Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: CVT oil analysis.

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Toronto
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    1,028
    Thanks
    1,543
    Thanked 240 Times in 199 Posts

    Post CVT oil analysis.

    Hello all,

    I preformed a CVT oil analysis on my car. A photo of which ive attached below, this is my first time doing something like this so ive attached some fun-facts in a list below:

    1. when i removed the pan, there was no gasket. Not even a gasket making sealer or adhesive or anything. Just straight metal on metal pan to transmission. I never noticed it leak, maybe the gasket is unnecessary. Its unclear to me if this has ever had a CVT fluid change before so i asked the lab and there response is in the photo.

    2. the pan gasket I bought was metallic it would stick to magnets. i wasn't expecting this

    3. I had only minor issues changing the aux filter without removing anything but the driver-side tire. I could visually see it for the most part but I got stuck up on trying to get the weird metal tab around the electrical connector. Took me awhile to figure this out.

    4. I wish we had one of those tubes instead of a drain plug to ensure I put back in the correct level of fluid(like the corolla). I put in 4 quarts + 20 OZ or 4.35L into the transmission after changing both filters. Its unclear to me if this is the correct fluid level or not. when hot it appears to go up to the first bend of the dipstick after following all instructions and checking it while running. The fluids hard to read as it is thin but also im also unsure how level my parking spot is.

    5. the first time i drove it 100ft straight then going up a slight incline it made a very loud sqeak for about a second like the belt was slipping. I thought the transmission was gone then and there but all is well.

    6. the first time i drove it "fast" there was a big shudder shifting from first gear to second

    7. the first few times i checked the fluid it appeard frothy i.e hundreds of bubbles were on the dipstick. After a couple hundred km checking it today I only saw about 5 or 6 fairly big bubbles on the dipstick. Im unsure how normal this is as i never really checked fluid level before changing it.(i obtained the car used so i do not know if it was originally full of OEM fluid or not)

    8. the car feels substantially quieter and i no longer really hear the engine while idling although this maybe the placebo effect.

    9. I never realized/thought that the other end of the pan bolts would be exposed. I can now understand how people overtorque these bolts and strip them. It also made them slightly harder to remove/install due to corrosion.

    9. i bought a 1/4 torque wrench and torqued everything to approx 8 n.m. This was not a confidence inspiring amount of torque. Without the torque wrench, I am highly confident i would have stripped the **** out of everything. Rear pan bolts were very hard to reach as i only have 2 jack stands so im not comfortable jacking the front up too high.


    10. COST:
    $119.67 for 5 bottles of OEM fluid.
    $31.23 for 2 aux filter O-Rings,
    $43 for the pan gasket and drain plug crush washer from partsouq.com(that includes the import dues i didnt realize i had to pay separately to Fedex),
    $35 for both Raybestos filters off Rockauto for a 2015 spark.
    For a grand total of $229.90 CAD. Not including the cost of new tools(1/4 torque wrench, special funnel to pour oil down dipstick tube. brake clean to clean the pan and magnets)

    11.I recorded myself changing the pan filter, if theres any interest i can crop the parts together and start my Youtube career.

    UPDATE: My YouTube Career has launched, Video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erlbDUi48Jk

    12. I now have a spare brand new aux filter o-ring, If anyone wants it measured i can do that but i don't own any precision equipment. The o-ring had a surprisingly loose feel to it and amazingly sits in a grove much wider than the o-ring itself. I have no idea how this creates even a half decent seal, let alone a seal from high pressure oil.

    13. Id like to thank everyone on the forum for providing me the confidence to do this myself. It was a moderately scary experience


    Name:  Screen Shot 2021-09-20 at 9.52.34 PM.jpg
Views: 766
Size:  94.7 KB


    Last edited by mohammad; 07-20-2022 at 11:50 AM. Reason: added youtube link

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to mohammad For This Useful Post:

    Fummins (09-21-2021),Top_Fuel (09-21-2021)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Thanks for posing that. I'm pretty sure you are the first person to send in a sample of CVT fluid for analysis. So at least we have some sort of baseline to compare with going forward.

