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Old 06-04-2011, 03:43 PM
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here we go again



so i dont know if anyone remembers, but last July-ish i thought i blew my trans up. it was revving bad in 1st and revving on downshifts. ATF was low, added some and it went back to being fine. then, in August i switched it to Royal Purple ATF

so since then everythings been fine, rear engine seal has a leak and trans housing has a light sweat so i check the fluid every week or two. i even got my boss to check it last week because im paranoid and he said its good.

so i havent driven it since Monday, everything was good until about 3 blocks from the house then it felt like a MAJOR missfire, shaking and bogging and would lag giving it gas and downshifting. went home, added 1/4 liter of ATF, and everything is fine.

but, checking the fluid level, the fluid is heavy until a half inch below the HOT line, then it gets lighter, but the fluid stops reading about a inch over the top of the HOT line.

so WTF is going on? why is it reading past the full line, but adding fluid stops the low fluid symptoms? i'm going to check it in a hour again but i cant figure this out. thanks for any help
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Old 06-04-2011, 04:10 PM
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drop the pan and see if it's full of metal shavings........those sound like something's wrong with your engine not trans....

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Old 06-04-2011, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by CMax03
drop the pan and see if it's full of metal shavings........
i just cant figure out why the fluid is reading so weird, but it was dropped last August and everything was perfect

if the fluid doesnt read right later i'm just going to take it in
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Old 06-04-2011, 04:14 PM
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distrib tight?
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Old 06-04-2011, 04:40 PM
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swap to a manual and live easier.
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Old 06-04-2011, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by chrome91
i just cant figure out why the fluid is reading so weird, but it was dropped last August and everything was perfect

if the fluid doesnt read right later i'm just going to take it in
is that so..?


Originally Posted by CMax03
drop the pan and see if it's full of metal shavings........those sound like something's wrong with your engine not trans....
that would be hard to do since the pan is on top of the transmission...
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Old 06-04-2011, 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Greeny
is that so..?




that would be hard to do since the pan is on top of the transmission...
lift, drop, remove and take a peek.....d**k! It's a figure of speech!
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Old 06-04-2011, 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by CMax03
lift, drop, remove and take a peek.....d**k! It's a figure of speech!
point is, you're not gonna find shiet in a transmission pan that faces UP...

as far as the dik comment goes...have a week off to re-examine your approach to my posts from now on...i didn't attack you in any way, just stating an important fact surrounding your post...
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Old 06-04-2011, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Matt93SE
swap to a manual and live easier.
call me weird but i prefer auto. either way, if i need a new trans i'm just going to get a new engine at the same time and get a S13 or something in the meantime, hopefully i can save this trans though

Originally Posted by Greeny
is that so..?
yeah the engine was out at the same time too, thats when the leak and crankshaft issues were found but the trans/TQ converter were drained and filled with new fluid. but with 429,000km on each i cant complain

anywho thanks for the help, i'll bugger around with it more tomorrow
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Old 06-04-2011, 08:10 PM
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Damn Greeny.. you're turning into me.....
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Old 06-04-2011, 08:20 PM
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buying a 2nd car 1979 Celica-Supra, 2dr 5spd. low mileage, all 6 new injectors, no rust, timing belt done, EVERYTHING. going Wednesday

3rd gen will be sitting in the garage for a new engine/trans in the meantime





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Old 06-04-2011, 09:23 PM
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if I get the cressida running, it'll smoke your heavy old corolla, anyday


not a bad find, though, looks pretty clean.
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Old 06-04-2011, 09:29 PM
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i cant drive stick though

im sure it'll be fine, hes gonna drop it off. i'm just going to go to the mall or Wally land parking lot late and teach myself. some people on a local forum will probably show up and teach me too

son your Cressida is auto, youre gonna see this MK1 Celica going sideways allover

now, how to get Sparco's in it
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Old 06-04-2011, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by chrome91
call me weird but i prefer auto. either way, if i need a new trans i'm just going to get a new engine at the same time and get a S13 or something in the meantime, hopefully i can save this trans though
as long as you keep poly mounts on it, a 5spd 3rd gen is actually very agreeable to drive... not like my WRX with its brick hard clutch pedal and baulky shifter..
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Old 06-05-2011, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by chrome91
i cant drive stick though

im sure it'll be fine, hes gonna drop it off. i'm just going to go to the mall or Wally land parking lot late and teach myself. some people on a local forum will probably show up and teach me too

son your Cressida is auto, youre gonna see this MK1 Celica going sideways allover

now, how to get Sparco's in it
was auto, child. was auto.
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Old 06-05-2011, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by BenStoked
was auto, child. was auto.



but i get a rear hatch with a wiper

Max will get a new trans later in the year with a new engine. probably a VE 5spd, dont want to bugger with another GXE trans. impressed mine lasted to such a high mileage (and the trans still works really) but why Nissan would put a trans made for a 4 cylinder in a torquey V6 i dont know
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Old 06-05-2011, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by CapedCadaver
as long as you keep poly mounts on it, a 5spd 3rd gen is actually very agreeable to drive... not like my WRX with its brick hard clutch pedal and baulky shifter..
can you explain in a lil more detail wut u mean about that poly comment, are you implying you get a tighter ride or somthin, what xactly is agreeable bout drivin it thanks!

