My 1995 Gle's tranny is just slipping. It has a very hard time trying to shft, i haveto drive extreemly slow and civilized. Im not ganna convert it to a stick or anything wierd like that. But i dont want to buy a new maxima, i just wish it was stick. So what do you guys think i should do?

 

Get it rebuilt? You have closed off all ur other options;


1) New car X
2) Convert to stick X
3) Rebuild your tranny $1000-$2500
4) Purchase rebuilt tranny $1500-$2000

or, if you have the workshop, air tool, patience and can live without ur car for 6 weeks then you can take the option I took with my wife's car;

5) Rebuild the transmission yourself. (For me, $1000, mostly damaged hard-parts - would have been $400 otherwise)

I've swapped out engines and transmissions in the past, so adding the extra step of going through the tranny replacing seals wasn't tremendously difficult. The 6 weeks was for parts and tools to arrive as I realised they were necessary.

 

Ah hah! Use this opportunity upgrade your Valve body, Torque Convertor*optional, and maybe a tranny cooler.

Your newly rebuilt will last HELLUVA lot longer and you will get a little more performance from your Max.

Read this:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ight=VBupgrade

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....vertor+upgrade

 

that sucks

I suggest you just get it rebuilt.. auto trannies don't last forever, some go faster then others.. the tranny fluid has to be flushed like every 30k-60k miles. Also, a tranny cooler would help out.. I need to do both of those things


how many miles are on your car?

 

auto's don't last forever, true. Our trannies are the achiles of our cars. They can be made to be substantially stronger than stock and as long as you don't treat it like it's just a 5spd w/o a clutch, you'll be ok. VB mod, tranny cooler, and stronger torque converter is a very good start. I just did all of the above plus rebuilt the rest of the tranny and right now I couldn't be happier.

 

this is a sign!!! - do a 5spd tranny swap

 

Yipes, we've been over this. It's all preference. I'd keep mine auto if you sit your @$$ in rush hour traffic like the rest of us in So. Cal. I love both my auto Maximas (88 and 97).

When the tranny breaks on the 97, I'm keeping it auto and upgrading it. When the 88 tranny breaks, I'm gonna convert it to a high-performance 5spd and see how long it lasts when I beat the $hit out of it.

 

Wouldn't it be much harder to do a 5 speed conversion than just get the tranny rebuilt? I thought it was almost impossible to find someone that actually knows how to do the conversion. If that's not the case then I'm definitely getting a 5 speed when my auto dies.

 

It's not impossible, most tranmission shops don't wanna do it because of the labor involved. There are lots of members that swap their auto for 5 spd, I'd go the same route if you're keeping it NA with few mods.

If you're planning on busting some super horsepower, keep it auto and build it out when it breaks. Sure as hell would last longer as an auto vs. manual.

 

I'd just buy a used auto tranny for 500 bucks or less and put it in myself. Even if that one blows you still have another 500 for another used one. I wouldnt bother rebuilding.

 

To quote a movie: "that's a pretty big gamble with a 10 million dollar plane Lieutenant.."

Why would you opt to buy a $500 tranny when you have absolutely no idea what is going on in the inside? Maybe buy a $500 tranny and take it apart and pay a few more bucks to get the total rebuild kit and then put it in. By then, you're time and labor would be well worth paying someone else to do it. All I'm saying it's an awful big gamble to just pick one up at a junker unless you buy one of someone you know and had some idea about the condition.

BTW, I'm all for saving money. I do my own installs when skill, tools, and time permitting. There's just some things that you shouldn't skimp on, trannies being the achiles of our cars, is one of them.

 

Well thats your call. Id rather buy a 500 dollar tranny than a 1500 dollar rebuild. There was a guy on the org selling a low mileage tranny pretty cheap too, I wonder if he still is. I disagree that if you buy a 500 dollar tranny and take it apart, that your time and labor would be worth just paying someone else. You forget to mention you actually learn how to fix a tranny so next time you wont have to pay again to fix it, but could do it yourself. Buying a tranny from a junkyard is like buying a used car. In both cases, you don't know what you're getting. You don't see everyone buying a used car and rebuilding it right away. "If its not broke, don't fix it." Even if you do blow that second tranny, now you have 2 trannies for parts. Also, some junk yards do offer you some limited warranty on trannies. It is not such a gamble as you try to make it seem.

 

I agree with you partly. But $500? Where the heck are you buying your tranmissions from, chop shops? Over here in So. Cal, you won't find something that price unless it's already been shot.

I'd like to take apart my own tranny too, and do the upgrades. I have a friend who is still pulling metal slivers from his hands, and he did his rebuild 5 months ago. Needless to say, wear gloves and be careful!

 

I don't know where you are used to getting parts from. Here in GA there is a lot of reasons not to try your idea. 1. there very few places to find a used or junked tranny. 2. the places that do sell them, do so at a premium because of the previously mentioned reason. 3. A tranny is normally a sealed item that has been unbolted (when you buy from junker) so you cannot compare to a used car that you can have a more "educated guess" at than a sealed item like a tranny.

If and I stress if, you get any warranty it will probably be for 30-90 days max. I dunno if I want to even waste my time on that. You do have a point that is dear to me and that is the learning issue. That is the reason I am a DIY.

 

Well, I did pay 875 for my 5spd conversion parts. Thats a tranny, clutch plate, clutch, and everythign else needed. Thats not including tools and shipping.

 

Can anyone tell me how good a rebuild will be? I heard different things from different people (some say it will never be good as new, others say it will be good).

 

i have an automatic transmission for sale with only 5,000 came out of a wreck that i bought im sellin it for 600 give me an email if ur intrested