That's between Haysam (PAR) and I. If you would like his contact information, I can definitely pass it along to you. He usually responds within 24-48 hours.
not looking for exact numbers. just a ball park to see if it's worth the trouble of getting in touch with them and ordering it. 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500?
I am resurrecting this thread. Huge shout out to James. You have been instrumental in this journey thus far. I've got 2 big builds going on . .
Cool deal man. I literally just logged on here for the first time in at least a year and a half and surprised to see my thread still on the front page here (I guess that says something about lack of 3rd gen activity more than anything lol). I'm glad my thread helped somebody out.
Why did you build two of them? It's been a few months since you posted, how'd they turn out?
James! Thanks for the reply. Answers to your questions:
1) one for the street car and the other for race car
2) Things are still not finalized and maybe you can help me with this- the main shafts are done (both). Differentials (gears and arp bolts) are done. I assembled the inputs shafts also and later realized that 3rd and 4th gears do not spin freely with the slider disengaged. I got swamped and raising a 5-year old by myself that I haven't taken a minute to figure out the issue. Haysam says it could be burrs or something catching to prevent them from spinning. After I do that, its time to shim. I am kind of dreading that too, grease, solder. Not to mention all the springs and pinballs. But then again, I have came this far with no transmission building experience. I need to finish the projects and with all the money spent, they need to be done right, 100%
On a side note, VG guys I am now producing a line of adjustable cam gears (VG30 & VG33). First batch done and heading to anodizing & black oxide tomorrow. $295 per set shipped-
Lmfao, yes! I am also building 2 VG engines and I did not want to put in OEM cam gears. Russ adjustable cam gears are no longer available. I took matters into my own hands. I have 4 sets available (had 10 produced). 2 for me and sold another 4 (yes, no bs).
Keep in mind these fit VG engines from other models
VG30 Maxima, 300ZX, Pathfinder, Quest, Hardbody, etc
VG33 Pathfinder, QX4, etc
If you are running an aftermarket cam (Schneider, JWT, etc), you want an adjustable cam gear. I figured I could get what I want and help out the 3rd gen / VG SOHC community while I am at it.
2) Things are still not finalized and maybe you can help me with this- the main shafts are done (both). Differentials (gears and arp bolts) are done. I assembled the inputs shafts also and later realized that 3rd and 4th gears do not spin freely with the slider disengaged. I got swamped and raising a 5-year old by myself that I haven't taken a minute to figure out the issue. Haysam says it could be burrs or something catching to prevent them from spinning. After I do that, its time to shim. I am kind of dreading that too, grease, solder. Not to mention all the springs and pinballs. But then again, I have came this far with no transmission building experience. I need to finish the projects and with all the money spent, they need to be done right, 100%
I have a notoriously horrible memory and had to read back through my own thread to refresh myself because I did remember having an issue with it not wanting to spin in gear once I put it all together. If you look at my post #85 (I'll quote below), that turned out to be my issue. You think yours could be something like this below?
Quote:
Originally Posted by James92SE
Did you get yours finished Dan?
Saturday, I just randomly had the thought to put the transmission into each gear and spin the input shaft to make sure there's no binding etc. prior to installing it in the actual car. I had long ago made sure the tranny goes into every gear and spins in neutral but hadn't thought to spin the input shaft IN each gear.
Unfortunately it turned out that in gear, the darn thing would only spin in 2nd. Even with some vice grips on the input shaft it would NOT spin in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or reverse. It would rotate about 1/8 turn and just "clank" like it was hitting a wall.
I shot Haysam at PAR an e-mail Saturday night about it asking if he had any ideas and he wrote me back immediately that it sounded like the 1st/2nd slide collar deal must be touching the reverse idler gear - meaning that when you select 2nd gear, the slider moves away from the idler and thus there is no contact.
So I pulled the case back off and nope definitely no interference with the reverse idler gear. Although I was actually kind of relieved because if the slide collar deal actually touched the idler gear then I would just be SOL using this gearset, and also would have been annoyed at myself for not noticing it was interfering when assembling it.
