5 speed transmission woes
#1
5 speed transmission woes
Well, something is up with my 5 speed. I have 88K on my Max. Some miles were spirited but overall, I have taken extremely good care of the car. It had a small tranny leak when I bought the car. Well, Nissan supposedly changed the park/neutral switch when I took the car in for the leak. All seemed well until I switched to synthetic tranny oil 4 months later. The leaking started again. It was a little worse than before. I took the car in again within the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty on parts. They said this time it was the speed sensor leaking. I checked the car at home instead of having them do the work because something sounded a little fishy. I checked it out, and there was NO oil residue at all where the speed sensor was. The oil is coming from somewhere on the driver's side of the transaxle I think. All my boots look fine with no leaks. I can't tell for sure if the park/neutral switch is leaking again or not. Are there any other seals that could fail that would cause a leak like this? If my transmission needs rebuilding, wouldn't there be other signs of failure (i.e. obvious whining through the gears; not just 1st and 2nd)? Or can my tranny need rebuilding without providing any other signs? Please tell me what advice you do have ASAP. I am a little in the dark on this because I'm unsure of the problem. Thanks in advance.
Aaron
Aaron
#2
Re: 5 speed transmission woes
Originally posted by amb4081
Well, something is up with my 5 speed. I have 88K on my Max. Some miles were spirited but overall, I have taken extremely good care of the car. It had a small tranny leak when I bought the car. Well, Nissan supposedly changed the park/neutral switch when I took the car in for the leak. All seemed well until I switched to synthetic tranny oil 4 months later. The leaking started again. It was a little worse than before. I took the car in again within the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty on parts. They said this time it was the speed sensor leaking. I checked the car at home instead of having them do the work because something sounded a little fishy. I checked it out, and there was NO oil residue at all where the speed sensor was. The oil is coming from somewhere on the driver's side of the transaxle I think. All my boots look fine with no leaks. I can't tell for sure if the park/neutral switch is leaking again or not. Are there any other seals that could fail that would cause a leak like this? If my transmission needs rebuilding, wouldn't there be other signs of failure (i.e. obvious whining through the gears; not just 1st and 2nd)? Or can my tranny need rebuilding without providing any other signs? Please tell me what advice you do have ASAP. I am a little in the dark on this because I'm unsure of the problem. Thanks in advance.
Aaron
Well, something is up with my 5 speed. I have 88K on my Max. Some miles were spirited but overall, I have taken extremely good care of the car. It had a small tranny leak when I bought the car. Well, Nissan supposedly changed the park/neutral switch when I took the car in for the leak. All seemed well until I switched to synthetic tranny oil 4 months later. The leaking started again. It was a little worse than before. I took the car in again within the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty on parts. They said this time it was the speed sensor leaking. I checked the car at home instead of having them do the work because something sounded a little fishy. I checked it out, and there was NO oil residue at all where the speed sensor was. The oil is coming from somewhere on the driver's side of the transaxle I think. All my boots look fine with no leaks. I can't tell for sure if the park/neutral switch is leaking again or not. Are there any other seals that could fail that would cause a leak like this? If my transmission needs rebuilding, wouldn't there be other signs of failure (i.e. obvious whining through the gears; not just 1st and 2nd)? Or can my tranny need rebuilding without providing any other signs? Please tell me what advice you do have ASAP. I am a little in the dark on this because I'm unsure of the problem. Thanks in advance.
Aaron
#4
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5 speed tranny + Oil leak around the Drive axels = Bad Differential Bearings. Time for a tranny rebuild.
Nissan may try to change the seal to stop it but it will come back. Make sure you don't get screwed on your 1/12 warranty. Nissan knows these trannys go bad, and I'm sure they know exactly why your car is leaking too. If the service manager is a smart guy, he'll try to milk your car by replacing seals for you until the warranty is up. Then he'll hit you with a tranny rebuild.
Nissan may try to change the seal to stop it but it will come back. Make sure you don't get screwed on your 1/12 warranty. Nissan knows these trannys go bad, and I'm sure they know exactly why your car is leaking too. If the service manager is a smart guy, he'll try to milk your car by replacing seals for you until the warranty is up. Then he'll hit you with a tranny rebuild.
