BAD Discovery!!!! 5 speed Tranny would fail soon- must read!!
10-15-2001, 03:15 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,530
BAD Discovery!!!! 5 speed Tranny would fail soon- must read!!
I am in the process of putting in my Quaife LSD so I have my transmission apart. My car right now has 67,000 miles on it. Anyway I feel this post is so important I'm posting it twice in the Main forum and the 4th generation forum. I know this will be hard to visualize unless you've seen the insides of the tranny or have a FSM. I've got the input shaft and main shaft somewhere else, but I'm right now working on the differential assembly. All of my bearings and gears and synchros in the main and input shafts look fine. The driver side differential carrier bearing is fine, and visible before you take the differential assembly out of the tranny case. Anyway upon removing the differential assembly, low and behold my right side bearing had spalling and chips all in the rollers and within the bearings as well. Please visit www.motorvate.ca for more information on somebody else with the same problem, except my transmission didnt show any signs of this yet, but certainly after a while it would give away.
THIS IS THE FIRST/LAST/ONLY NISSAN CAR I WILL EVER BUY!!!!!!!!!!! From now on I'm sticking to Honda/Toyota. I've had complaints about this car before but this one topped them all. Praise the Lord I never had to deal with the dealership and I have spare vehicles to use while my car is out of commission. If I was the person on www.motorvate.ca, I would have pitched this car long ago. Unbelievable, especially after he went through his ordeal. Who else here has had a 5 speed transmission fail on them? I thought I was lucky and did not have any problems YET until I discovered this. Its almost fortunate I did buy the Quaife or I would have a car with a busted transmission on my hands. And imagine if I had no mechanical skills I would be out over $1000 just on a rebuilt/used tranny, which might have failed again. I will take pictures but right now I'm too poor to buy a digital camera.
OK, you're probably wondering what makes these bearings fail. Its due to excessive bearing preload. Basically you gotta use a precision dial-o-meter in order to get the correct shims from Nissan and adjust the preload. Too much preload and you get spalled and chipped bearings which eventually fail. There is also a cleaner "magnet" on the bottom of the tranny case and I was wondering where there was alot of metal shard down there. This explains it all.
On a few side notes, the differential pictured at www.motorvate.ca appears to be the limited slip type. Since it is a canadian website, I can only assumme its a Canadian car with the LSD. My current stock differential is nothing but 4 big gears and looks like a cheap open differential. The Quaife definately looks much better. You also need to buy a speedometer gear from Nissan to put on the Quaife, but I found out its plastic. So it will probably make it cheap.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share my experience here. If your 5 speed transmission blows up anytime it will be of no surprise to me. Wish me luck as I now have to replace even more components.
THIS IS THE FIRST/LAST/ONLY NISSAN CAR I WILL EVER BUY!!!!!!!!!!! From now on I'm sticking to Honda/Toyota. I've had complaints about this car before but this one topped them all. Praise the Lord I never had to deal with the dealership and I have spare vehicles to use while my car is out of commission. If I was the person on www.motorvate.ca, I would have pitched this car long ago. Unbelievable, especially after he went through his ordeal. Who else here has had a 5 speed transmission fail on them? I thought I was lucky and did not have any problems YET until I discovered this. Its almost fortunate I did buy the Quaife or I would have a car with a busted transmission on my hands. And imagine if I had no mechanical skills I would be out over $1000 just on a rebuilt/used tranny, which might have failed again. I will take pictures but right now I'm too poor to buy a digital camera.
OK, you're probably wondering what makes these bearings fail. Its due to excessive bearing preload. Basically you gotta use a precision dial-o-meter in order to get the correct shims from Nissan and adjust the preload. Too much preload and you get spalled and chipped bearings which eventually fail. There is also a cleaner "magnet" on the bottom of the tranny case and I was wondering where there was alot of metal shard down there. This explains it all.
On a few side notes, the differential pictured at www.motorvate.ca appears to be the limited slip type. Since it is a canadian website, I can only assumme its a Canadian car with the LSD. My current stock differential is nothing but 4 big gears and looks like a cheap open differential. The Quaife definately looks much better. You also need to buy a speedometer gear from Nissan to put on the Quaife, but I found out its plastic. So it will probably make it cheap.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share my experience here. If your 5 speed transmission blows up anytime it will be of no surprise to me. Wish me luck as I now have to replace even more components.