I e-mailed him back late Saturday night that there was no interference and asked if he had anything else I should look for. He again nearly immediately wrote back that he had two ideas - no end play on the gear(s) or a "jammed" 2nd gear synchro. I knew I had enough end play so the 2nd gear synchro seemed like the culprit at that point.
Sunday I pulled the mainshaft out and noticed that I couldn't get 2nd gear to spin at all. Argh. So I disassembled the mainshaft again and sure enough the stupid three piece 2nd gear synchro deal was jammed together (that silver ring was stuck inside the outside synchro ring and wouldn't spin). I actually had to use a hammer and flat head to get them back apart.
Here's a picture of the offender. The synchro setup here has three parts. The outside brass ring, the middle silver ring, and then the innermost brass piece. Those three tabs on the silver ring actually sit into holes on 2nd gear itself - so this silver ring needs to be able to rotate independently of the brass part(s). This is what was preventing 2nd gear from spinning - the silver ring was "jammed" into the brass synchro so tight that 2nd gear wouldn't spin even with vice grips!
After I got them apart, I just put it right back together with some fresh gear oil for lube and them immediately re-assembled the mainshaft and put the whole transmission back together. All is fine and dandy now and input shaft is able to rotate in every gear. Pretty amazing that a "stuck" synchro can prevent the entire transmission from rotating.
I have to really commend Haysam for repeatedly answering me back immediately this weekend. It was my Saturday night but for him in Australia it was his Sunday. Had he not been so prompt getting back to me on a Sunday (for him) I probably wouldn't have suspected that 2nd gear synchro setup on my own - especially since I know it was assembled correctly.
So definite lesson learned. Make sure all your synchro cones/gears spin freely before putting the entire transmission back together.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a 1990 Pulsar GTi-R that uses most of the same gearbox internals as the early manual Maximas with RS5F50A gearbox. I am getting the box rebuilt right now and cannot seem to come up with the reverse idler thrust washers. OEM part nos. 32286-79E00 and 32286-79E10. Have you guys come up with a solution for these? Thanks in advance.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a 1990 Pulsar GTi-R that uses most of the same gearbox internals as the early manual Maximas with RS5F50A gearbox. I am getting the box rebuilt right now and cannot seem to come up with the reverse idler thrust washers. OEM part nos. 32286-79E00 and 32286-79E10. Have you guys come up with a solution for these? Thanks in advance.
I did not replace these and didn't even ever consider it. I can't imagine those, under almost any normal circumstance, being damaged or worn enough to need replacing.
Why are you needing those thrust washers specifically? Are you building a box from scratch and/or are yours totally missing?
I did not replace these and didn't even ever consider it. I can't imagine those, under almost any normal circumstance, being damaged or worn enough to need replacing.
Why are you needing those thrust washers specifically? Are you building a box from scratch and/or are yours totally missing?
I am having it rebuilt by a transmission shop. They had asked me to source them because they could not get them. So I am not really sure of the condition of the ones in the box. It spun a bearing in the case and had a bent shift fork (3/4 fork I think), in addition to the 2nd gear synchro being toast. So I had to get a new (used) case half for it as well.
I am having it rebuilt by a transmission shop. They had asked me to source them because they could not get them. So I am not really sure of the condition of the ones in the box. It spun a bearing in the case and had a bent shift fork (3/4 fork I think), in addition to the 2nd gear synchro being toast. So I had to get a new (used) case half for it as well.
Well if they're needing you to get those, find out why. Getting new OEM is almost certainly not going to happen under any circumstance. I just checked and they're not even available through Amayama.
If yours are just too damaged and/or missing and thus a used set would suffice then you are much more likely to be in luck and I might even have a spare set in one of my extra transmissions that I could sell you.
What’s the check ball sequence and how many ***** are they?
