Hi to everyone! I bought a 93 GXE for the wife the other day and up till now have been driving it all over, no issues. Today I attempted slightly advancing the timing(motor felt a little "soft" right off idle). Well, when I got in the car, I put it in reverse and it engaged like normal, but when I gave it a little gas to back out of the driveway it popped out of gear! So anyways I pushed it out of the driveway, drove it around some. It did go into reverse a few more times, but popped back out when I gave it gas. Driving it, it revs up to about 4000(giving it just a little gas) bypasses 2nd gear entirely and goes straight to 3rd. It won't go into OD either, if I use the OD lockout, it will drive down the road fine in 3rd, but as soon as I push the button, it just freespins(revs), when I push the button back in it immediatly grabs 3rd again. What gives?! I even disconnected the battery for about an hour to reset the computer, thinking I had somehow pissed it off. Help Please!

 

i would check the fluid but if its fine theres a good chance it will need to be rebiult it sounds like the 2nd and OD clutches are gone the same exact thing happen in my parents villager but reverse 1st and 3rd still worked

rebiulds typicaly cost between $1500 and 2k

 

i think the tranny is almost shot. i had a similar problem before.....mine was getting stuck in 2nd or 3rd gear, i had to pull over, turn the engine off for about 5min then it runs fine again. i finally took it to the tranny shop.

 

The local tranny shop quoted me $2000 to rebuild tranny....I still wonder if it isn't an electrical problem somehow....I had just driven the car 100 miles or so this morning and it was working perfectly, and then it just quits? Has anyone ever worked on the solenoids? It still shifts, but now it just goes from 1st to 3rd....

 

what happenes if you floor it in 1st does it shift to 3rd or does it just bouce the rev limiter

if it bouces the rev limiter then your second gear is gone

if it shifts straight into 3rd then it could be an electrical issue

im putting my money on a rebiuld

also how long ago did you buy it how many miles are on the car and did you check the fluid

 

Bought it monday from the original owner, 217,000 , and the fluid is red and smells like it just came out of the bottle.

 

wow if its the original trans thats alot of miles most die around 150k

and your not the first to come on here with a week old max that the auto trans took a dump its posible that the previous owner started experiencing problems and quickly sold it before it dyed completly

i dont have any other sugestions

 

Would a tranny from a 95 work?

 

nope

according to this http://www.car-part.com/
you can only use one from 89 to 93

i would suggest getting it rebiult over getting used but either way get one with the longest warrenty posible if you plan on keeping the car for awhile

i put a used one in my parents villager that supposidly had 88k and it only lasted about 8 months/ 10k miles problem was it only came with a 6month/6k warrenty so there went 500$ down the drain

 

Well, $2000 is out of the question, just don't have it. I did a part search last nite thru www.junkyarddog.com and got quite a few responses this afternoon, the best being for $575 shipped with a 90 day guarantee. The tranny has 88k on it, so hopefully it will last for a while. This is the best i've found so far.

 

oh, and on a side note, the timing must have really been off, because now there is absolutely no hesitation, great acceleration, and the gas mileage seems to be better even without the overdrive(yes I am still driving the car!)

 

Automatic Transmission Self-Test for 3rd gen Maxima

1 - Start engine and warm it up to normal engine
operating temperature.
2 - Turn ignition switch to "OFF" position.
3 - Set A/T mode switch to "Auto" position.
4 - Set overdrive switch to "ON" position.
5 - Move selector lever to "P" position.
6 - Turn ignition to "ON" position. (Do not start engine.)
7 - Does power indicator lamp come on for about 2 seconds?

If no 2 second light, check A/T control unit.

If power indicator lamp comes on for 2 seconds, do next test.

1 - Move selector lever to "D" position while depressing
brake pedal.
2 - Turn ignition switch to "OFF" position.
3 - Set overdrive switch to "OFF" position.
4 - Turn ignition switch "ON" (Do not start engine) and
wait at least 2 seconds.
5 - Move selector lever to "2" position.
6 - Set overdrive switch to "ON" position.
7 - Move selector lever to "1" position.
8 - Set overdrive switch to "OFF" position.
9 - Depress accelerator pedal fully and release it.
10 - Check power indicator lamp for flashing pattern.

The light will do a series of 10 flashes, watch for a flash
that is longer than the others.

No flashes - Inhibitor switch, overdrive switch or throttle position switch
is disconnected or the A/T control unit is damaged.

All flashes the same - self diagnostics ran OK.

Flash 1 longer - Revolution sensor circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 2 longer - Vehicle speed sensor circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 3 longer - Throttle position sensor circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 4 longer - Shift solenoid valve "A" circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 5 longer - Shift solenoid valve "B" circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 6 longer - Overrun clutch solenoid valve circuit shorted or
disabled.
Flash 7 longer - Torque converter clutch solenoid circuit shorted or
disabled.
Flash 8 longer - Fluid temperature sensor is disconnected or
A/T control unit power source circuit is damaged.
Flash 9 longer - Engine speed signal circuit shorted or disabled.
Flash 10 longer - Line pressure solenoid valve circuit shorted or
disabled.

 

are you going to be replacing the trans if not you figure theres proboly 300-400$ labor for the swap and like i said your taking a big risk on buying a used trans with only a 90day warrenty ive also read others on here that have put used trans in and then they die quickly and unexpectidly but then theres a chance that it would last 150k so its your call

if it still drives fine and doesnt bother you i would just drive it into the ground and then get rid of it

 

Ran the test yesterday, no flags.

 

yeah I know about taking the chance, that happens with anything used....if the car still had reverse, I probably wouldn't really worry so much, but the idea of my wife pushing the car out of a parking space doesn't appeal to me either. So far as the labor goes, my neighbor and I will be doing the job, between the 2 of us we have way more than the necessary resources.