10-15-2001, 05:38 PM
#3
Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Posts: 219
I personally feel that no matter what type of vehicle you purchase all of them have their flaws, I have seem them all from Toyota's to your high dollar luxury vehicles, The chance of that sort of failure affecting all 5-speed trany's is slim. Most of the time it is a tech on the assembly line falling to sleep on the job that causes the problems (GM & Chrysler) 
10-15-2001, 05:43 PM
#4
Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Posts: 219
I personally feel that no matter what type of vehicle you purchase all of them have their flaws, I have seem them all from Toyota's to your high dollar luxury vehicles, The chance of that sort of failure affecting all 5-speed trany's is slim. Most of the time it is a tech on the assembly line falling to sleep on the job that causes the problems (GM & Chrysler)
10-16-2001, 12:37 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 315
More "Dealer Bonus" This is leftover clear silicone from the last $1,200 rebuild. Somehow silicone debris got in to the end of the input shaft and main shaft. This did cause extra pre-load on the input shaft and main shaft bearings. As I found out later, it also explained stiff shifting in all gears, especially in first.
10-19-2001, 10:47 AM
#6
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 26
I have been going through the very problem you are talking about with the tranny on my 96 I30. The dealer denied me the powertrain warranty coverage which my car is still under, citing abusive driving as the reason for failure. But what you describe with the metal shavings and the failed bearings is precisely what it looks like in my transmission. The dealership was a complete **** about the whole situation and kept pointing to the clutch as proof of their claim which was a load of bull**** because I took it to a reputable local mechanic who said that the clutch still had 15k still left on it and the flywheel and pressure plate were still in useable condition. I will also never buy a nissan product again or for that matter, an Infiniti product. Who needs enemies when you have dealerships that claim to have superior warranty service treat you like ****. They wanted to charge me $3500 for the repairs and acted like they were doing me a favor. Their consumer affairs line was also worthless, as they just backed up what the dealer positions was. So much for Infiniti's superior vehicle warranty, NOT!.
10-19-2001, 01:18 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 552
I also have a bearing prob.
I just found out I also have a bearing prob in my 5spd (I think that is the prob).
I changed the axel seal 2 times, and it still leaks, someone on here suggested it may be the bearing, and his description of the problem was same as mine.
Too bad I am no longer under warranty!
Can someone tell me how much one of those bearing costs? I have a shop that I can work at, but I need to know how much the part(s) is.
Thanks
I changed the axel seal 2 times, and it still leaks, someone on here suggested it may be the bearing, and his description of the problem was same as mine.
Too bad I am no longer under warranty!
Can someone tell me how much one of those bearing costs? I have a shop that I can work at, but I need to know how much the part(s) is.
Thanks
10-19-2001, 07:53 PM
#9
Disagree!!!!
Originally posted by chandos
I have been going through the very problem you are talking about with the tranny on my 96 I30. The dealer denied me the powertrain warranty coverage which my car is still under, citing abusive driving as the reason for failure. But what you describe with the metal shavings and the failed bearings is precisely what it looks like in my transmission. The dealership was a complete **** about the whole situation and kept pointing to the clutch as proof of their claim which was a load of bull**** because I took it to a reputable local mechanic who said that the clutch still had 15k still left on it and the flywheel and pressure plate were still in useable condition. I will also never buy a nissan product again or for that matter, an Infiniti product. Who needs enemies when you have dealerships that claim to have superior warranty service treat you like ****. They wanted to charge me $3500 for the repairs and acted like they were doing me a favor. Their consumer affairs line was also worthless, as they just backed up what the dealer positions was. So much for Infiniti's superior vehicle warranty, NOT!.
I have been going through the very problem you are talking about with the tranny on my 96 I30. The dealer denied me the powertrain warranty coverage which my car is still under, citing abusive driving as the reason for failure. But what you describe with the metal shavings and the failed bearings is precisely what it looks like in my transmission. The dealership was a complete **** about the whole situation and kept pointing to the clutch as proof of their claim which was a load of bull**** because I took it to a reputable local mechanic who said that the clutch still had 15k still left on it and the flywheel and pressure plate were still in useable condition. I will also never buy a nissan product again or for that matter, an Infiniti product. Who needs enemies when you have dealerships that claim to have superior warranty service treat you like ****. They wanted to charge me $3500 for the repairs and acted like they were doing me a favor. Their consumer affairs line was also worthless, as they just backed up what the dealer positions was. So much for Infiniti's superior vehicle warranty, NOT!.
