Hi Punto-owners!
There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding how much and which oil to use in the Speedgear Punto’s, so this guide will initially provide the answers to a lot of FAQ’s and afterwards show you to change the oil.
First of all, this is an informative guide only and I do not take responsibility for any injuries or mechanical damage resulting from the following of this guide!
I have attached a PDF document with the pictures inserted as follow-along guide format for easier interpretation as I do not know how to insert them in the text here. I suggest you read the guide through there...
FAQ:
The transmission in question is the DLTC46FHJ1AA Jatco CVT transmission, which is indeed also used in various models of the Nissan K11 Micra.
The oil and filter should ideally be changed every 40.000 km / 25.000 miles.
Which oil to use?
First of all, ONLY USE CVT OIL!
Officially, you should use Petronas Tutela CVT NG with Fiat spec 9.55550-AG4 SAE 75W-80. In some places getting hold of Tutela CVT NG can be quite tricky (E.g. in Spain, official Fiat dealers do not even stock it! Crazy!)
Available at (I have no affiliation with any of these, but they all accept PayPal so your purchase should be relatively secure, I got mine from Fluipetrol):
- www.shop4parts.co.uk in the UK (they ship to Europe as well, but quite expensive)
- https://www.fluipetrol.com/gb/ which is based in Spain but ship to most of Europe, they also have a store on Amazon.de, shipping is decently cheap
- https://www.oleje.cz/ which is based in the Czech Republic
Unofficially, you can use several different types:
Since the Nissan K11 Micra uses the same transmission, Nissan spec oil is perfectly fine to use!
You can use two different types of Nissan oil, as they are backward compatible. Nissan NS-2 is what the Micras came with originally and therefore is essentially the same as Tutela CVT NG. Since oil technology has developed over the years, Nissans newer and higher spec NS-3 oil is also perfectly fine to use. DO NOT use Nissan NS-1 as it is made for the older type gearboxes with powder clutches I believe.
Available at:
- https://cvt-parts.co.nz/ trusted and highly knowledgeable, also has service kit amongst other things, but shipping from New Zealand may be expansive
However, you can ALSO use Castrol Transmax CVT. There are several versions of the Transmax oil intended for different applications, so make sure you get Transmax CVT. This oil meets both Nissan NS-2 and NS-3, and is perhaps more readily available than the other options mentioned in above.
How much oil does the gearbox take?
The gearbox uses 3.6 litres of oil. 3.6 litres. Yes, the Haynes manual states 1.98 litre, but it’s wrong. The official fiat manual, at least the one I have, is also wrong. We’ll get to this in the guide section.
Which external filter should you use?
Officially, the required filter is Fiat 9948806, but at 92,46 EUR I highly doubt anyone reading this will actually purchase this filter.
So, look for equivalents. I went for Blue Print ADS72104 which has the same OEM number and retails around 15-25 euros depending on where you get it. I got mine on Amazon, but autodoc.co.uk or the like will stock it as well. I’ll admit I have not taken any of these filters apart to compare, so I do not have any particular preference as to which one is best – that’ll be on you.
This guide will show you how to do an oil change, not an oil flush of the transmission. The transmission has an external filter in the form of a screw-on filter and an internal metal oil filter inside the sump. The oil change is when you merely unplug the drain-hole, let it drain and then refill. An oil flush by contrast, is when you take the oil sump out to get every last drop of oil out (and probably while at it also replace the internal filter and the gasket). I’ll show you the former. If you regularly change the oil, this should be more than enough. But I might add a guide to the whole job later on should there be demand for it.
DYI Guide:
Anyroad, let’s get on with the guide:
You will need:
1) 2 Funnels (one small and one large)
2) 17mm socket+wrench (the one from the spare wheel will work fine)
3) Oil Filter wrench
4) Empty 4/5litre engine oil bottle (or similar with measuring units on the side)
5) CVT transmission oil as specified above + filter
How-to:
1) Jack up the car (or cheat like me and use a lift)
2) Locate the oil plug (as pictured on the left underside of the car, directly below the battery)
3) Get out the large funnel and stick it into the empty oil bottle
4) Stick the bottle with the funnel in underneath the drain plug and unscrew it with the 17mm. (as pictured). Take care not to lose the washer.
5) As you can see on the side of the bottle, I now know how much I’ve taken out
6) Let it drain for a while and move on to replacing the filter
7) Lower the car and locate the external oil filter under the battery tray on the left side
8) Unscrew it with the oil filter wrench (put an old rug/bucket/the bottle+funnel underneath before). Space is tight, but you’ll manage!
9) Screw the new filter on
10) Raise the car and put the drain plug back
11) Lower the car and take the transmission dip stick out and replace it with the small funnel
12) Have a look at the oil bottle and check how much oil you’ve drained (in my case, about 2.8 litres)
13) Refill the amount you’ve taken out (2.8 litres for me) and put the dipstick back in
14) Take the car off the lift and start it, let it idle
15) Check the level on the dipstick: on one side, there is an ‘H’ for hot and on the other there is a ‘C’ for cold. Inspect accordingly.
Voila! You’ve changed the gear oil on your Punto!
