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What are the warning signs of a dying tranny?

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Old Apr 13, 2006 | 12:28 PM
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What are the warning signs of a dying tranny?

I'm at 139K miles on mine. Just wanna know how many more miles I can expect.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 12:38 PM
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on a manual

popping out of gear - syncros
noise when letting out clutch, either imput shaft bearing or throwout bearing
leaking axle seals, bad diff bearings

not sure on an auto though
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 12:52 PM
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got 160k on my manual. no problems.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 12:53 PM
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On an automatic:

"Slipping" into gear (revving without moving forward) usually means you don't have much time. Best indicator is the condition of your transmission fluid; should be pink, if its brown or grey and/or smells burnt then you may have a problem. Our automatics are fairly bulletproof as long as you change your fluid regularly (mine has 225,000 miles on it!). On cars with forced induction (Supercharger, turbocharger, nitrous) they might not hold up quite so well.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by MaxKlinger
On an automatic:
....On cars with forced induction (Supercharger, turbocharger, nitrous) they might not hold up quite so well.
My auto tranny got rebuilt last year (owned the car since August '97) in July 2005. I forgot to record the mileage when I had the SC kit put in but it was installed October 2000. Total miles on the car at time of rebuild: 69410 (or 111,700kms). Averaged out that would be 8668 miles/yr (13,950kms/yr).
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 03:43 PM
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I had a 94 altima GXE 5 spd, the tranny showed signs of going out at about 150k then at 160k the syncro for 3rd and 4th went out I got another 40k out of it just driving with 1st 2nd and 5th i used to call it 1,2,5.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 05:57 PM
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HallKemar
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201k on the dash. 72k under the hood !
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by HallKemar
201k on the dash. 72k under the hood !
that's a bad estimate. I have 243K on my '96 5-spd and there hasn't been any problems yet. It whines alot more than it used to, but I expect it to keep going.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 07:09 PM
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it all depends, there's not set number. My first one lasted somewhere into the 90k mile range, put in a used one, it was done in 20k miles. Both times it was the bearings, and the 3rd gear synchro was going on the first trans too
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 07:44 PM
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On my 5psd, pretty much right after I bought the car the whole tranny case cracked and starting dumping out gear oil. The guy that owned it before me obviously beat the living hell out of it. My new one has approx. 140,000 miles and still feels great.
Old Apr 13, 2006 | 07:46 PM
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mine is making a loud clickin noise that turns into a whine as the revs rise. it also knocks in neutral with the clutch engaged. im at 60k and i dont think mine is gonna last much longer
Old Apr 14, 2006 | 03:07 AM
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Originally Posted by NISMO808
I'm at 139K miles on mine. Just wanna know how many more miles I can expect.
Most of the time, the differential carrier bearings spall (it means the rolling surfaces of steel start to flake off). If you do a gear oil change, look for silvery tiny flakes of steel in the bottom of the drain pan. There is a magnet inside that's supposed to collect the flakes, but it doesn't take too long for the magnet to wad up with the gunk and then the flakes just float around in the oil.

At 139k I would expect to see at least some flaking. On average, you won't see 200k from the tranny unless it's been granny-driven. I have a little theory that the housings are too flexible, and the more torque you apply the faster the bearings wear. The engine will go much longer, so if you hope to put more miles on I suggest getting it rebuilt.

Whining noises are another sign of gunk in the oil and getting into the input shaft bearings, or gear tooth damage due to the poor bearing support.

When enough material has spalled, they no longer hold the differential tightly. You can see this easily by grabbing the fat part of the axle where it meets the tranny and giving it a wiggle. If it moves, the carrier bearings are getting badly worn. If they wear enough (and it won't take long from that point) the wiggle will be bad enough to see gear oil leaking there. If nothing else is damaged, a bearings and seals rebuild solves the problem.

However, the longer you go without repair, the more likely you are to damage the gears and/or break something. The play in the worn bearings means the gear teeth can't mesh properly, and on a hard launch you can strip the gear teeth. Then your repair bill goes UP.

More info:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=462646

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=442307

Dave
Old Apr 14, 2006 | 03:07 AM
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Originally Posted by appleman
mine is making a loud clickin noise that turns into a whine as the revs rise. it also knocks in neutral with the clutch engaged. im at 60k and i dont think mine is gonna last much longer
That could just be a bad t/o bearing.
Old Apr 14, 2006 | 05:21 AM
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i thought it could be a bad throwout bearing but i finally got around to changing my clutch and that bearing about 1000 miles ago and the sound is now beginnin to get louder
Old Apr 14, 2006 | 05:23 AM
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Then it sounds like a damaged gear or bearing.