10-20-2001, 03:18 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 259
Originally posted by VQdriver
quick question: would double clutching or match revving make a difference in the long run?
quick question: would double clutching or match revving make a difference in the long run?
10-21-2001, 07:36 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,308
Originally posted by SillePimp
Yes. It'll put a lot of stress on your clutch and possibly break some parts driven by the timing chain. I use to do this on my first car ('87 celica gt). I know it's irrelevant to a Maxima question, but double clutching broke my timing belt tensioner and left me stranded on the road (no cell phone) and had to hitchhike to a nearby gas station.
Yes. It'll put a lot of stress on your clutch and possibly break some parts driven by the timing chain. I use to do this on my first car ('87 celica gt). I know it's irrelevant to a Maxima question, but double clutching broke my timing belt tensioner and left me stranded on the road (no cell phone) and had to hitchhike to a nearby gas station.
10-22-2001, 01:41 AM
#14
Steve Cornelius' `97 Maxima SE 5-speed tranny failed around 50k miles, IIRC.
However, aside from his failure and numerous 250fwhp+/250fwtq+ SE-R guys blowing up transmissions, I haven't heard of too many failures. Far below Chrysler failure rates.
There are quite a few high-mileage Maximas in California-- many I have seen are 95~96's with more than 100,000 miles-- without any signs of failure. I've driven a couple 110,000 mile+ cars that were just fine and several 75,000 mile+ cars as well.
Along with the MAF, TPS, and starter (on 95-96 models), this appears to be a potential trouble spot.
However, aside from his failure and numerous 250fwhp+/250fwtq+ SE-R guys blowing up transmissions, I haven't heard of too many failures. Far below Chrysler failure rates.
There are quite a few high-mileage Maximas in California-- many I have seen are 95~96's with more than 100,000 miles-- without any signs of failure. I've driven a couple 110,000 mile+ cars that were just fine and several 75,000 mile+ cars as well.Along with the MAF, TPS, and starter (on 95-96 models), this appears to be a potential trouble spot.
10-22-2001, 07:57 AM
#15
Originally posted by brianw
Steve Cornelius' `97 Maxima SE 5-speed tranny failed around 50k miles, IIRC.
However, aside from his failure and numerous 250fwhp+/250fwtq+ SE-R guys blowing up transmissions, I haven't heard of too many failures.
Steve Cornelius' `97 Maxima SE 5-speed tranny failed around 50k miles, IIRC.
However, aside from his failure and numerous 250fwhp+/250fwtq+ SE-R guys blowing up transmissions, I haven't heard of too many failures.
10-22-2001, 11:09 AM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 1,591
Re: BAD Discovery!!!! 5 speed Tranny would fail soon- must read!!
Originally posted by ericdwong
I am in the process of putting in my Quaife LSD so I have my transmission apart. My car right now has 67,000 miles on it. Anyway I feel this post is so important I'm posting it twice in the Main forum and the 4th generation forum. I know this will be hard to visualize unless you've seen the insides of the tranny or have a FSM. I've got the input shaft and main shaft somewhere else, but I'm right now working on the differential assembly. All of my bearings and gears and synchros in the main and input shafts look fine. The driver side differential carrier bearing is fine, and visible before you take the differential assembly out of the tranny case. Anyway upon removing the differential assembly, low and behold my right side bearing had spalling and chips all in the rollers and within the bearings as well. Please visit www.motorvate.ca for more information on somebody else with the same problem, except my transmission didnt show any signs of this yet, but certainly after a while it would give away.
THIS IS THE FIRST/LAST/ONLY NISSAN CAR I WILL EVER BUY!!!!!!!!!!! From now on I'm sticking to Honda/Toyota. I've had complaints about this car before but this one topped them all. Praise the Lord I never had to deal with the dealership and I have spare vehicles to use while my car is out of commission. If I was the person on www.motorvate.ca, I would have pitched this car long ago. Unbelievable, especially after he went through his ordeal. Who else here has had a 5 speed transmission fail on them? I thought I was lucky and did not have any problems YET until I discovered this. Its almost fortunate I did buy the Quaife or I would have a car with a busted transmission on my hands. And imagine if I had no mechanical skills I would be out over $1000 just on a rebuilt/used tranny, which might have failed again. I will take pictures but right now I'm too poor to buy a digital camera.
