My 1998 Maxima is a great car. It has >230k miles and a leaking automatic transaxle. it is also throwing a P1760 code. From what I've read, it will throw a P1760 if 1) the overrun clutch solenoid valve has gone bad, or 2) when the fluid is low and/or old and dirty. Fluid level is fine but it hasn't been changed in a long time. It still shifts excellently which supposedly means that the solenoid is OK. It would shift very badly otherwise from what I've read. My first step is to R & R the two output shaft seals, fluid, filter and gasket and put in new. I bought a Castrol high mileage fluid that is supposedly formulated for Nissan transaxles. There is a right side and left side seal so be careful when buying the parts. I'm going to drain it for a long time with the bottom cover and old filter removed.

• Are there any other leaking points in that transaxle?
• If that should fail to clear the P1760, do any of you guys have any experience where the solenoid was bad even if the transaxle still shifted great?

On another note, the lower engine oil pan leaks badly too. That is supposed to be fixed by lowering the pan, cleaning everything up, putting a bead of Nissan factory RTV on and reinstalling the pan. I've tried that in the car once without success. It's a big job including lowering the subframe. It appears the Nissan RTV part is NLA. I've considered removing the engine so I can put it on a stand and work on it upside down. I'd have the benefit of gravity so the RTV has a chance to set up correctly.

 

As far as I know the transmission filter is a metal screen, not much to do beside cleaning it. If the fluid level is fine, why are you chasing leaks?

Regarding oil leaks at the lower engine oil pan, that is uncommon, but easy to remove and re-apply RTV. Are you perhaps talking of the upper oil pan? That one is a b*tch.

 

I work on cars because its fun for me. It's my version of working crossword puzzles. It's relaxing and fulfilling. I like the challenge and because I've had bad experiences with mechanics (including sending out this exact car in a very dangerous state). It comes down to trust. I can afford to pay someone to do the work or buy a newer or brand new car. I don't like the newer cars as much as this one. All my cars are older. Maybe I'm a rare person on this forum for those reasons. For what I earn doing my job, it's stupid for me to work on my cars if money was the only reason.

The transaxle does leak like a b*tch thus the output shaft seals. I just wanted to be sure there isn't some seals or gasket that can't be seen while the transaxle is in the car. My research shows that the P1760 check engine light code could be caused by low transmission fluid or it could be old dirty fluid, too. The possible fix isn't limited to the solenoid. I was remarking that the code could be thrown because it's low but it throws the code when it is at a full level too. I was only confirming that I know that the possible cure is low fluid. I'm replacing the transmission filter because it's a cheap part and that eliminates the chance there is a problem with the existing filter.

Yes, it is the upper oil pan that leaks and you're right, it is bad news. Technically it isn't really a pan. It is an extension of the engine block that gets bolted on. I'm told that the design is similar to what is used on diesel engines. I have tried to fix it in the car twice. It didn't seal both times. It's a bad design. It really needs to have a serious gasket instead of using RTV at all.

The problem when trying to get RTV to seal appears to be caused by gravity. The factory certainly didn't put the part on while the engine is in the car. They put it on when the engine was on a bench or stand. That's why I think the engine needs to be pulled and put on a stand so it can be inverted 180 degrees. Gravity will keep the part in place so the RTV can set up. Just reaching out again to see if someone else has found another solution since the last time I posted. I have used Lucas Engine Oil Stop-Leak which has helped some.

Thanks again for trying to help. I appreciate it.

 

Carrying these thoughts a little further, this car has been modified using tips from this forum and others. It is a sleeper car that has surprised a few pretty fast exoti-cars in it's day. I've never driven it to top speed but I suspect it can go over 170 MPH. It has all the mods it needs to safely go that fast. It has a switch I installed that overrides the DOT mandated speed limiter. The switch is an innocuous toggle switch on the dash that looks factory like it belongs there. It throws a code when I switch it on which is easy to clear.

Again I can afford newer, faster cars. But I really enjoy the sleeper aspect of this car and want to keep it running thanks to the help I get on this and other forums.

 

Just a thought, did you try disconnecting the battery for a while to see if the P1760 code comes back?

 

I have software and an OBD harness for my laptop that will clear codes. I cleared the code twice now and it comes back on after driving about 20 miles. :-( Thanks for checking.

 

(now 3/28/2026) Sorry for my slow reply. Life has been pretty interesting. I found tranny leak points (the seals for the axles into the transaxle ), I didn't see any other leaks. I replaced the seals and put the axles back in. The axles both seemed to go back in without any problems. I replaced the tranny fluid [One of the threads I found said that old fluid may be a cause of the P1760 code so did it first since it seemed the easiest]. The tranny worked well before all this so the grinding is new. I was only following up on the P1760 code. I wish I had left it alone. I didn't drive the car after the noise started.. I shut it down immediately after the grinding sound. FSM didn't have any symptoms listed other than the code and what to do if you have the factory computer plug-in which I don't have, The causes and symptoms I've seen elsewhere (AI) state malfunction within the transmission torque converter clutch (TCC) system, often caused by a faulty TCC solenoid, wiring issues, or a malfunctioning transmission control module. Common symptoms associated with this code include the transmission starting in third gear, failure to shift into reverse or higher gears (third/fourth), and shifting that only functions correctly after the transmission has heated up. It hasn't done any of these things.

 

OK, I took some more chances and started, ran and put it in some gears. Turns out it was making "grinding" sound only when trying to put it in Park while engine was running. It probably wasn't grinding anything. It was just not going into Park like it should. The P1760 code is probably telling us that the Torque Converter Clutch solenoid is not working at all. It would go into all other gears when the engine was running but car wouldn't move even when revved up some.

 

are you sure you have the axles seated? if its "grinding" when put into park thats usually the park pawl jumping.

 

I am not sure. Any advice to be sure the axles are seated is appreciated. Would not having them seated also cause the car to not move in any forward or reverse gear? Could it also cause the P1760 code? I'm pretty sure it originally threw the code before I removed the axles to replace seals so I doubt it. Just covering all the bases. Thanks again.