Hey guys, my car is a 6 speed but lately when I have been putting the gear into 3rd, its not as smooth as all the other gears...its a bit crunchy..I cant get the right word. I dont think that helps you much either. I'll even say that there is slight resistance. But sometimes it goes away. Im shifting at the right times (3500rpms) or roughly 35-40mph. Any clue what it is?

 

Sounds like the synchro problem a lot of us experience.

 

uh oh...what should I do?

 

try changing the fluid..flush it. Just remember...ti's not as smooth as the prelude tranny....you were spoiled by that.
how's the max otherwise RAHUL?

 

Change the tranny fluid with a synthetic and it should be fine.

 

haha whats up Jeff?

Mileage is 45k right now and the previous NEVER changed the MT fluid before. When I asked him why he said his friends are mechanics and they cautioned him that once the MT fluid is changed, the car will never drive the same as it did...

any truth to that? What are the possibilities that its a syncro problem?

 

Im sorry I feel embarrased for not knowing this but whats the difference between flushing the fluid and simply changing the fluid? Scroll up to my last post to see why the fluid was never changed

 

welll he's an idiot..you're doing more damage if it's dirty. heh

same thing .... flush it out....change the fluid.

My car is about to hit 23,000 miles..... I think i'm goign to change the fluid soon.

 

As long as its not a problem with the 3rd gear syncro. What MTF do you suggest? Jeff, do you miss the prelude at all?

 

Aftermarket Redline MT90 is very popular, I had that did a change and tried the Nissan factory synthetic.

 

cool thanks

 

Its the same for a manual, autos have when you can flush the whole tranny or u can just change the fluid and filter, about half the fluid. Manuals u drain all of it and refill with all new fluid

 

You may still get the grinding even with the new fluid. The design of the syncros is poor and they wear out too soon. If you have any kind of extended warranty they'll replace the tranny.

My car had the same issue so I swapped in a used tranny from an 04. They fixed the problem on the 04 cars so they shift better and don't get the grind.

Hopefully the MT90 fluid will help. There is no "flush" for a manual tranny. Just change it like you change the oil. There are instructions posted in the "how too" thread.

 

thanks I will check out MT90

 

My 03 use to do it every blue moon, but only during the winter months. Now that I am in Florida it doesnt do it any longer......

 

The only way it would go in on few occasions would be with force and then there would be a slight grind. 90% of the time its fine though. I think the syncro may have gone bad.

So I called up Star Nissan to inquire about any factory warranty, if any, that covers the transmission for the 2003 maxima. Her words were "...well you have to come in get it checked...only then will they tell you". So my reaction was "ok so in other words, if there IS a problem, the mechanics will say there is no warranty left on the car?"...I mean come on, its so easy for them to cheat me with that response. Mileage is 49,200.

So yea, Im going to go in tomorrow and have them diagnose the problem. Whats the worst situation we're looking at here? A new tranny? Or will they just fix the problem with 3rd gear? Im really disappointed b/c I dont drive the car hard and I just got it 3 weeks ago...this blows

Does anyone know the specifics for the transmission warranty for the 03 maxima, if any?

Is there anything I should do tomorrow so I wont get cheated? Any advice? thanks

 

I think Nissan has an extended powertrain warranty beyond their 3/36 bumper to bumper. This is a common problem with the 6-speeds and from what I hear they aren't fixing them anymore. They're just replacing the whole gearbox if it's under warranty.

 

Just checked it out. The powertrain warranty is 5 year 60,000 miles. You shouldn't have any problem as long as they can recreate the problem.

On my car it would do it when winding out 2nd and fast shifting into third. The higher the RPMs the harder the crunch.

 

oh thanks for info man...you mentioned I wont have a problem if they can "recreate" the problem. Cant the just look at the gears and notice that maybe the teeth of 3rd gear are not meshing properly? Do they necessarily have to drive the car? B/c then Im afraid the problem wont happen (with my luck)

 

well guys.. After my 1 hour wait at the service center, he gave me the news. He had 2 technicians drive the car and NONE could reproduce the problem. He said he cant take apart the car if they cant reproduce the problem. He was nice enough not to charge me the $95 fee...but still...

I know this problem will come back but no one seems to believe me. Its my luck that it only happens with me. He said the next time it happens, I should go to him right away and they will drive it again to see whats up. But this is al so frustrating. I KNOW there is a problem...I wish they would just take everything apart and then see...b/c thats how sure I am

What do I do guys?

 

well guys.. After my 1 hour wait at the service center, he gave me the news. He had 2 technicians drive the car and NONE could reproduce the problem. He said he cant take apart the car if they cant reproduce the problem. He was nice enough not to charge me the $95 fee...but still...

I know this problem will come back but no one seems to believe me. Its my luck that it only happens with me. He said the next time it happens, I should go to him right away and they will drive it again to see whats up. But this is al so frustrating. I KNOW there is a problem...I wish they would just take everything apart and then see...b/c thats how sure I am

What do I do guys?

 

I drove the car, no problems found, could not duplicate symptom.
car shifted like butter. never experienced one crunch or any sound..

 

I get a slight crunch going into 3rd as well. Come to think of it, I get it in just about every gear. As long as it's not grinding, I'm sure you're fine. Nissan M/T's are not known to be the smoothest. My buddies are always complaining about the notchy shifting of their Sentra SE-R's.

If it bothers you that much, beat the snot out of it and hope it breaks before your warranty expires. The other option is to sell the car. Otherwise, just swap out the fluid with some synthetic and be happy you've got an otherwise solid car.

 

Hey, thanks for the words...I wish I could be assured theres not a problem, but I have had hondas and toyotas in stick and Im pretty sure what Im experiencing IS indeed a problem that will only get worse.

I was just driving and it happened twice more, but only in 3rd gear. I'll try changing the tranny fluid to synthetic, but many people told me not to change the tranny fluid because the car will never drive the same again. I dont want to sell the car...I have only had it for 3 weeks . I bought it with my hard earned money and it just bothers me to know that theres a problem that cant be fixed for now.

 

They're right, it'll never drive the same... it'll be 10x better than it was before. You need to find new friends - you'll probably live longer... Seriously though, change the fluid!

Back to your problem - I notice that when I slow down my shifts, it doesn't "crunch" at all. Instead of forcing it in, just apply steady pressure - the synchros will mesh and it'll slide right in, no crunch.

 

If your at 49k miles just drive it a little while longer, its bound to get worse and you have warranty to 60k, so take it in around 51-52k and itll most likely be easier to reproduce

 

If you know exactly how to duplicate the problem, then you go with the tech and you drive it. If they can't get it to make the noise, there is no way they can get authorization to pull the trans and tear it apart for "diagnosis." If they lie and say it is grinding, and nissan actually inspects the returned gear and finds no problem then the dealership will get stuck with the bill..

Also changing the fluid will not affect the way your car drives. It's not a wet clutch design or anything the only thing the trans fluid does is lub the gears, so changing it will only effect how well the shifter forks slide on the rods (for lack of better words) and how well the gears mesh when shifting. You can always replace it with oem (the same stuff that's in there now) fluid if you are concerned. But changing the fluid is just a band-aid as you will always know the syncho is starting to go out.

 

Never drive the same again!!?? Changing the fluid is required maintainance for the car. Check the owners manual and make sure you never buy a car from any of these people.

If the MT90 helps it will only be a temporary fix. The problem is a poor design. I say keep the current fluid type till it gets worse then have it replaced. There's no point in patching the problem till the car hits 70k or so and you have no warranty and the MT90 isn't enough.