How many check ***** does the box carry and where are they all located and in what sequence. I had rebuilt one of these boxes but didn’t check the check ball sequence I’m in need of help I think that could be the reason the car wouldn’t change gear .
I recently rebuilt one of these boxes got it working and sold the car to a guy.
he was rough to the car launching a lot and broke the pressure plate.
It wouldn’t go into gear now I picked it down and saw very fine metal shaving inside from the input shaft bearing So I changed then.
I rebuilt it and before I closed the box it was going into gear but 1st and 2nd was somewhat iffy to find but now it’s closed again it’s still not going into gear it would go over to the 5th and reverse slot but wouldn’t move to select and it doesn’t go into the first slot at all .
It's well known that Nissan used the RS5F50 series transmission on a ton of cars in from the 90's through early 2000's.
The VE 5 speed had the RS5F50V transmission - V indicating locking differential.
The 4th gen and 5th gen Maxima 5 speed had the RS5F50A transmission - A indicating open differential. It's my understanding the Canadian spec 4th gen had the RS5F50V and that it was an option on USDM Infiniti I30's.
It's long been assumed that the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gens had identical transmission internals but with different bellhousings and transmission cases.
Anyway -
As some of you probably know, my blue VE is boosted and I cracked a ringland last year. So I put the car down while I rebuilt the engine. I finished my engine rebuild a couple months back - forged internals and the works. I'm going for much higher (and more reliable) power this time. So to match my new stout engine I've been looking into beefing up the transmission for about 6 months now.
Having said all that, the RS5F50A/V is used in a lot of global Nissan cars as well. The GTiR is a very popularly modded car in Australia and there is huge aftermarket support for it over there. Several companies make built gearsets for the GTiR - particularly PPG and PAR Engineering.
Because of that, it's been a well known and long time mod here - particularly for the boosted 4th gen guys - to swap in beefed up aftermarket 3rd and 4th gears designed for the GTiR. Unfortunately, the entire gearset wasn't a swap because the GTiR and Maxima have different reverse gear setups meaning if you swapped 1st and 2nd gear for a GTiR into the Maxima, the Maxima would have no reverse.
To solve that lack of reverse issue, a boosted Canadian user here back in 2008 had PAR Engineering build a complete custom ($$$$$) Maxima-specific 1-4 gearset for his 4th gen. This set came with the proper Maxima-specific input shaft that would allow the Maxima to actually have a reverse gear.
So here is where my quest comes in -
Earlier this year, I had been reading up on old bookmarked threads, scouring the interwebz, etc to confirm that the 3rd gen and 4th/5th gen share identical internals so I could see about beefing up my VE 5 speed transmission. As stated it's long been assumed the 3rd and 4th gen share identical transmissions other than the case and bellhousing.
I pulled up parts diagrams for the 3rd gen, 4th gen, and 5th gen and compared them all with their part numbers side by side by side.
It turns out the 3rd gen is identical to the 4th/5th gen EXCEPT for the reverse gear setup. Everything else between 3rd, 4th, and 5th gen 5 speeds appears to use identical part numbers. The 3rd gen has two reverse idler gears, whereas the 4th/5th gen only has one. Interestingly, the GTiR also has two reverse idler gears - which is the sole reason the entire GTiR setup will NOT work on the 4th/5th gen.
So of course this got me wondering how similar the 3rd gen and GTiR might be.
I cracked open my one of my spare VE 5 speed transmissions and took about a gazillion detailed photos of it and e-mailed the photos to Haysam at PAR who was able to confirm that the VE 5 speed and GTiR share identical internals!
Now why is this cool? This is cool because this means us 3rd gen guys can use OFF THE SHELF complete GTiR gearsets from PAR, PPG, or even Quaife, and not have to deal with prohibitively expensive custom one-off designs. Of course, many would say even off-the-shelf gearsets are prohibitively expensive. These gearsets are about twice the cost of shop rebuilds ($3k). So I guess one way to look at it is that if you blow up your stock transmission while boosted and require 2 or more rebuilds that these built gearsets will have paid for themselves. At least, that's how I'm justifying it lol.
