It seems like most of the folks on here know quite a lot about cars and Maxima's in particular. Since I know nothing, I am begging and asking for your wisdom and guidance.

Here is the story.
I took my 93 Maxima in to a franchise oil change place today for an oil and lube job. While there the tech said that my transmission fluid seemed dirty and would i like to have it flushed. I said, ok sounds like a good thing to do.

After i left and drove away everything seemed fine. But after about 5 miles the car started acting funny. The clutch didnt seem to respond and then it felt like the transmission was racing up and couldnt pick up speed. When you put your foot down, it would sluggishly go to up to 2000 rpm, then jump all the sudden to 4000 and then fall back.

i turned around and went back to "J-Lube" and asked them what they did to mess up my transmission. They said they just changed the fluid and it wasnt their fault. After i left there i figured out that i couldnt go in reverse anymore!!! And the sluggishness is even worse! I drove three blocks and then parked it because i didnt want to mess it up more. Until today i have had no problems with this car!

I am a college student and dont have a lot of money. So before i go spend a fortune to fix this, Can anyone offer any advice on this subject? What is going on with my car? How do i fix it? And where should i take it?

thanks!

 

what does the bill say in regards to damages etc?

 

It just says that you must have prior written approval from them for them to cover any repairs. So i guess i will take it somewhere to be diagnosed, and then if i have a claim try to get them to pay for it. Unless anyone has a better idea!

Also upon further research I have learned that there is a sensor on the plug that has to be handled carefully. Perhaps the guy messed that up. If anyone else has any ideas or knows the best place in Chicago to take a Nissan (or the worst!) please let me know.

 

You should ask them what they did to flush your tranny (use a macine, what type of fluid, etc?).

How many miles on your car? I don't know if you can do a whole lot unless they really messed something up (like putting oil in there or not tightening the drain plug enough).

You should peform a quick check:
Is the car leaking any tranny fluid (reddish)?

Check the level of the fluid (Park on level ground, warm up the car to normal temperature, run the gears beginning in 1-2-D-N-R-P, check the dipstick located to the right of the air intake tubing). Are there metal shavings on the dipstick? Does the fluid look red or brown, smell burnt?

Cold weather will make your tranny peform sluggishly but nowhere close to what you are describing.

Do the above and post back here and let us know what's going on. Good luck.

 

his max is a maunual... I say that they messed up some how somewhere..

usually with manaul tranny you dont have to change the fuild b.c its in a sealed enviorment. But if you asked me they flushed out the gunk and stuff that was hold the tranny together... but i dont see how a simple tranny fuild change can do this..

 

are you sure? autos have clutches too.

 

5 speeds don't have dip sticks and they don't even call it transmission fluid.... Its more of a differential grease. The only way to check the fluid is to unscrew a drain plug beneath the engine near the oil drain plug but further back and pour some out. It should be a yellow color...not red. You should ask J-lube how they checked it and ask to see what they put back in. It sounds like maybe they put the wrong fluid into your transmission.

 

hehe I was going to say perhaps they put ATF into your manual tranny. In any event, have the transmission checked out by an independant transmission shop, most of them will do a free examiniation on the transmission and let you know the solution (rebuild). Make sure you keep the Jiffy lube reciept in a safe place. You have to do these things ASAP, the longer you wait, the weaker your case gets. If in the end your transmission is ruined because of jiffy lube, then have them pay for a NEW one, and lighttened flywheel and performance clutch..etc etc .

i see alot of bad jiffy lube stories on the org..

 

first thanks to all of you for your help. i took it in this morning to a transmission shop for them to take a look. the guy there says that he cant see how anything they (j-lube) did any thing to mess it up. after he pulled and and took it apart he found major damage and said that most likely the old fluid and gunk were keeping it alive.

so, now my dilemma is to let this guy rebuild it at the tune of 2 grand or figure out another solution (sale it for scrap maybe!) the thing is, though it is 10 years old and had 144,000 miles on it, it is still a fairly sharp, mechanically sound vehicle (tranny aside of course) so what do you guys think i should do. fix it, or ditch it?

 

fic it or get a rebuilt tranny.. or a junker tranny.. just rebuilt it.. if its a ve se 5spd then its worth it.. if not sell me it for 1000 and i will take car of her

 

if you were a die-hard fanatic like me without any brains, you'd fix it. I have so much trust in these cars, it scary. I currently have 193k on mine and it's still working hard doing 1k/week. You have two options:

a) Bite the bullet, rebuild the tranny and get a solid warranty on that.

b) ditch the car as is and buy a civic..your choice.

I'd advise you go with "a" cos i dont believe any other vehicle has such comprehensive information on a website that is freely accessible like this and it really saves you money in the long run when you know what to look out for and what not. Dont be like me and fix the car then check with the org. Check with the org, then fix the car.

 

suddaup you idiot.. i was trying to get a maxima for cheap..j/k.. lol yeah bro fix it.. i know i have fixed my max when she was sick

 

well if your low on funds I would say get a good used trans from a junk yard if you can get it cheap enough. Then save up and get yours rebuilt when you have the money or just sell the car with the junk yard trans in it. You will get more for a running car than a non running car thats for sure.

good luck in whatever you do.

 

Instead of letting your transmission guy rebuild it, you can always buy a *rebuilt* transmission from www.phoenixhardparts.com for around $800 (with warranty). Or you can use www.car-part.com to locate a used tranny close to you. Or go to your local junk yards and pick one up cheap. Lots of choices, some more reliable than others, But don't spend $2,000 on that tranny.

 

How did you screw up a manual tranmission that bad? Usually the clutch will go before the manual gears. Consider a second opinion from another source on the cause and cost to fix or replace. At $2K I would look at all opinions.

 

especialy as quickly as he states, normaly you'd notice these things in advance and progressivly getting worse

 

Did you look at the stuff J Lube put back into your transmission? If its red (ATF) its the wrong liquid, and the car is doomed. If its yellowish and thick (gear oil) its the right stuff.
I'm assuming you have a 5 speed.

 

lol i was thinking the same thing...mm...ve....I actually think PhoenixHardParts is the best way to go because you dont have to go through all the stress of getting it rebuilt....It's already been done plus you get a warranty. I think thats a really good deal at 8bills.

 

you say you're from chicago? I say ditch it and sell it to me. IM from milw, wi. what color? or how about specs of the car is ur interested in selling!

 

VULTURES STAY AWAY GRRR