OK, you're probably wondering what makes these bearings fail. Its due to excessive bearing preload. Basically you gotta use a precision dial-o-meter in order to get the correct shims from Nissan and adjust the preload. Too much preload and you get spalled and chipped bearings which eventually fail. There is also a cleaner "magnet" on the bottom of the tranny case and I was wondering where there was alot of metal shard down there. This explains it all.
On a few side notes, the differential pictured at www.motorvate.ca appears to be the limited slip type. Since it is a canadian website, I can only assumme its a Canadian car with the LSD. My current stock differential is nothing but 4 big gears and looks like a cheap open differential. The Quaife definately looks much better. You also need to buy a speedometer gear from Nissan to put on the Quaife, but I found out its plastic. So it will probably make it cheap.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share my experience here. If your 5 speed transmission blows up anytime it will be of no surprise to me. Wish me luck as I now have to replace even more components.
I am in the process of putting in my Quaife LSD so I have my transmission apart. My car right now has 67,000 miles on it. Anyway I feel this post is so important I'm posting it twice in the Main forum and the 4th generation forum. I know this will be hard to visualize unless you've seen the insides of the tranny or have a FSM. I've got the input shaft and main shaft somewhere else, but I'm right now working on the differential assembly. All of my bearings and gears and synchros in the main and input shafts look fine. The driver side differential carrier bearing is fine, and visible before you take the differential assembly out of the tranny case. Anyway upon removing the differential assembly, low and behold my right side bearing had spalling and chips all in the rollers and within the bearings as well. Please visit www.motorvate.ca for more information on somebody else with the same problem, except my transmission didnt show any signs of this yet, but certainly after a while it would give away.
THIS IS THE FIRST/LAST/ONLY NISSAN CAR I WILL EVER BUY!!!!!!!!!!! From now on I'm sticking to Honda/Toyota. I've had complaints about this car before but this one topped them all. Praise the Lord I never had to deal with the dealership and I have spare vehicles to use while my car is out of commission. If I was the person on www.motorvate.ca, I would have pitched this car long ago. Unbelievable, especially after he went through his ordeal. Who else here has had a 5 speed transmission fail on them? I thought I was lucky and did not have any problems YET until I discovered this. Its almost fortunate I did buy the Quaife or I would have a car with a busted transmission on my hands. And imagine if I had no mechanical skills I would be out over $1000 just on a rebuilt/used tranny, which might have failed again. I will take pictures but right now I'm too poor to buy a digital camera.
OK, you're probably wondering what makes these bearings fail. Its due to excessive bearing preload. Basically you gotta use a precision dial-o-meter in order to get the correct shims from Nissan and adjust the preload. Too much preload and you get spalled and chipped bearings which eventually fail. There is also a cleaner "magnet" on the bottom of the tranny case and I was wondering where there was alot of metal shard down there. This explains it all.
On a few side notes, the differential pictured at www.motorvate.ca appears to be the limited slip type. Since it is a canadian website, I can only assumme its a Canadian car with the LSD. My current stock differential is nothing but 4 big gears and looks like a cheap open differential. The Quaife definately looks much better. You also need to buy a speedometer gear from Nissan to put on the Quaife, but I found out its plastic. So it will probably make it cheap.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share my experience here. If your 5 speed transmission blows up anytime it will be of no surprise to me. Wish me luck as I now have to replace even more components.
10-23-2001, 12:11 AM
#18
Originally posted by Nealoc187
You haven't been paying too much attention then. I count 6 individuals suffering from transmission/bearing failures in the last 3 weeks on this board, not to mention BriGuyMax's total 3rd gear shattering, and my bearing replacement about 5 weeks ago.
You haven't been paying too much attention then. I count 6 individuals suffering from transmission/bearing failures in the last 3 weeks on this board, not to mention BriGuyMax's total 3rd gear shattering, and my bearing replacement about 5 weeks ago.
I wonder what the actual ratio of failures is now. With so many more members than we had in `96, `97, `98, `99... more failures are common. Hmmm.
How many of these failures have been in totally stock cars, BTW?
10-23-2001, 06:32 AM
#19
Originally posted by 98maxse5spd
do a search on transmission problem. i see a bunch of people whos trans have ate it around 60k...
do a search on transmission problem. i see a bunch of people whos trans have ate it around 60k...
10-23-2001, 10:53 PM
#20
Originally posted by nizmo
so if ur way past the 60K mark is it safe to assume ur transmission will not **** up like that
so if ur way past the 60K mark is it safe to assume ur transmission will not **** up like that
It's safe to assume your transmission does not have any preload problems, so that particular failure should not be an issue...
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