2002 Maxima, 3rd gear always feels a bit rough going into. I can feel it hit the gears a little, unlike the rest which are nice and smooth. Is there any knowen issues with this gear? It's still under factory warr. but not by much would like to have it fixed if needs be before warr. runs out.

 

known, like TSB's, NO. but known amongst us, yes. i feel a lot of the 6spd guys, including myself, complain about going into 3rd gear. to be more detailed, mine grinds once in awhile, when i'm shifting fast or WOT.

 

ditto.

it's always an adventure trying to find a dealer that'll repair that under the warranty. esp. if you have mods on your shifter/tranny... etc. sucky thing is... if you fail and don't get it under warranty... even if you try and go to another dealer, you'll get stuck with a $80 diagnostic fee.

gotta love it. f'in dealers.

 

So, do you think I should try and take it to a dealer?

 

If your transmission is under warranty and it’s bothering you enough to worry about then take it in. Mine does the same thing and I'm just used to it. As long as it doesn’t start to strait up grind I’m fine.

 

you guys running stock tranny fluid? im putting in some mt-90 tomorrow, and hope it feels better.

 

I agree! Going into 3rd gear sucks!

 

what RPM do you guys shift at for 3rd to grind?

I personally haven't heard/experienced the 3rd gear grind....I can shift at 2k or at redline, and the shifter falls in smoothly...

 

I run Redline MT-90 and my 3rd gear synchro is still rough regardless. Crappy workmanship if you ask me.

 

Richard, what RPM do you shift at?

 

I really paid close attention to it tonight going home, and it seems as though it's only the first few times I shift after sitting. It's still a little chilly here in VA. I'm thinking maybe a fluid change/upgrade may help or take care of it. I'm going to try this tomorrow, and see how the rest of the weekend goes. I'll post the out come. I'm going use Amsoil

 

I have the same prob even after having nissan replace the original tranny at 43k. I was diving down the road and stopped at a light, went to shift into 1st to leave the light, and it was stuck in 3rd! I beat the hell out of the tranny trying to get it out...popped the clutch, pushed, shoved, banged on it...nothing worked. It was severely stuck in gear. with my new tranny 3rd still "catches" going in...I have 76k now and I'm thinkin its only a matter of time before it happens again. it's embarrasing as hell when i miss 3rd on a fast upshift. Nissan replaced my tranny because I brought it in several times and let them know there was a problem with it. I was the first one they had seen. since then, they've had a couple more. I don't think the fluid is gonna make much of a difference. Its just a bad design. Maybe with some tweaking, it would be ok, but I get nervous with it still. I don't have the cash to throw at the tranny at this time.

 

I replaced the fluid in my '02 6 spd (85k) with a mix of Redline MT-90 and MTL due to the cold weather here in MA. There is slight resistance goign into 3rd, but it doesn't catch or grind. Definitely better than the stock fluid. Redline also worked wonders in my WRX.

 

If I shift right at redline mine grinds to going into third. It has done it since I got the car and never really bothered me cause I normally do not shift it that high.

 

I'd try to get them to put in a nissan reman instead of having them re-build it. I recently rebuilt a 5-speed tranny on a ford ranger and this is why the bearings failed: At some point in it's life it had an updated 5th/reverse synchro assembly installed by a ford dealer under warranty, well when I took the tranny apart I found what looked like hard little pebbles clogging up the oil passages, there was tons of it. Turns out when they did the warranty work they re-sealed the shifter plate and tailshaft housing with a thick bead of black rtv, which is just stupid. dealers don't care or don't know, plus time=money, and they aren't meticulous. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't trust a nissan dealer to take there time and be ****, which is something that is required on a job like that. Just my .02 cents