    How did your fluid look? Someone posted these pictures below from a 30,000 mile CVT fluid change...

    Name:  cvt_fluid.jpg
Views: 772
Size:  87.4 KB

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Toronto
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    1,028
    Thanks
    1,543
    Thanked 240 Times in 199 Posts
    Heres a photo of the fluid. Its in my opinion dark as can be, I mean i dont think it can get any darker than the photo you shared?. im also not sure how useful my numbers are as i have no idea how old the fluid was when i changed it. im still amazed it worked ok without any sort of gasket between the pan and tranny.
    Name:  Screen Shot 2021-09-21 at 12.45.56 AM.jpg
Views: 748
Size:  87.1 KB

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to mohammad For This Useful Post:

    Top_Fuel (09-21-2021)

  6. #4
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jul 2022
    Location
    Romania
    Country
    Romania
    Posts
    1
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Pretty amazing that the engine still worked with no significant issues.
    ________________________

  7. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Toronto
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    1,028
    Thanks
    1,543
    Thanked 240 Times in 199 Posts
    you know what is amazing is that this is your first post on this forum and you are sharing an advertisement.
    please consider checking out my Mirage related youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6c...IEViRFw/videos

  8. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Atlanta Metro
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,523
    Thanks
    37
    Thanked 1,388 Times in 1,007 Posts
    mohammad - This thread being about 10 months old, this was the first time I read it. I don't usually read many CVT related threads since I don't have one. This was a really good write-up. The oil analysis image was great.

    I have no idea what Pop Alexander was talking about. I have no idea why the ENGINE would be effected by anything you did. It is his first post, maybe he's just a bot.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


  9. The Following User Says Thank You to 7milesout For This Useful Post:

    mohammad (07-13-2022)

  10. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,401
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    I changed my manual transmission fluid at 30,000 miles. As it was pouring out, it was so clear & clean looking, I had a sense of guilt. I will most likely do it again at 80,000 miles (50,000 mile intervals), but I am not overly concerned about it. No filters making changing manual transmission fluid easy, too.

    When most share used CVT fluid, the stuff looks quite nasty & it has filters. Makes one wonder how efficient CVTs are? The fact they generate heat tells me the friction is greater in one, too. Friction = heat. Just rub your hands together and see. A Mirage with a taller 5th gear would be perfect, but I still prefer it as is.

  11. #8
    I noticed the cvt fluid in the Mirage's that I replace always looks dark. Oddly enough when I change it in one of the Nissans it's always light colored like new. I usually replace the fluid around the same 30k mile mark because cvt. I've let the Nissans go up to 60k miles and the fluid still looks nice and tastes delicious. Mirages aren't so lucky.
    Mirage videos:

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  12. The Following User Says Thank You to Fummins For This Useful Post:

    skyblue (07-17-2022)

  13. #9
    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Coos Bay, OR
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,835
    Thanks
    4,760
    Thanked 1,562 Times in 1,120 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Fummins View Post
    I noticed the cvt fluid in the Mirage's that I replace always looks dark. Oddly enough when I change it in one of the Nissans it's always light colored like new. I usually replace the fluid around the same 30k mile mark because cvt. I've let the Nissans go up to 60k miles and the fluid still looks nice and tastes delicious. Mirages aren't so lucky.
    Do you think it's a factor that Mitsubishi uses that worthless stack cooler and the Nissan's don't?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


  14. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by inuvik View Post
    Do you think it's a factor that Mitsubishi uses that worthless stack cooler and the Nissan's don't?
    That's possible? They still use the useless stack cooler but also have an external cooler. They also hold more fluid in the transmission itself plus the extra that's in the lines and cooler. I like to think more fluid capacity helps prolong fluid life? I don't know what model cvt these nv200's use? It's not the same as the Mirage but I believe it is a Jatco.


    Mirage videos:

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  15. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Fummins For This Useful Post:

    inuvik (07-13-2022),mohammad (07-13-2022)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •