I started at 7 pm and stopped at 1 am. In that time, I got the transmission out, among other things. My cousin (Lusty2kmax) and I are prepping the other transmission to be put in tomorrow. Here are pictures of the progress so far:

Air box, battery and harness partially removed:


Starter removed:


Crossmember with front and rear motor mounts removed:


Passenger-side axle removed:

 

Driver and passenger-side axles:


1 of the 4 bolts that mate the torque converter to the signal plate on the motor side. Accessed though an opening on the motor side.


Transmission removed:


Signal plate:

 

Both transmissions. The new one is on the right. It is off a 2002 Infiniti I35 with 3000 miles on it:


Some tools used for the job:


How the car sits until tomorrow:

 

looks good. may i ask what was wrong with the last transmission? and the infiniti fits on the maxima easy or no?

 

Thats a big job to take on especially cause it doesn't look like you are using air tools. Nice pics & good luck!

 

Nice, Decided not to do the 6 Speed Swap?

 

The transmissions are identical. The last transmission was slipping. I replaced the solenoid packs and recalibrated the VB. That did not fix the slipping. So that's why I decided on the transmission replacement.

 

It is easier than my header install so far. I have about another 6 hours to go with the rate I am working.

99 SE-L- I called over 40 salvage yards and I could not find all the parts needed for the 6-speed conversion. One man at the junkyard told me that it will be very hard to do the conversion unless I find a 6-speed parts car that is still intact. That's what changed my mind.

 

Ohhh man you gave up that easily it takes time to gather up all the shhtuff and i thought we would see a 6speed conversion dam

 

oh snaps. did my advice help van?

 

You have helped me the most. The transmission is in.

 

hey its in. the rest is icing on the cake.

 

Yep, we got it in yesterday. We took it for a drive. It shifts like a new car.

 

Wow, that's good stuff! Good work.

 

Wow, great job!!! Congrats!!!

 

It drives and shifts like a dream now! Smooth and firm shifts! I guess this is how the car shifts with 3000 miles on it. I will do a Stage 2 VB mod in a couple of weeks (again).

 

Man, nice job Van. My 1st to 2nd shifts have been showing signs of slippage but it's the last thing I am worried about right now.

 

Here is the second half of the transmission install.

The torque converter from the I35:


The transmission jack used to lift the transmission up to the block. The job would have been impossible without this jack:


There was no room to maneuver the transmission underneath the car, so we had to remove the driver-side caliper bracket and rotor:


Wheel studs and wheel bearing:

 

Transmission on transmission jack on its way in:


There was still not enough room, so we removed the bumper:


That was still not enough room, so we decided to go buy a 3 ton jack with a 22” lift. We jacked the car up about another 4 inches to clear the transmission from the outside wall of the engine bay. That worked. Here are 4 jacks supporting the engine, transmission and chassis (3 ton jack cannot be seen):


Lining the transmission up:

 

Almost done (still needed to install driver-side axle and add ATF):


Complete:


The install was completed with no problems. I actually enjoyed most of the experience.

 

Man, give you credit for doing a job like that with hand tools and no lift.

I'll never complain about having to change my oil again!

 

Lifting car on plastic tool cases is NOT recommended just fyi... Very nice job!

 

Uhm am i seeing things or is that jack on tool boxes, did you use that to hold up the engine??? or the car???

Good job man!!

 

The car was held up by 2 jack stands and 2 jacks that are on the side jack points which you can't see in the picture. The motor was still held in by a motor mount and we put the toolboxes+jacks to add support so the motor would sit straighter so that lining up the tranny would be easier. The jacks alone were not high enough to reach the motor. It was actually pretty sturdy.

 

Wow

Cmon over to my place and change my flywheel.... and my clutch... hell do you do camshafts?

 

Where'd you learn that stuff?

 

Any advantage to the i35 tranny vs a Max one? or was it that mileage that made you go for the I one? What did the I transmission cost you?

 

same tranny in the max and the i35.

 

I learned how to do all that stuff by just messing around in that specific garage (at my mom's house). I am a senior at the University of Oklahoma, and whenever I need to work on any cars, I stop by there to do it. Pretty much everything and anything has been attempted (timing belts, headgaskets, camshafts, etc.) in that garage, including bodywork. Once you know how stuff works, everything is a breeze. Experience also adds to it. I still need to get some airtools to make the jobs faster!

Kevin- The transmissions are identical, like vsamoylov said. I bought it because according to the cheapest price vs. lowest mileage ratio. It cost $500 plus $50 shipping. Other transmissions for that price were ranging from 26-50k miles.

 

Nice Job. So what are your impressions after driving it? No more slipping? Also if you aren't able to to get air tools at this time, try getting a cordless impact wrench. Even if the gun isn't powerfull enough to break lose certain bolts and nuts I use breaker bar to break them lose and then just zap them out. BTW, where did you get the trans jack from?

 

No slipping whatsoever. It runs perfect. I use a pipe as a breaker bar. I bought the transmission jack from Pep Boys.

 

my 2000 transmission is slipping, the dealer says i need a new TCM for $600 that "might" work if not a $700 solenoid that
'might" fix it and then if they dont a 2500-3000 new transmission...crazy! worth it or am i being screwed, only 70k on my 3rd maxima. depressed. advice

 

Do it yourself! I had 60k on the transmission when mine broke.

 

Something to think about....i asked DAVEB at Southpoint Nissan about the TCM and solenoids and this is what he quoted me:

Shift control unit- $459.68

Shift solenoids- $296.64

So if you ever wanted to go that route, you know where to get the parts from. Or you could try what whazzzzuup did and replace the trans. I am thinking of doing the stuff that is call for on the TSB first, eventually though.



Glad to hear things turned out well. Thanks for letting me about the trans. jack. Take care.

 

I have 2 solenoid packs for sale. Here is the thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=454749

 

i might have a tcm from a 2k-2k1 maxima if anybody is interested. low miles about 7k.

 

I have a 2000 i30, the transmission shifts erraticly sometimes, I was thinking about getting a new transmission but i figure if I wait for this one to drop I will own the car a lot longer and Im already in it 3k less then the low book of the car so im not worried 1 bit, I honestly envy your talent! i could never do that kind of mechanical work. Anyway. i thought getting a new transmission was like 1200-1500$? you paid 500$? how much would it cost for me in the future to get a new transmission put in on my 5th gen / 2k i30? Including the labor fees, etc? its something i might have to consider in the future, I have 125k miles on it right now, i got a transmission flush about 6k miles ago that seemed to help A TON but i know its shifting abnormaly every once in awhile, Also the car seems a bit slower then it did back 30k miles ago. Any feedback? especialy about how much It would cost for me to replace the transmission in the future including labor fees?

 

I am waiting for my tranny to come from Maximum tuning. I had bought a 2001 AE with 51,000 in NY. I have 122,000 plus on mine and has gone to crap. Had Maximum tuning do a stage II VB mod and change shift solenoids. I also got a new TCM. I can't wait to stop slipping.

 

I had my VB recalibrated from MaxxTuning, and it did not fix my problem. Their work was good, but the transmission problem was elsewhere in the transmission. I think it was the torque converter.

Vexun1337, I do all the work on my cars (motor swaps, etc.) so I do not know how much it will cost for labor.

 

I was quoted $250-$350. They said it takes about 2 hrs to do.