#6
Originally posted by njmaxseltd
5 speed tranny + Oil leak around the Drive axels = Bad Differential Bearings. Time for a tranny rebuild.
Nissan may try to change the seal to stop it but it will come back. Make sure you don't get screwed on your 1/12 warranty. Nissan knows these trannys go bad, and I'm sure they know exactly why your car is leaking too. If the service manager is a smart guy, he'll try to milk your car by replacing seals for you until the warranty is up. Then he'll hit you with a tranny rebuild.
5 speed tranny + Oil leak around the Drive axels = Bad Differential Bearings. Time for a tranny rebuild.
Nissan may try to change the seal to stop it but it will come back. Make sure you don't get screwed on your 1/12 warranty. Nissan knows these trannys go bad, and I'm sure they know exactly why your car is leaking too. If the service manager is a smart guy, he'll try to milk your car by replacing seals for you until the warranty is up. Then he'll hit you with a tranny rebuild.
The car drives fine. No excessive whining whatsoever. Just the tranny oil leak. It could still be the differential bearings?
#7
This might be a bit of work but you could consider wiping the tranny box really clean. From there, look to see (after a few days of driving) if there are signs of a trail of tranny fluid.
Good luck with the detective work & licking the problem!
Good luck with the detective work & licking the problem!
#8
Originally posted by StygianMax
This might be a bit of work but you could consider wiping the tranny box really clean. From there, look to see (after a few days of driving) if there are signs of a trail of tranny fluid.
Good luck with the detective work & licking the problem!
This might be a bit of work but you could consider wiping the tranny box really clean. From there, look to see (after a few days of driving) if there are signs of a trail of tranny fluid.
Good luck with the detective work & licking the problem!
I still had the question: If the differential bearings are bad, wouldn't I be able to tell from driving it? I mean, wouldn't there be excess noise or feel? Thanks for all your responses. I appreciate Maxima.org more and more every day.
Aaron
#9
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Originally posted by amb4081
If the differential bearings are bad, wouldn't I be able to tell from driving it? I mean, wouldn't there be excess noise or feel? Thanks for all your responses. I appreciate Maxima.org more and more every day.
Aaron
If the differential bearings are bad, wouldn't I be able to tell from driving it? I mean, wouldn't there be excess noise or feel? Thanks for all your responses. I appreciate Maxima.org more and more every day.
Aaron
In more extreme cases of bearing failure, the tranny could start to wine. This isn't always the case thou. Most of the bearing failures are noticed when the leak is discovered. It's the first sign that something isnt' right.
#10
Originally posted by njmaxseltd
If the bearings have started to wear down, your drive shafts become a little lose. When that happens, the excessive play causes the seal to fail. All seems fine except for the extra play which doesn't allow the seals to seal correctly. Replacing the seals may give you a few miles, but the leak will come right back.
In more extreme cases of bearing failure, the tranny could start to wine. This isn't always the case thou. Most of the bearing failures are noticed when the leak is discovered. It's the first sign that something isnt' right.
If the bearings have started to wear down, your drive shafts become a little lose. When that happens, the excessive play causes the seal to fail. All seems fine except for the extra play which doesn't allow the seals to seal correctly. Replacing the seals may give you a few miles, but the leak will come right back.
In more extreme cases of bearing failure, the tranny could start to wine. This isn't always the case thou. Most of the bearing failures are noticed when the leak is discovered. It's the first sign that something isnt' right.
#11
Originally posted by njmaxseltd
If the bearings have started to wear down, your drive shafts become a little lose. When that happens, the excessive play causes the seal to fail. All seems fine except for the extra play which doesn't allow the seals to seal correctly. Replacing the seals may give you a few miles, but the leak will come right back.
In more extreme cases of bearing failure, the tranny could start to wine. This isn't always the case thou. Most of the bearing failures are noticed when the leak is discovered. It's the first sign that something isnt' right.
If the bearings have started to wear down, your drive shafts become a little lose. When that happens, the excessive play causes the seal to fail. All seems fine except for the extra play which doesn't allow the seals to seal correctly. Replacing the seals may give you a few miles, but the leak will come right back.
