[Justin Macedonio]

So I am seeking input on what has turned out to be a sensitive subject. Originally I posted a thread in the drivetrain forum but received no replies.
a little back story.... friend of mine used to be big into diesels and ran AMSOIL all the time, a few years ago traded in the big D for a Taco. Started running AMSOIL again and swears by it. I thought it was fanboy/snake oil stuff but 2 weeks ago I decided to give it a shot. WTH it was just as much as the RP I had been running. I will say it caught me by surprise and I'm really impressed. Engine seemed to run quieter on start up and on highway, truck runs great with it. Now here is where it gets dicey. My wife got me a PML trans pan for X-Mas and I am considering AMSOIL signature for the ATF. I own a 2012 that has only had Matic-S in it.

after hours of research I have found there are two camps one saying run anything as long as it meets Matic-S spec or ONLY RUN MATIC-S OR IT'LL BLOW UP!

to direct my efforts here are my two questions

Is anyone currently running AMSOIL? If so how long? Any issues?

second has anyone NOT run MATIC-S and had any type of failure? if so what happened? and what fluid? any success? what fluid?

I feel like there is something better for our trucks out there just want to make an informed decision.
thanks for any input
MAC

 

[10935]

Owning and maintaining three Frotniers over 175k miles and all of my transmissions used Valvoline Synthetic ATF from Walmart. Four quart jug for under $18 bucks and it covers Nissan's Matic D,J,K,S. I drop the 4 qt's from the factory pan every 2nd oil change(every 10k for me) and replace with a gallon of the Valvoline.

 

[Ryno_7]

For engine oil I'm very happy with Castrol Edge 5w30 with an OEM filter, no clatter on startup.

There's controversy over what oil to run in the 6spd as well. I'm still running the factory fill and it's time to change it out, still undecided.

 

[pocopine]

I've been running Castrol Edge in all my high mileage vehicles (most go well over 200k) with no problems. I've run Castrol GTX up to 50k miles and then switch over to full synthetic (no reason why, just felt it was the thing to do and I have never had engine problems to date). I will run Castrol GTX in the Frontier until I switch over to full synthetic.

Valvoline Premium Blue in the Cummins since day one and will stay on it until the mule dies.

I've also never used any fuel additives since we drive a lot of highway and engines get up to temperature where their happy.

 

[fenixguy]

I use whatever synthetic is on sale for engine oil. I have maintained several high mileage vehicles and none of them have ever had "oil problems", burning, leaking, sluge, varnish, etc... I personally don't buy into the boutique oils unless there was a specific reason like managing a fleet or going for ultra-long drain intervals.

Anyway, I too have wondered what I'm going to do my ATF drain and fills with. Maxlife seems to be a popular choice here as well as Castrol Import Multi Vehicle. It seems that Amsoil is just as expensive as Matic-S so I don't think I personally would go that route. Looking forward to some more real-life experiences like kode3 above.

 

[TexasScout]

192,000 on nothing but Mobil 1 5W30 and M-110 filters. NO OIL CONSUMPTION.

 

[fenixguy]

192,000 on nothing but Mobil 1 5W30 and M-110 filters. NO OIL CONSUMPTION.

Sweet! How 'bout that ATF?

 

[smj999smj]

I have two, R51 Pathfinders with a combined 200,000 miles plus on Valvoline Maxlife ATF (that's mileage on the transmission fluid, not on the vehicles, which is much more). It is a synthetic ATF (as is Amsoil and NissanMatic Type "J" and "S"). Most (if not all) ATF's that meet the JASO-1A specification are synthetic and will usually be compatible with NissanMatic Type "D," "J" and "S." Just make sure that the manufacturer lists that it is recommended for use in NissanMatic "J" or "S" ATF and you will be fine; the trans will not "blow up." NissanMatic "J" and "S" are made by Castrol. Type "J" is exactly the same as Castrol Transmax Multi-Import ATF. Type "S" was developed for the Infiniti 7-speed, rear-drive automatic transmission and is simply Type "J" with additional friction modifiers. It replaced Type "J," but either will work fine in the Jatco RE5R05A automatic transmission.

 

[9balllrook]

I used Amsoil for all my fluids in my 06 Armada(which "requires" Nissan matic j or s) had well over 200,000 miles on when when I got my frontier which I have switched to motul in the crankcase. Haven't changed any of the other fluids yet, just turned 10k, but when the times comes I'll either go with Amsoil or Motul.

 

[Muh_4x4]

I run motul in the engine with a wix xp filter but i to am cery curious and looking to switch front and rear diffs and transfer case/ transmission with better fluids asap. Probably around 15,000 ill change everything.

 

[Justin Macedonio]

Well thank you all for the input, I see that Valvoline and Castrol seem to be popular. I have Valvoline in the T-Case currently and that is working just fine. Its nice to see that people are running different fluids including the one I am interested in and not having issues. So many mixed reviews out there I really just wanted to get some confirmed real world experience with it.

 

[TexasScout]

Sweet! How 'bout that ATF?

Only changed it once so far, took it to the dealer for that. I want a warranty on that. Heard too many horror stories of transmissions going south right after a "flush".