So i have this 82 maxima i got for free from a shop in my town. when i got it the engine was pretty much ruined from overheating but it did still start and drive surprisingly. anyhow the automatic transmission was in good working condition. so i bought a L24 out of a 72 240z, modded the oil pick up, put the front sump pan on and dropped it into the maxima. i also switched out flywheels and put on the torque converter (not paying attention to the alignment notch i may add) and bolted up the transmission but now the transmission isnt shifting into any gears. when i put it in park and try to roll the car it does lock up and not move but besides that any other gear its keeps rolling. when i rev in gear like im trying to get it to move it basically acts like its in park or neutral. is this because i didnt correctly align the torque converter? or could it be something else? thanks for any help

 

sounds like you busted the pump gears in the transmission.that will cause it not to move or change gears. pull the cooler line hose off at the radiator and crank the car to see if it is pumping fluid out if not the gears a busted . it will have good bit of pressure or just dribble out.

 

did u make sure u filled up the tq converter.. because this same thing happened to me on my maxima 2nd gen were it didnt get any gear. i had to pull it out again and fill up the converter properly and poped it back in and et it run for a while and then shifted into gears and it worked ..

 

checked the coolant lines and they are pretty much not pumping anything just a few drips. and when i removed the torque converter i always kept it upright to make sure no fluid came out.

 

im not sure if they are busted, the transmission was working perfectly fine before. also my Haynes book it says "Installation is a reversal of removal but should the torque converter have been separated from the main assembly, ensure that the notch on the converter is correctly aligned with the corresponding one on the oil pump" and i didnt do that.. can anyone clarify where these alignment notches are? i know the one on the torque converter but im clueless about the other one... w/ pics if possible thank you

 

there are no alignment marks you just turn the torque converter and it will spline back either 2 or 3 times. if you got the converter out of the car take a light and look up in the pump where the converter goes and see if the gears look busted.if they are you will have to replace the stator and pump gears but if its messed up to bad you will have to replace the bellhousing.

 

ill have to take the transmission back out. just a bit of confusion, where exactly is the pump? inside the torque converter? or in the transmission? not exactly sure what gears your talking about yet till i get it apart again myself but the splines coming from the transmission are good and not messed up if thats what your talking about. so what im going to do is drop the tranny again, unbolt the torque converter from the flex plate/flywheel, then put the torque converter on the transmission splines and spin it till it goes into alignment then bolt back up in the exact position.. does that sound alright orrr am i still missing somthing here..

 

the pump gears are in the bellhousing of the transmission. when you get it back out look at the end of the converter it will probably be messed up the splines will be good. the converter will have either flats or notches that key into the pump gears. always in removal and installation unbolt the converter from the flywheel when you put the converter in the trans it will drop back 2 or 3 times . if they are broke you can buy the parts a wittrans.com but i suggest getting a trans shop to do the labor. you will need a converter,pump gears,pump o ring,pump gasket front seal, cork pan gasket and at the worse case a pump stator and bellhousing.i think wit has a location i cali

 

Ok so i removed the tranny and torque converter, put it on the tranny till it was all the way back aligned and everything, reinstalled everything and so far still no shifting.... the torque converter and pump gear splines were both good

 

I got tired of dealing with the automatic so i put all of my 5 speed stuff from my other maxima in it. but now my motor is acting up. Its from a 240z and i put all of the maxima's fuel injection stuff on it and it runs a bit rough kinda like its missing at times, then after i drive around a bit and the engine warms up it idles alright but if i touch the gas at all it wants to stall out like its flooding or somthing.. Could this be cause the e.c.u is for an automatic? Or maybe the N42 head? What does it sound like to you?

 

make sure thier are no vacuum leaks. plug the hole that had a vacuum line going down to the transmission (its located close to the brake booster on the intake manifold) also make sure all your sensors are plugged in also make sure u plugged in the coolant/cylinder temp sensor plugged in properly as the care wont run right with out that sensor and will cause it to stall or bog down when not plugged in or malfunctioning in other words check all your connections...

 

Theres a problem, this engine doesnt have a head temp sensor... The one inbetween the 5th and 6th sparkplug? Nothing there on this motor.. What can i do?

 

ok no problem i had this a smiler delema when i upgraded ecu's for my 77 810 to a 1980 280zx ecu since the 77 does not have a cyl temp but does have a temp sensor and a thermal switch.. all i did was plug the cyl/temp sensor plug to the temp sensor (not the switch) and everything was fine and dandy

 

The thermal transmitter thats only one wire? Or the thermotime switch near the top radiator hose thats two prong like the cylinder temp switch plug? How did you go about connecting it, extra wire?

 

the one with the one wire is for the temp gage... there are 2 other sensors/switch on the thermostat housing (from what I recall). one is a thermal switch with a 2wire plug (I believe this one looks bigger in appearance) and is used for the cold start injector and the air regulator.. the second one is on in the same location with a 2 wire plug aswell but this one is a coolent temp sensor for the ecu, this is the one that needs to be plugged into the right place ... my guess when u did the engine swap you miss matched the 2 connectors ... the wireing diagram should help u alot and its in the Haynes manual..

 

just took another look and i only have 1 two prong sensor thats blue/back and black/yellow which is the thermotime switch and the 1 wire temp guage. the cold start plug and the thermotime plug are in the correct connections. the cylinder head temp switch is near the starter with nothing to connect to. i could cut and splice it somewhere but i dont know what to connect it to

The thermostat housing and the only 2 connections i have on mine


the cylinder head temp plug

 

their is your prop the engine needs that temp/cyl sensor ... did the original max engine u pull out have a cyl temp sensor ... if it did what u can do is remove it from the old head and if your skilled enough drill a hole in the same location on the new head and put the sensor in.. OR a lot simper remove the thermal vacuum switch and place the cyl/temp sensor in the same place where the thermal vac switch is at, and presto .. just plug up the vacuum lines (i myself find them useless since they are for the egr i believe...

 

The thermal vac switch is the thermotime switch right?

 

no the vacuum thermal switch is the one with the hoses plugged into it (the black one). u can just remove it and leave it dangling their if u dont want to mess up or know where the hoses go to...


ps.. ill try to post up pix of my thermostat housing tomorrow so u can get an idea of how mine is and where my thermo vacuum switch is located and if i can remember how to post pix up lol ...

 

Ohhh isee i think i understand ill be waiting for the pics for further referance. Thanks so much for all the info ill do it tomorrow and see how it runs

 

Well i couldnt get it on the vacuum thermal switch the hole was too big so i just replaced the thermostat housing with another one i had and got it all together, it does run alot better and doesnt die from hitting the gas after being warmed up so far.. But it does run a little rough after being warmed up still and if i plug the automatic vacuum hole on the intake manifold it idles wayy low so i just left it open for now

 

oh ok koo that u got it going .. sorry i didnt post up the pix just to busy with the hoiday crap i for got sorry man but ill still post them up though ...the vacuum hole that goes to the transmission needs to be plugged up cuz then its a vacuum leak so plug it up and adjust the idle screw to increase the rpms .. plugging that leak will solve the roughness u speak of (unless i miss understood what u meant by leaving the automatic vacuum hole open)

 

No worries hahah thanks again for the info, instead of those other pics can you put up a pic of where the idle adjust screw is?

 

the idle screw located on top of the t.b..


my automatic vacuum tube location and plug ..


the best pic i can get of my thermostat housing.. (top-temp gage, bottom left-thermo switch, bottom right-temp/cyl temp sensor)..


the location of my thermo vacuum switch is on top of the intake manifold under the air regulator with coolant lines going to it..