Fast forward to now and I have bought a complete off the shelf straight-cut synchromesh 1-4 GTiR gearset from PAR in Australia (just a hair over $3k shipped right now with the exchange rate - considerably LESS expensive than it used to be). After some debate back and forth I decided to go with the straight cut and keep factory 5th gear – the helical cut gears tend to just send all the forces outwards to the case which makes you prone to breaking the transmission case itself, and keeping factory 5th gear means I won’t have annoying gear whine while cruising. It actually took 3 full months from the date I paid/ordered to arrival at my door – because even though it was an “off the shelf” item, I still had to wait in their production queue.
Spent this past weekend putting it all together and all the GTiR stuff fits like a glove, just as Haysam assured me. Here’s how the PAR stuff looked the day it arrived on Labor Day:
As you can see, in addition to the 1-4 gears, PAR also sends a complete new beefed up input shaft. PAR’s beefed up input shaft has needle rollers for 3rd, 4th, and 5th unlike stock.
I ordered a complete rebuild kit (all seals, bearings, synchros) from American Powertrain Warehouse. I’m very impressed with this kit, it was only $230 shipped and much to my surprise some of the synchros were OEM Nissan still in Nissan packaging. All of the bearings were identical to the OEM units – legit Japanese Nachi, etc. I priced all of these parts from Nissan (again, keep in mind these are the IDENTICAL bearings to Nissan) and it was $625 from Nissan for everything American Powertrain Warehouse sent me.
Their RS5F50V kit for the VE is part number BK182EWS and even includes the strike rod seal, axle seals and input shaft seal.
Surprisingly, I was able to do the entire job using just my press, the $30 “large” bearing splitter from Harbor Freight (which I already had and have used a bunch of times previously and am shocked it hasn't broken on me yet), and some combinations of a normal large 2 jaw puller and an old school ball joint/tie rod separator.
Here are some pics of the process, starting on the input shaft –
New PAR input shaft laid out with new synchros/bearings ready to go on (everything here went on real easy and didn’t even need the press except for the bearings):
How many check ***** does the box carry and where are they all located and in what sequence. I had rebuilt one of these boxes but didn’t check the check ball sequence I’m in need of help I think that could be the reason the car wouldn’t change gear .
I recently rebuilt one of these boxes got it working and sold the car to a guy.
he was rough to the car launching a lot and broke the pressure plate.
It wouldn’t go into gear now I picked it down and saw very fine metal shaving inside from the input shaft bearing So I changed then.
I rebuilt it and before I closed the box it was going into gear but 1st and 2nd was somewhat iffy to find but now it’s closed again it’s still not going into gear it would go over to the 5th and reverse slot but wouldn’t move to select and it doesn’t go into the first slot at all .
Sorry man I have no idea at all. This was some years back and I can't remember the internal details with any certainty
How many check ***** does the box carry and where are they all located and in what sequence. I had rebuilt one of these boxes but didn’t check the check ball sequence I’m in need of help I think that could be the reason the car wouldn’t change gear .
There are five of them on the selector rail (marked in red). Along with a couple plungers and spring. There are two with springs that go into the gearbox housing, which are marked in blue.
Yep, I'm aware - which is why I was really debating it for a week or two. I did a lot of YouTube searching for straight cut gear whine and really wasn't too fond of a lot of it.
Haysam at PAR was actually strongly encouraging the straight cut, and told me that their "new technology" manufacturing practices on their straight cut gears are actually surprisingly quiet. He said my exhaust will almost surely be louder than the gears. In fact, he said many ricers actually are DISAPPOINTED in how (relatively) quiet they are and complain they aren't loud enough! It was unbeknownst to me until I started researching into this stuff online that a lot of ricers actually seek out and desire loud straight cut gear whine.