Originally Posted by chrome91


but i get a rear hatch with a wiper

Max will get a new trans later in the year with a new engine. probably a VE 5spd, dont want to bugger with another GXE trans. impressed mine lasted to such a high mileage (and the trans still works really) but why Nissan would put a trans made for a 4 cylinder in a torquey V6 i dont know
sounds like rly cool plans for da max! youve always been a vg guy right? or am i wrong..regardless gonna b cool to have another VE'er
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Old 06-05-2011, 01:11 PM
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yeah but ive never been in a VE 3rd gen so im biased, but 160hp/183tq was nice. gonna be weird now going to 110hp/134tq but its still got a straight 6 so im sure it'll be nice

i just want a better trans in the max, im not hard on it but i do normally get it to 3000-4000rpm every shift. otherwise im easy on it, stop all the way before shifting, use the Ebrake parking, etc
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Old 06-05-2011, 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by BklynsmoeVE
can you explain in a lil more detail wut u mean about that poly comment, are you implying you get a tighter ride or somthin, what xactly is agreeable bout drivin it thanks!
well, the problem i always had with mine was that the drivetrain would bounce around alot, when shifting, or when getting on and off the gas at low speeds. the stiffer the mounts are, the less stuff moves, and the more comfortably the car behaves, at the expense of a mostly negligible increase in vibration at idle (thanks to having a 6cyl and not a 4cyl)

by agreeable, i mean the shifter's not too awkward to use, the clutch is not too stiff and not too soft, the engine has enough lowend torque so you don't have to keep the rpms up all the time, and the steering is light enough to where you can steer the car with one hand, and the cabled gas pedal gives nice feedback.

by contrast.. with my WRX..
  • the clutch pedal is brick hard
  • the drive by wire gas pedal feels numb
  • the steering is too stiff to safely steer the car with 1 hand
  • the shifter is baulky between shifts (possibly just need new tranny fluid tho)
  • turbo lag hurts lowend power, then takes off like a rocket above 3500rpm

and the Civic I had...
  • clutch pedal was too soft
  • gas pedal was LK
  • steering was a bit too stiff/slow but survivable
  • grinded 3rd gear alot, and felt like a bearing was going out
  • no power until 4000rpm so any acceleration had to include a downshift, and alot of RPM
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Old 06-05-2011, 02:14 PM
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i'll take a video of nc90gxe's car in a bit... we put reinforcements on his motor mounts, but still need to do something about his trans mounts (one's busted like whoa)
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Old 06-05-2011, 05:14 PM
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yeah the mounts seem like a good idea, something i can do as well. not going to touch much on the Supra unless i can get coilovers, driving the Max so low is already terrible in the city.
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Old 06-06-2011, 02:19 AM
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Originally Posted by CapedCadaver
as long as you keep poly mounts on it, a 5spd 3rd gen is actually very agreeable to drive.....
3rd gen maxima is the best feeling manual 5 speed I've ever driven,but thats a short list...

starting with a mid 80s 5 m\t mazda 626 i bought for 800 to learn on myself
but had to give the car back to the dealer because they lost the paperwork?

then my chinese delivery job for 6 years were spent shifting
3 different 5 m\t mid 90s toyota basic pickups ,company cars
(the box seemed simple and robust, close to my cars feel)
funny,every time we got new drivers they would kill the clutch i see them parking and
just know they didnt realize our company cars were manual shift when they applied
but werent gonna let that get in the way of a new job.
also im bet the shop was just replacing the disk and re-using the pressure plate

and for a while i delivered napa autoparts and sometimes drove their
late 90's? iirc ,chevy s-10 pickup 5 m\t
(i felt that the pedal engaged way up high which i didnt like
and the shifter was weird like close between gears?)

my 93 nissan truck i had was a vg30 and 5 m\t which was decent feeling
other than sometimes hard to move into first and lower gearing

test drove clean a ve 5 speed way back when i had some money
and wanted to steal that bish

Last edited by maximagician; 06-06-2011 at 02:47 AM.
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