In more extreme cases of bearing failure, the tranny could start to wine. This isn't always the case thou. Most of the bearing failures are noticed when the leak is discovered. It's the first sign that something isnt' right.
#12
Welcome to the club.
I discovered the tranny leaking at the driveaxel a month ago. Totally sucks. The reason why you noticed the oil leaking some more w/ the synthetic oil is because synthetic oil isn't as "thick" as the regular stuff so it seaps out more... and you will notice it leak more after driving alot or if the temprature is hot outside.
My tranny started to leak... then it started to whine... now it's even worst. I had it checked out, you're looking at $600-$800 in labor alone... unless you're comfortable w/ dropping the tranny yourself and getting it done. Let us know how things go, i'm just driving it as it is now, it's not so bad if i drive "normal"... sometimes you can't even notice the whining.
BTW- I have a 141k miles on my car. Differential bearings suck... whatever you do, just make sure you get the damn thing fixed the FIRST TIME AROUND, or you'll be ****ed a year down the road again.
I discovered the tranny leaking at the driveaxel a month ago. Totally sucks. The reason why you noticed the oil leaking some more w/ the synthetic oil is because synthetic oil isn't as "thick" as the regular stuff so it seaps out more... and you will notice it leak more after driving alot or if the temprature is hot outside.
My tranny started to leak... then it started to whine... now it's even worst. I had it checked out, you're looking at $600-$800 in labor alone... unless you're comfortable w/ dropping the tranny yourself and getting it done. Let us know how things go, i'm just driving it as it is now, it's not so bad if i drive "normal"... sometimes you can't even notice the whining.
BTW- I have a 141k miles on my car. Differential bearings suck... whatever you do, just make sure you get the damn thing fixed the FIRST TIME AROUND, or you'll be ****ed a year down the road again.
#13
My diff bearings went out on my '97 at 54K miles. Call Nissan at 1-800-nissan1 and they may help you out. There have been quite a few people on the .org with this problem. The oil leak on mine was on the divers side output axle shaft of the tranny. After the third axle seal replacement they opened the tranny to find the worn bearings.
#15
Originally posted by Curt Deiner
My diff bearings went out on my '97 at 54K miles. Call Nissan at 1-800-nissan1 and they may help you out. There have been quite a few people on the .org with this problem. The oil leak on mine was on the divers side output axle shaft of the tranny. After the third axle seal replacement they opened the tranny to find the worn bearings.
My diff bearings went out on my '97 at 54K miles. Call Nissan at 1-800-nissan1 and they may help you out. There have been quite a few people on the .org with this problem. The oil leak on mine was on the divers side output axle shaft of the tranny. After the third axle seal replacement they opened the tranny to find the worn bearings.
Aaron
#17
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Re: 5 speed transmission woes
Originally posted by amb4081
Well, something is up with my 5 speed. I have 88K on my Max. Some miles were spirited but overall, I have taken extremely good care of the car. It had a small tranny leak when I bought the car. Well, Nissan supposedly changed the park/neutral switch when I took the car in for the leak. All seemed well until I switched to synthetic tranny oil 4 months later. The leaking started again. It was a little worse than before. I took the car in again within the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty on parts. They said this time it was the speed sensor leaking. I checked the car at home instead of having them do the work because something sounded a little fishy. I checked it out, and there was NO oil residue at all where the speed sensor was. The oil is coming from somewhere on the driver's side of the transaxle I think. All my boots look fine with no leaks. I can't tell for sure if the park/neutral switch is leaking again or not. Are there any other seals that could fail that would cause a leak like this? If my transmission needs rebuilding, wouldn't there be other signs of failure (i.e. obvious whining through the gears; not just 1st and 2nd)? Or can my tranny need rebuilding without providing any other signs? Please tell me what advice you do have ASAP. I am a little in the dark on this because I'm unsure of the problem. Thanks in advance.