So I ended up figuring that having some 1-4 whine is better than having to potentially tear everything back down later on over a cracked case. l purposely kept factory 5th though so that once I'm in 5th/cruising/daily driving it should be totally quiet.
Hmmmm. Thanks for the heads up on the shims. That's surprising about the shims being on forever back order. You'd think they would be so often needed that Nissan would ensure there is always a good supply of them.
The transmission I'm using for this build is one I had rebuilt here locally about 10 years ago ($1,200) on my original black VE 5 speed. Stupidly, I managed to crack the bell-housing on it when I was re-installing it one day for some reason (I started tightening down one of the bolts not realizing the dowel wasn't totally lined up) and it cracked right across the bellhousing.
So it's been sitting on a shelf for years ever since. I actually bought a replacement bellhousing for it years ago from somebody here, nearly certain it was CapedCadaver but can't remember 100%. So I'm actually piecing this all together between my old transmission and Caped's parts he sent me. The old synchros and stuff I pulled out had noooo noticeable wear or anything on them though, so the shop must have at least replaced those on the rebuild I mention above. I did notice the main shaft bearings had NO shims whatsoever though. I wonder if it really truly didn't need them or if the place that rebuilt this trans back 10 years ago was just lazy. I'm betting on the latter.
I really bet 9 times out of 10, when people pay for a rebuild at a shop, the shop literally only replaces just the bad/broken part and slaps it back together.
I hope I don't run into a forever wait on shims. You got any links or part numbers handy for the McMaster shims? I have a buddy into domestic stuff and he assures me that universal shim "kits" are somewhat universally available but I haven't really stumbled across any.
They sent you an actual snap ring with that front input shaft bearing? They didn't send me a ring, but I did notice the groove in the bearing unlike the OEM one. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it and figured it's somewhat irrelevant. I just positioned the bearing with the stamped text of the race facing the same was as the old one
I have a 1995 maxima, and I did a piston ring job. Would you happen to know if 2 of the 6 cylinders are at 125 and 135 psi instead of 142 whether the engine would start or not? I have spark, I'm using starter fluid. I have cylinders 1, 3, 5 at 160, 150, 150 psi respectively; but cylinders 2, 4, and 6 at 125, 145, and 135
I have a 1995 maxima, and I did a piston ring job. Would you happen to know if 2 of the 6 cylinders are at 125 and 135 psi instead of 142 whether the engine would start or not? I have spark, I'm using starter fluid. I have cylinders 1, 3, 5 at 160, 150, 150 psi respectively; but cylinders 2, 4, and 6 at 125, 145, and 135
You probably want to post your question in the 4th gen (95-99) section, but your situation isn't really gen specific. Your car should start (and run) relatively no problem with low compression in 2 cylinders. One of my 3rd gens has two dead cylinders and still runs and drives fine, albeit down on acceleration power.
Although, your compression looks low to me across the board which may be a bigger issue than just the two lowest ones. I'm not a VQ expert but I'd expect/hope to see ~180 PSI in each cylinder. The fact that ALL your cylinders are low is noteworthy.
You probably want to post your question in the 4th gen (95-99) section, but your situation isn't really gen specific. Your car should start (and run) relatively no problem with low compression in 2 cylinders. One of my 3rd gens has two dead cylinders and still runs and drives fine, albeit down on acceleration power.
Although, your compression looks low to me across the board which may be a bigger issue than just the two lowest ones. I'm not a VQ expert but I'd expect/hope to see ~180 PSI in each cylinder. The fact that ALL your cylinders are low is noteworthy.
Yeah, I try to keep it in order, I clicked on a 4th gen thread on Google from 2005, somehow I ended up here. I was a bit confused. But I got more help from you than from 4th gen. I had no luck there. As you can see on my prev. post I did a ring job, and I've been told until the engine breaks in, I may have lower compression. It's good to know your 3rd gen starts w/ 2 dead cylinders so I can rule that out. Thanks.
