rcy

Hi all. First of all, is it a common thing for 2nd gen automatic Maximas to shift harshly from 1st to 2nd. My car (88) has been doing it forever.

Secondly, after tromping on the gas pedal to pass some dumbass who was going way too slow in the fast lane, my car now shifts harsh from 2nd to 3rd as well. When I passed the guy, the car shifted down from OD to 3rd, then to 2nd for a split second, then back through the range to OD again. At the time it shifted to 2nd I was probably doing 90-100km/h. Do you think I damaged the tranny?

Thanks

BTW - my condolences to Americans and the families of the heroic Columbia astronauts.

Charles Bisel

Yeah, these automatic transmissions are notorious for problems, so welcome to the club. My car has 120K miles on it, which is usually when the problems start to appear. Sometimes the car sticks in first gear until it warms up, though lately it's been getting a bit better, which leads me to believe that I may have added a bit too much ATF, who knows. My car also shifts harshly, though it only does it when it's cold, after it warms up it usually shifts fine.

I've been told it does this because of sticking valves inside the transmission. In your case though, you just may be a little low on ATF. Your best bet is to change the transmission fluid and maybe consider putting in some kind of additive. Whatever you do though, DO NOT flush the transmission fluid. The pressure of the flush is too much for these transmissions to handle and could end up causing more damage to your transmission.

Also, I'd be a lot easier on the car from now on, no more hard accelerations and such. I know it's a blast to push the Max to its limits, but that'll definitely cause premature damage, not only to your tranny but to your engine parts as well.

-C-

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

I had the same problem with my Ranger. The tranny got overfilled with ATF when I took it in for a flush. Turns out that it caused the overdrive to stop working all together. I'm kinda glad that I have a 5-speed. There isn't nearly as much maintenance that goes into a 5-speed when comparing to the auto. So long as you change the gear oil on a regular basis.

S

max95q

iTrader: (10)

I think its the sticky valves for me too. I kinda like it. I heard of some stuff that cleans the transmission out and gets rid of the sticky valve thing but Im afraid after fixing the sticky valve thing things might get worse so I havent touched it.

MattK

rcy

Mine does the exact same thing with 160K. I recently did a drain(not a flush) and refill with amsoil ATF with good results. I will redo this in another few months.

mattk

MattK

rcy

Mine does the exact same thing with 160K. I recently did a drain(not a flush) and refill with amsoil ATF with good results. I will redo this in another few months.

mattk

Charles Bisel

How long ago (mileage wise) did you switch to Amsoil ATF? Have you had any problems with it or any leakage at all? Also, do you know if your transmission has ever been rebuilt? And why are you planning on changing it again shortly, considering that it's supposed to last 45 to 90K miles?

The reason I ask is because that Amsoil ATF is synthetic. Synthetic oils have been known to get all of the gunk off of the seals and such, thereby opening up places that could potentially cause the fluid to leak out of.

I've been hesitant to switch over to synthetics for that reason, but if you're not having any trouble with it, I may reconsider. Amsoil does make the best oils in the world, so I'd love to have some of that sh*t running in my machine.

-C-

MattK

I switched about 5K ago and no leakage. I finally was able to end the leakiness of the trans cooling lines by double clamping the hoses on the trans end!

I too was concerned about switching over completely but by draining and not flushing I am only changing about 1/2 of the fluid at best so it should not shock the system. I plan on doing another drain and refill in about 5-10K in order to acheive a higher proportion of synthetic in the trans. I will stop at that point (it will be roughly 60-70% synthetic) and this should last about 75K at least.

The trans has never been rebuilt.

Matt

dr.disc

You can get most of the ATF changed if you drain out the radiator hose with the car running while you fill with 18 quarts of new ATF. It is a flush, but not a power flush. You'll be getting new fluid back out by the time you've done 18 quarts.