Aaron
Well, something is up with my 5 speed. I have 88K on my Max. Some miles were spirited but overall, I have taken extremely good care of the car. It had a small tranny leak when I bought the car. Well, Nissan supposedly changed the park/neutral switch when I took the car in for the leak. All seemed well until I switched to synthetic tranny oil 4 months later. The leaking started again. It was a little worse than before. I took the car in again within the 1 year/12,000 mile warranty on parts. They said this time it was the speed sensor leaking. I checked the car at home instead of having them do the work because something sounded a little fishy. I checked it out, and there was NO oil residue at all where the speed sensor was. The oil is coming from somewhere on the driver's side of the transaxle I think. All my boots look fine with no leaks. I can't tell for sure if the park/neutral switch is leaking again or not. Are there any other seals that could fail that would cause a leak like this? If my transmission needs rebuilding, wouldn't there be other signs of failure (i.e. obvious whining through the gears; not just 1st and 2nd)? Or can my tranny need rebuilding without providing any other signs? Please tell me what advice you do have ASAP. I am a little in the dark on this because I'm unsure of the problem. Thanks in advance.
Aaron
#19
Re: Re: 5 speed transmission woes
Originally posted by matty
Did you ever find out what was wrong with it ??? Did it ever start whinning through the gears ?? Stop leaking ??
Did you ever find out what was wrong with it ??? Did it ever start whinning through the gears ?? Stop leaking ??
#20
Re: Re: Re: 5 speed transmission woes
You should be able to check the level with the car on the ground. I didn't have any problem. Seems to me if it's not dripping, you'd be ok. Oils cheap right? Also I seem to recall in a post I think by the late great Daniel Martin that the use of an after market (not Nissan) park/neutral switch seals better. Maybe try some thread sealant. Teflon tape won't work well with oil, fyi.
#22
Originally posted by Dave B
Has anyone else seen the strong correlation between the manual tranny with synthetic oil and the seal/bearing failures?
Dave
Has anyone else seen the strong correlation between the manual tranny with synthetic oil and the seal/bearing failures?
Dave
#23
Originally posted by Dave B
Has anyone else seen the strong correlation between the manual tranny with synthetic oil and the seal/bearing failures?
Dave
Has anyone else seen the strong correlation between the manual tranny with synthetic oil and the seal/bearing failures?
Dave
#24
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Yea but you already had Nissan change that Park/Neutral switch already so thats prob not your culprit...The only real sign to Bearing Failure is a slight leak, or a whine in the tranny in 2nd and 3rd...now the thing is your still under warentee so wipe the case off, and bring it in the next day after about a 20 mile ride and let them look at it...if it the park neutral switch you can tell..if its leaking at the axel seal you can also tell
Im going through all this crap now with my LSD tranny off of an I-30...its a pain...but hopefully my bearings wont need to be done
Im feeling a rouf kind of exceleration through the gears, low end, the Jeff on LI at Maximum Tunning also said that may be bearings too
-Matt
Ill get it fixed
Im going through all this crap now with my LSD tranny off of an I-30...its a pain...but hopefully my bearings wont need to be done
Im feeling a rouf kind of exceleration through the gears, low end, the Jeff on LI at Maximum Tunning also said that may be bearings too
-Matt
Ill get it fixed
#25
Try to see if you can move the axle where it goes into the tranny. If you have any play, your bearings have failed. Been there, done that. Get it repaired, or the bearings will completely fail and float in the tranny and mess up your gears. I kept driving till they completely failed. They wound up flying out through the seal, pouring out all the fluid, and chipping my differential gear.
