Story: So I was on my way home from school, and I stop at a 4 way stop sign. I then press on the gas to go and I heard something terrible. I heard a loud grinding and felt like the transmission drop below my car very hard. No matter what gear I am in, even in park... the car will roll only roll with the hill. I was able to get my car back on my driveway through towing from my brother.

Observations: When I do try to put it in other gears, the car revs up like in neutral but the odometer revs up as well, in sync with each other. so the needles both go up and down together. When I put it back in park.. I hear a mechanical sound as if the car wants to put it back in park, but it cant. (same sound as if you're drilling into something and the chuck on the drill can't drill no more so it doesn't spin and just stays in one spot struggling)

Okay... I believe the transmission is dead, can someone with similar experience or knowledge confirm this? Any clues as to how to go about diagnosing the problem?

Its a 95 Maxima Auto GXE and I live in MD if anyone is wondering. Many thanks.

 

i have a trans with 9k miles on it... ya want it??

 

A non-rebuilt trans with 9k miles on it????
Please provide either Carfax report or VIN number proving this supposed claim.

 

One of your axles broke, if the speedo goes up while revving in gear. That or the diff. Check the axles.

 

hmm doesn't sound like a transmission. Do what he ^^ said.

 

I think he forgot to press his the zero after 9.

 

Thats what im thinking too. Even if you blew all the internals of a auto you should still have park.

 

man u ask me to dig that stuff up... ok basically this trans is from a US gov crash test vehicle.. i got it with 90 miles on it.. it runs like brand new no problems what so ever.. i checked carfax and it told me that it was a crash test car with 90 miles on it.. a junk yard bought it back in 98 and kept it there until i bought it 1 year ago. they verified that they got it sometime in 1998 (just as carfax did.. cuz otherwise i would not buy it.. ) since then i only put like 9k (maybe less) on it.. absolutely no problems.. i just recently swapped to 5 speed so i dont need it anymore.. .

but yea like the other guys said check the drive axles u could of broken one and that would cause that noise as well as well

 

Thank you guys for quick response!! I don't think this car has differentials. So i'll go with the idea of the axles. It's dark outside, but I will definately check this tommorrow afternoon.

How do I go about checking the axles? I assume just look under the car for one that's literally "broken"? Again, thank you guys. I feel much better emotionally and financially already

 

You sure do have a differential.

 

Erm...yea.




And yes, get the front of the car on stands, run it in gear and see if the axles move at all.

 

make sure you block the rear tires when jacking it up, last thing ya want is pancakes!!!

 

lol thanks for correcting me. show my knowledge on cars
okay, so once the car is on stands, have someone in the car and shift gears.

As for looking for movement, do they move up and downish or am I looking for a rotation kinda thing?

If axles look like in working order, how would I go about diagnosing the differential?
Ill be sure to block the back tires! Thanks!

Many thanks guys.

 

So I jacked up the car and went under the front of it just like you guys said. I found that the driver side axle that I believe is connected to the Tranny, was very loose, like a finger touch made it wobble. The passenger side axle didn't budge at all. Below is the red circle that highlights the loose end area.



So I'm assuming that this is the problem? Does this sound right?
If it is the problem, I will buy a driver side from raxle. Are there other places that you guys would recommend? Thanks alot you guys, Hopefully its an axle replacement and not a transmission.

 

Yep, replace your axle.

Your CV joint (the part in the boot that you circled) broke. What's happening is when you put the car in gear, the differential puts all the power into spinning that one axle since there's no resistance (it's not really connected to the wheel since your CV joint inside of that boot snapped). When you put your tranny back in park, it tries to engage a little "lock" on the transmission but since it's still spinning pretty quickly (you can't stop it as the inner axle is no longer connected to the brakes) the lock can't engage and you get the clicking noise.

Open diff FTL. Just use the parking brake, and pull that sucker hard.

 

Sorry but it's true the part that's highlighted is the one that spins and moves the wheel and puts all the power from the drive axle. I would secure the car and try to take out the hub and rotors and all of that stuff that's there before you get to the back cause it's going to be harder if don't do it that way and it going to be alot of work. good luck.

 

=/ So work outside in. remove the axle thats towards the brake first. And then remove the leftover snapped axle that is stuck in the differential. Do I literally just tug on the left over axle? Any recommendations on how to go about this? Also, what should I lookout for and how much time are we looking at here ?

Thank you guys for the quick response. I need to get this car back on the road asap! I am heavilly depended on my car for school and work.

 

It's not too complicated a procedure, but you've pretty much got it down.

I haven't replaced a driver's side axle yet but IIRC it's not too incredibly hard to get the axle bit out, just use a lot of muscle. The passenger's side is a bit tougher I think.

Also you will want to drain your tranny fluid (and maybe just put new stuff in there) before you do this or it will drain out of the hole the axle leaves behind. I would try and do it all at once if I were you. It'll probably take you the better part of a day if you've never done it before.

Be happy, this is much better than your transmission breaking.

 

When you take out the axle the car is going to leak out transmission fluid so you need fluid. After you take out the axle if you get that far you're going to have a hard time putting a new in and connecting the wheel hub to the suspension. The suspension is going to push down on the axle and get in the way and it's going to be hard to get the axle to go through the hub and at the same time math up the hub with the suspension to connect it back. I think it's better to take it somewhere at a shop.

 

I am around MD. what part you in.

 

I am in the Silver Spring Area, right off of route 29, Fairland area.

 

I am in the Kensigton area.

 

D/S is pretty easy, when i put my axels in all I had to do was remove the strut mount, the FSM says you remove the strut mount and the ball joint, not necessary though. If you're doing this in the driveway you're going to need a bad *** min. 4-6' breaker bar and a 34mm socket to break the axel nut free. You shouldnt need to drain out all the tranny fluid though, (you'll lose a few litres) unless it needs changing anyway. make sure when you pull the brake caliper that you hang it up with some wire or something so the brake line doesnt stretch good luck man hit us up if you have any q's.
PS make sure you have a good look at the RS axel, it may be on its last leg too!

 

Do know where you want to get your new parts from dealer or Autozone or Raxles. Are your axles lock diff or open diff.

 

I believe the axle nuts on the 4th generation Maxima are 36mm

I had ATF on hand just in case, but on my 97 auto no transmission fluid came out when I replaced the passenger side axle. The fluid level was correct.

However, you might as well drain and refill your ATF as maintenance.

 

Hmm, how can I tell if its locking or non locking, open diff? I think I may go to napa or advanace auto parts because I need this car back on the road as soon as possible. However, I am willing to wait if its worth it for the raxle. Any reccomendations?

 

For your use, raxles aren't any better than regular auto parts store axles.

Check the stickies, but basically the trans code on your vin plate will end in V if locking, A if open.