(Ideally you'd want to empty out the oil cooler too, but I change the oil regularly enough that I don't feel like bothering with that :bang: )
There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding how much and which oil to use in the Speedgear Punto’s, so this guide will initially provide the answers to a lot of FAQ’s and afterwards show you to change the oil.
First of all, this is an informative guide only and I do not take responsibility for any injuries or mechanical damage resulting from the following of this guide!
I have attached a PDF document with the pictures inserted as follow-along guide format for easier interpretation as I do not know how to insert them in the text here. I suggest you read the guide through there...
FAQ:
The transmission in question is the DLTC46FHJ1AA Jatco CVT transmission, which is indeed also used in various models of the Nissan K11 Micra.
The oil and filter should ideally be changed every 40.000 km / 25.000 miles.
Which oil to use?
First of all, ONLY USE CVT OIL!
Officially, you should use Petronas Tutela CVT NG with Fiat spec 9.55550-AG4 SAE 75W-80. In some places getting hold of Tutela CVT NG can be quite tricky (E.g. in Spain, official Fiat dealers do not even stock it! Crazy!)
Available at (I have no affiliation with any of these, but they all accept PayPal so your purchase should be relatively secure, I got mine from Fluipetrol):
- www.shop4parts.co.uk in the UK (they ship to Europe as well, but quite expensive)
- https://www.fluipetrol.com/gb/ which is based in Spain but ship to most of Europe, they also have a store on Amazon.de, shipping is decently cheap
- https://www.oleje.cz/ which is based in the Czech Republic
Unofficially, you can use several different types:
Since the Nissan K11 Micra uses the same transmission, Nissan spec oil is perfectly fine to use!
You can use two different types of Nissan oil, as they are backward compatible. Nissan NS-2 is what the Micras came with originally and therefore is essentially the same as Tutela CVT NG. Since oil technology has developed over the years, Nissans newer and higher spec NS-3 oil is also perfectly fine to use. DO NOT use Nissan NS-1 as it is made for the older type gearboxes with powder clutches I believe.
Available at:
- https://cvt-parts.co.nz/ trusted and highly knowledgeable, also has service kit amongst other things, but shipping from New Zealand may be expansive
However, you can ALSO use Castrol Transmax CVT. There are several versions of the Transmax oil intended for different applications, so make sure you get Transmax CVT. This oil meets both Nissan NS-2 and NS-3, and is perhaps more readily available than the other options mentioned in above.
How much oil does the gearbox take?
The gearbox uses 3.6 litres of oil. 3.6 litres. Yes, the Haynes manual states 1.98 litre, but it’s wrong. The official fiat manual, at least the one I have, is also wrong. We’ll get to this in the guide section.
Which external filter should you use?
Officially, the required filter is Fiat 9948806, but at 92,46 EUR I highly doubt anyone reading this will actually purchase this filter.
So, look for equivalents. I went for Blue Print ADS72104 which has the same OEM number and retails around 15-25 euros depending on where you get it. I got mine on Amazon, but autodoc.co.uk or the like will stock it as well. I’ll admit I have not taken any of these filters apart to compare, so I do not have any particular preference as to which one is best – that’ll be on you.
This guide will show you how to do an oil change, not an oil flush of the transmission. The transmission has an external filter in the form of a screw-on filter and an internal metal oil filter inside the sump. The oil change is when you merely unplug the drain-hole, let it drain and then refill. An oil flush by contrast, is when you take the oil sump out to get every last drop of oil out (and probably while at it also replace the internal filter and the gasket). I’ll show you the former. If you regularly change the oil, this should be more than enough. But I might add a guide to the whole job later on should there be demand for it.
DYI Guide:
Anyroad, let’s get on with the guide:
You will need:
1) 2 Funnels (one small and one large)
2) 17mm socket+wrench (the one from the spare wheel will work fine)
3) Oil Filter wrench
4) Empty 4/5litre engine oil bottle (or similar with measuring units on the side)
5) CVT transmission oil as specified above + filter
How-to:
1) Jack up the car (or cheat like me and use a lift)
2) Locate the oil plug (as pictured on the left underside of the car, directly below the battery)
3) Get out the large funnel and stick it into the empty oil bottle
4) Stick the bottle with the funnel in underneath the drain plug and unscrew it with the 17mm. (as pictured). Take care not to lose the washer.
5) As you can see on the side of the bottle, I now know how much I’ve taken out
6) Let it drain for a while and move on to replacing the filter
7) Lower the car and locate the external oil filter under the battery tray on the left side
8) Unscrew it with the oil filter wrench (put an old rug/bucket/the bottle+funnel underneath before). Space is tight, but you’ll manage!
9) Screw the new filter on
10) Raise the car and put the drain plug back
11) Lower the car and take the transmission dip stick out and replace it with the small funnel
12) Have a look at the oil bottle and check how much oil you’ve drained (in my case, about 2.8 litres)
13) Refill the amount you’ve taken out (2.8 litres for me) and put the dipstick back in
14) Take the car off the lift and start it, let it idle
15) Check the level on the dipstick: on one side, there is an ‘H’ for hot and on the other there is a ‘C’ for cold. Inspect accordingly.
Voila! You’ve changed the gear oil on your Punto!
(Ideally you'd want to empty out the oil cooler too, but I change the oil regularly enough that I don't feel like bothering with that :bang: )