#26
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Skeelo34,
Did yours whine before you did them or it just started leaking ? I got my new tranny in my car now, I-30 LSD 63K miles on it, and the drivers side axel leaks at the seal...there is alittle play in there and I plan on just gettin the tranny opened up and done...Im going to get a new axel first jsut in case the guy ordered the wrong one...I have no whines...and I maybe drip a Dime size of oil over night. I dont think my bearings are bad...I think its a wrong axel and that seal still isnt in right cause there is no seal stopper on our trannys and easily messed up...the seal has been changed once so far
-Matt
Did yours whine before you did them or it just started leaking ? I got my new tranny in my car now, I-30 LSD 63K miles on it, and the drivers side axel leaks at the seal...there is alittle play in there and I plan on just gettin the tranny opened up and done...Im going to get a new axel first jsut in case the guy ordered the wrong one...I have no whines...and I maybe drip a Dime size of oil over night. I dont think my bearings are bad...I think its a wrong axel and that seal still isnt in right cause there is no seal stopper on our trannys and easily messed up...the seal has been changed once so far
-Matt
#27
Originally posted by matty
Skeelo34,
Did yours whine before you did them or it just started leaking ? I got my new tranny in my car now, I-30 LSD 63K miles on it, and the drivers side axel leaks at the seal...there is alittle play in there and I plan on just gettin the tranny opened up and done...Im going to get a new axel first jsut in case the guy ordered the wrong one...I have no whines...and I maybe drip a Dime size of oil over night. I dont think my bearings are bad...I think its a wrong axel and that seal still isnt in right cause there is no seal stopper on our trannys and easily messed up...the seal has been changed once so far
-Matt
Skeelo34,
Did yours whine before you did them or it just started leaking ? I got my new tranny in my car now, I-30 LSD 63K miles on it, and the drivers side axel leaks at the seal...there is alittle play in there and I plan on just gettin the tranny opened up and done...Im going to get a new axel first jsut in case the guy ordered the wrong one...I have no whines...and I maybe drip a Dime size of oil over night. I dont think my bearings are bad...I think its a wrong axel and that seal still isnt in right cause there is no seal stopper on our trannys and easily messed up...the seal has been changed once so far
-Matt
#29
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Im going to get a different axel just to make sure its not that...worse case, Ill have to have the thing rebuilt Im probably going to take the tranny out myself and bring it into a trans shop and make sure they know what there doing..only the diff carrier bearings need to be measured for preload ?? or all of them need to be measured ??
-Matt
-Matt
#30
Originally posted by matty
Im going to get a different axel just to make sure its not that...worse case, Ill have to have the thing rebuilt Im probably going to take the tranny out myself and bring it into a trans shop and make sure they know what there doing..only the diff carrier bearings need to be measured for preload ?? or all of them need to be measured ??
-Matt
Im going to get a different axel just to make sure its not that...worse case, Ill have to have the thing rebuilt Im probably going to take the tranny out myself and bring it into a trans shop and make sure they know what there doing..only the diff carrier bearings need to be measured for preload ?? or all of them need to be measured ??
-Matt
#32
Moderator who thinks he is better than us with his I30
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Very informative thread. I have had a small leak on my drivers side drive-axel seal for a few months. I recently found out that the seal has been replaced twice already. Reading this thread makes me conclude that my bearings may be going bad? Would my assumption be correct??
#33
Originally posted by I30tMikeD
Very informative thread. I have had a small leak on my drivers side drive-axel seal for a few months. I recently found out that the seal has been replaced twice already. Reading this thread makes me conclude that my bearings may be going bad? Would my assumption be correct??
Very informative thread. I have had a small leak on my drivers side drive-axel seal for a few months. I recently found out that the seal has been replaced twice already. Reading this thread makes me conclude that my bearings may be going bad? Would my assumption be correct??
#34
Moderator who thinks he is better than us with his I30
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Originally posted by skeelo34
If you have play in your shaft, then pretty likely.
If you have play in your shaft, then pretty likely.
#35
Originally posted by I30tMikeD
If indeed it is the bearings, when a friend of mine and I replace the cluth in the spring would it be much more work to replace the bearings as well??
If indeed it is the bearings, when a friend of mine and I replace the cluth in the spring would it be much more work to replace the bearings as well??
