ukfan4sure!

I just bought a 1987 Maxima GXE with 113K miles. VERY good condition. I bought it after seeing it on eBay. I happened to be in ST LOUIS one Sunday (travelling through) and actually got to examine (externally) the car on the lot. They were closed, naturally, so a test drive was out of the picture. It looked nice and the CarFax sait it was a one owner. Also, this was the LEXUS dealer; must be reputable, right? They said everything ran out great. So.....I bought it without a test drive as I live 300 miles away. BIG MISTAKE!!! The transmission is slipping badly and makes a sort of "whiny whirr" before shifting. OD seems to lock up OK. Now what kind of mess am I into? Is this going to cost an arm and 4 legs to fix? I can pull the tranny myself, but how about a rebuild? Anyone know of a REPUTABLE person to do it?.....I can not tell you how much this sucks! I gave preeeeemo $$ for it simply because of the physical condition, only to find it is mechanically a mess with this tranny. Would someone please kick me (besides my wife....)?

Drjmaxx88

Calm down. The first thing to realize is that your screwed. J/K

It really depends man. If you look really hard you can get a used trany for anywhere from 200(mexico)-450. Im guessing you didn't get a warrenty from the dealer. Yeah you can get the guy to pay for it, if you can get the car back out there. As for rebuild there are kits you can buy for about 500$ for the rebuild kit.

Sorry man



Here's that kick you wanted

turboast4

Even if the car came with no warrenty, the dealer should make it right. Especially since they explicitly said that everything worked fine. A dealer assumes at least some responsibility when they sell a car. That's why people buy from a dealer and not a private seller.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

how does the transmission fluid look?

ukfan4sure!

The transmission fluid looks like new. Funny, though, it doesn't smell like regular Dextron, almost like it has had some sort of "elixir" put in it. I think maybe it has had some sort of trans-doctor put in. I think someone KNEW it was about to go.....I pulled the stick, wiped it off and it has powdery, very, very fine grit in the fluid.

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

lemme guess a kinda black gritty stuff?

ukfan4sure!

Yep, you got it....

belakithom

Sorry man, you're screwed:{ Black gritty stuff sounds like a band (second gear I believe) is going or gone. If I'm correct, it's the only band that's rubber, so what you're seeing/feeling on the dipstick is the rubber from it. Good luck on finding a decent tranny. I hope the dealer can help you out, but it's highly unlikely, unfortunately. If you didn't get anything in writing (warranty, guarantee, etc) you're going to be on your own. Hint: Majority of sellers on E-bay are reputable and pretty good, but you do have unscrupulous sellers on there also. Good luck

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

i know a couple of salvage yards still have their mid 80's maximas how ever you run into weither the thing is good or not....when most people pull stuff from these cars they usually pull interior parts and the headlights they usually leave the other stuff alone so if you still want the car call up a salvage yard and some might guarente their parts to work

but try to get the dealer ship to fix it first thats messed up, the dealer i bought my car at put new tires on it (the front...good tires though) and had some minor things fixed before they sold it

turboast4

A good tranny shop should be able to look at the fluid, drive the car, and be able to tell you what is wrong with the car. It'll probably only take about 15min, and probably won't charge you (if they do, it won't be that much). Ask mechanics around you which tranny shops they recommend. If you get an estimate take it to the dealer and ask them how they overlooked that when they told you 'everything worked.'

wylie-c

Actually, it has clutches, not bands. But i agree, they are most likely worn out. Does 1st grab ok? Then slips going into 2nd? The problem that ultimately makes these trannys self destruct is caused by the way they shift gears. Anyone with an auto Max knows how they sort of slide into the next gear, almost imperceptably smooth, with a faint bump just as it hits 2nd, as opposed to an abrupt and uncomfortable for most people type of shift. That's what does it in. It is always slipping into the next gear instead of positively engaging. Older Mercdes's and other luxury cars have the same problem with their silky smooth shifting. I wouldn't recommend buying a used tranny, because you have no way of knowing when it'll go. But any good tranny shop should be aware of the problem and when rebuilding will modify the vb to firm up the shifts to prevent this from happening. I read up on it alot on the internet and it is quite well documented. Mine was rebuilt with a lot firmer shifts, plus I adjusted the kickdown cable to firm it up even more, if it hits 2nd going through a bit of a curve it even chirps the tires.

