension and a 1/2" ratchet. Take the fill plug out. Pull that out and set it aside.
As you can see, the fluid that's in here is almost black. It's long overdue to be changed. It should be red.
Okay, so now that we've got our fill plug out, now we can take out our drain plug with the same 1/2" extension and 1/2" ratchet. Make sure you put a drain bucket underneath here when you're draining it out. All right, now that's loose enough I can do it by hand. Iām going to move the drain bucket up a little bit. All right, I'll pull this one out.
So our drain plug has a little magnet on here. Here you can see some metal fibers. This one's not that bad. If you saw some big metal chunks on here, then it would be of concern, or maybe some excessive wear in your transfer case. So that's a good indicator how good your transfer case is doing. This one doesn't look that bad.
So we're going to take our drain plug and I'm going to put some Teflon sealer on here, some pipe sealer, that will help seal it a little bit when we put it on. So get that in. Then before I put it up I'm just going to wipe the threads just a little bit and I'll install the drain plug. Let me get this started by hand, and then we'll use our extension and our ratchet. Now we'll tighten this down.
This is not going to tighten down to the point of stopping. It's just ā as you're tightening it down, it's going to start feeling harder to tighten. You don't want to tighten it too much. Once you start feeling it tighten up a little bit maybe turn another quarter turn or so and that's it. This case is aluminum, so if you tighten that too much you will crack the case or strip it out, so keep that in mind.
To fill this up I'm going to use a suck gun. This one does not suck too well, so I'm going to take the top off and just add the fluid that goes into this transfer case. Now I'm going to add the appropriate fluid. This vehicle requires transmission fluid for the transfer case fluid. You're going to want to check your owner's manual to see which kind of fluid your vehicle requires. I'll fill that up. I can fill it a little bit more. Then I'll screw this back in.
You can use other fill methods to get the fluid in. Sometimes you can use a fluid transfer pump or just putting a straw on the end of the quart. You can get the fluid in that way, but this is the method we're using. I'm not sure if that's completely full yet so I'm just going to plug up the fill for a second and then I'll put my finger up. Yep, as it's draining out, that looks like that's about full, so we put about two and a half quarts into this transfer case, so that's good right there. All right, so I'm going to wipe down these threads a little bit and I put my Teflon-type sealer on my fill plug and I'll start threading that in by hand.
I'll use my 1/2" extension and ratchet just to snug this up. Remember, it's not going to stop, it's just going to get tighter and tighter. So once you start feeling it get tighter, just go only a little bit more, maybe another quarter turn, or 10 degrees. That's good right there. We'll clean this off. Use some brake type cleaner, spray this off, and then I'll wipe it down.
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