#36
Originally posted by matty
Yea but you already had Nissan change that Park/Neutral switch already so thats prob not your culprit...The only real sign to Bearing Failure is a slight leak, or a whine in the tranny in 2nd and 3rd...now the thing is your still under warentee so wipe the case off, and bring it in the next day after about a 20 mile ride and let them look at it...if it the park neutral switch you can tell..if its leaking at the axel seal you can also tell
Im going through all this crap now with my LSD tranny off of an I-30...its a pain...but hopefully my bearings wont need to be done
Im feeling a rouf kind of exceleration through the gears, low end, the Jeff on LI at Maximum Tunning also said that may be bearings too
-Matt
Ill get it fixed
Yea but you already had Nissan change that Park/Neutral switch already so thats prob not your culprit...The only real sign to Bearing Failure is a slight leak, or a whine in the tranny in 2nd and 3rd...now the thing is your still under warentee so wipe the case off, and bring it in the next day after about a 20 mile ride and let them look at it...if it the park neutral switch you can tell..if its leaking at the axel seal you can also tell
Im going through all this crap now with my LSD tranny off of an I-30...its a pain...but hopefully my bearings wont need to be done
Im feeling a rouf kind of exceleration through the gears, low end, the Jeff on LI at Maximum Tunning also said that may be bearings too
-Matt
Ill get it fixed
#37
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Posts: n/a
Originally posted by amb4081
True. I did have them change out the park neutral switch. If the bearing has failed, where are you saying the "slight leak" would come from? Because I do not see any oil around the drive axle boots at all. It is only on the bottom side of the case and a little on the driver's side, which to me indicates the park neutral switch is still leaking. It's already been discussed that that seal on that thing isn't the best in the world, right? Plus this same leak has been present since day 1 when I bought the car. That was at 46K miles in February of 2000. It is almost three years and 41K miles later. The tranny would not have lasted that long had the bearings been the culprit, correct?
True. I did have them change out the park neutral switch. If the bearing has failed, where are you saying the "slight leak" would come from? Because I do not see any oil around the drive axle boots at all. It is only on the bottom side of the case and a little on the driver's side, which to me indicates the park neutral switch is still leaking. It's already been discussed that that seal on that thing isn't the best in the world, right? Plus this same leak has been present since day 1 when I bought the car. That was at 46K miles in February of 2000. It is almost three years and 41K miles later. The tranny would not have lasted that long had the bearings been the culprit, correct?
#38
Originally posted by Ramius83
Bearings can fail at any time, so please don't think that mileage will have something to do with it. If you are noticing oil at the bottom of the casing, originating from the driver's side, most likely that differential bearing has failed. The leak would come from Driver's side CV axle input, where the axle goes into the transmission. The leak itself would NOT come from the CV axle boots, those are an entirely different thing.
Bearings can fail at any time, so please don't think that mileage will have something to do with it. If you are noticing oil at the bottom of the casing, originating from the driver's side, most likely that differential bearing has failed. The leak would come from Driver's side CV axle input, where the axle goes into the transmission. The leak itself would NOT come from the CV axle boots, those are an entirely different thing.
And what I meant earlier was, if all this time it has been the bearing failure since 2000, wouldn't the transmission have started to act much worse and failed after 3 years of driving and 40K miles? The driveability of the car does not seem any worse than before. Just traditional manual tranny whines in first and second.
#39
Originally posted by amb4081
There is not oil coming from anywhere near the drive axle. I will try to take a pic and post today. I have even tried the test of tugging a little on the drive axles and there is no play. I will investigate tonight since now I am very interested deteremining it is not the bearing.
And what I meant earlier was, if all this time it has been the bearing failure since 2000, wouldn't the transmission have started to act much worse and failed after 3 years of driving and 40K miles? The driveability of the car does not seem any worse than before. Just traditional manual tranny whines in first and second.
There is not oil coming from anywhere near the drive axle. I will try to take a pic and post today. I have even tried the test of tugging a little on the drive axles and there is no play. I will investigate tonight since now I am very interested deteremining it is not the bearing.
And what I meant earlier was, if all this time it has been the bearing failure since 2000, wouldn't the transmission have started to act much worse and failed after 3 years of driving and 40K miles? The driveability of the car does not seem any worse than before. Just traditional manual tranny whines in first and second.
#40
Originally posted by ericdwong
Yup sure would. Not only do you have to drop the tranny, you must open it and dissasemble most of it to get to the bearings.
Yup sure would. Not only do you have to drop the tranny, you must open it and dissasemble most of it to get to the bearings.
Motorvate.ca is an excellent reference for disassembling and reassembling your transmission. (I actually used that site instead of the FSM when I rebuilt mine, but I would recommend getting the FSM.)