Dave
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 12:58 AM
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wtf?

when my car has been sitting for a while like 8 hours or so after i start the car the engine revs high around 1800 and then when i shift into reverse the car kills.
but after the engine warms up for a while it shifts into rev but when i hit the gas it slips and it goes at a crawl then when i pull out the driveway and shift into drive i can floor the car and it will only hit about 800rpms and a speed of 20mph what could be the problem i want to ask here before i drop $1 - $2k on a rebuild
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 01:20 AM
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Originally Posted by mechanicaljoint
got 160k on my manual. no problems.
God bless you!
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 04:31 AM
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Originally Posted by N0BRA1N3R
when my car has been sitting for a while like 8 hours or so after i start the car the engine revs high around 1800 and then when i shift into reverse the car kills.
but after the engine warms up for a while it shifts into rev but when i hit the gas it slips and it goes at a crawl then when i pull out the driveway and shift into drive i can floor the car and it will only hit about 800rpms and a speed of 20mph what could be the problem i want to ask here before i drop $1 - $2k on a rebuild
Mine does the same thing.
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 06:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick James
Mine does the same thing.

I think that's the torque convertor.
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 01:03 PM
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Gear popping out of gear in 1st and 2nd.
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 05:46 PM
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The tranny will slip, also hear over revving as well as smelly tranny fluid. Smell your fluid if you havent and if it smells burnt, replace it. It if's not slipping you should be good for a while
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 07:24 PM
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the thing is it only slips or kills when its been sitting for a while but i'll try it couldn't hurt
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 08:48 PM
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i get a whine starting at about 2500rpms until around 3700 and then it stops but it happens in all 5 gears. what could that be??
Old Apr 19, 2006 | 09:45 PM
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for the automatic tranny the best thing you could do is always make sure the tranny level is perfect. To much or to little will have a huge impact on the life of your tranny. Secondly a tranny cooler is highly reccomended, and third maitenance keep up with your tranny changes i change mine every 20k. Im at 172k and shes just as good as she was @ 10k. And finally a valve body modification will help inrease the the life of the transmission because the shifts are quicker and firmer compared to the stock shifts which are much slower which puts alot more wear on the auto tranny components.
Old Apr 20, 2006 | 05:38 AM
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Originally Posted by DcMaN
for the automatic tranny the best thing you could do is always make sure the tranny level is perfect. To much or to little will have a huge impact on the life of your tranny. Secondly a tranny cooler is highly reccomended, and third maitenance keep up with your tranny changes i change mine every 20k. Im at 172k and shes just as good as she was @ 10k. And finally a valve body modification will help inrease the the life of the transmission because the shifts are quicker and firmer compared to the stock shifts which are much slower which puts alot more wear on the auto tranny components.
How do you modify the valve body and what the heck is it?
Old Apr 20, 2006 | 07:49 AM
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www.maximumtuning.net
Old Apr 20, 2006 | 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Juicey
How do you modify the valve body and what the heck is it?
I would suggest NRH Transmission in Jessup, MD.

Rob is a great trans. guy and really knows his stuff. He doesn't offer you a off-the-shelf VB, he actually calibrates and builds it specific ONLY to your car. He also will give you new fluid, etc. Trust me it's a good shop.
Old Apr 20, 2006 | 04:52 PM
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My tranny is about to go out again.. im just wondering, has anyone else smelt tranny fluid when your reving to take off from a dead stop? I smell it every other time i go to take off and it smells like natural gas. lol... yet i have no leaks. And is it pretty easy to swap out a VB.. i want to swap out the stock one with my VB Mod one

Hopefully it holds up til i get back from vacation.

Dave
Old Apr 20, 2006 | 07:55 PM
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My tranny was rebuilt at 155k, up to 295k now with no problems, there is a little slop though. It's probably about time to find a VSLD tranny and throw it in. On a side note going from a 6spd back to a 5spd can be bad if you're constantly aiming for 6th gear. XD
Old Apr 21, 2006 | 07:03 AM
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My Tranny is starting to slip out of gear or maybe it's very slow to get into gear as indicated by the RPM spikes. Seems to happen a lot around 40mph. 2nd to 3rd maybe. I guess i'll do a tranny flush and that'll tell me more as to how long i got left. Sigh.

I think it might be time for a new/used car. It'll be my tax writeoff for 2006.
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