86Wagon

Mine shifts very firm from 1st to 2nd as well, not the silky smooth that you
mentioned by any means.

Wonder if it's been rebuilt with a shift kit? Hmmmm...

How'd you go about adjusting the cable on your car? I know how to adjust
the cable, I'd like to know more of how you knew where your adjustment was
good.

From what I've read, if you adjust it too much, you can burn the clutches
up from being too firm...

Thanks!
Scott

wylie-c

If it was rebuilt, chances are they did modify the valve body. Other Auto Max's I'v driven had really mushy shifts. If any of you have worked on a bike clutch, inside of an automatic is quite similar. Each gear has a set of clutch packs, just like a manual tranny's clutch disk, except that an auto has multiple smaller disks for each gear. Engagement is the same principle as any manual, except that operation is via hydraulics synchronizing the release of one gear's clutches as the other engages. I've never heard of burning out a manual's clutch by popping the clutch, only from slipping it. They only wear when they are being slipped, not fully engaged and moving so I would think the same applies to an automatic. Less slippage=less wear. A shift kit can be installed for performance reasons, but also simply to make it stronger and last longer as well, hence why people put them into rv's and towing vehicles. I'm by no means an expert, but the logic of it seems good to me. A friend recently had his tranny rebuilt for his 96 3/4ton Chev 4x4, and they told him a shift kit would drastically improve the longevity of it, along with a tranny cooler. When he asked how firm of a shift he should go with they said the firmer the better for the tranny, but too firm will be too hard on the rear end and be quite uncomfortable. So I suppose the key is just finding a balance there.

As for adjusting mine, it'll do two things. Firm up the shifts slightly and also raise the shifts to a higher rpm as well. I did'nt like how it shifted so soon and sort of lagged around town, so I tightened it bit by bit and test drove it between until I was happy. It holds gears until 3000rpm now before it shifts up, giving me better performance and fuel economy, and it also downshifts sooner as well. It's a much more peppy and responsive driving experience like this, and i've been running it like this for 2 years now. So far the tranny still works 100%, but my motor mounts are taking a beating from it. If you pull it too tight, all it will do is think that you have it pinned to the floor even when you don't, and it won't shift until 5000rpm just like if you had it to the floor.

ukfan4sure!

Been there, done that! They hooked a pressure device to it and found low flow. $60 for the evaluation. I have already addressed with Lexus of St. Louis (oooops, did I mention the offending dealer?) the problem. They have so far sympathized, and the salesman is "addressing" the issue with his superior (who now must speak with his service department advisor), but so far, no $$ (big surprise?). I really hate to sink another 12-1500 into this car. I was hoping with only 113K, one owner (senior citizens), this car would be OK. BTW, I paid big (BIG) bucks for this car considering it's age. BUT, it is very, very beautiful cosmetically with NO rust.....garage kept.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

only 113k? Wow, that's low miles for 2nd gen standards!

S

86Wagon

So all you did was shorten the adjustment a little until you got it about
where you wanted it?

I've been wanting to raise the shift point on mine, but thought that all
the cable adjustment did was firm the shifts up, not raise them as well.

Cool... I have some playing to do!

Thanks!
Scott

Drjmaxx88

Okay
The rebuild kit is about 500$ from import performance. I don't know what quality this company has in its parts or service, but Ill be checking it out. Then level ten has one for roughly the same amount. If you can afford the down time you can send the trany to level ten, pay there price(still not sure of there price) and they send it back to you in a 2 days. I think that level ten offers a better warrenty for the job if its done by them. They also can bulletproof the trany for you. If your adding power to the engine then that would be a good option. Ill check some more.