williamgd2

Most people will find nothing in the screen but most people don't have that much metal at the bottom of the pan. What do you think that screen does? It filters the tranny fluid, and your saying it does not need to be cleaned? Anyone who works with transmissions will tell you.But it really does not matter because it looks like the damage has been done, Start looking for another trans.

spock

iTrader: (5)

You are joking, right? The amount of shavings here is NORMAL? Normal if your about to lose your tranny in the near future maybe.

evalyn

It seems that the consensus is that this I will need a new transmission soon. Yesterday after work, I could not get the car to shift into any gear. Each time I moved the gear shift forward or backwards, the transmission would not engage. After 10 mins of trying, I finally just put it in D and pressed the gas pedal. The car crepppppppt forward, but it was as if I was trying to drive in 3rd gear--no power at all. 50 yards down the road, the gears started engaging appropriately, and everything cleared up. Weird.

Do people do rebuilds on these transmissions? What's it going to cost me to get another transmission put in? I will search the site this weekend when I have more time.

Col Ronson

OEM transmissions dont last forever.
im not joking. Look what other people wrote in regards to the amount of shavings.

Love_00_Max

Forever is a subjective word and loosely associated. I mean forever is when I see a 90 Toyota Camry or a 95 Nissan Maxima on the road and I ask myself when that vehicle can be on the highways why not mine. Right, then to get there u need to be on top of PM. The metallic grime in this post is NOT right, it has been abused. Period. Those who say it is fine are either joking, folks who have never dropped the pan, misguiding others based on lack of knowledge etc, trying to act smart etc. Or a combination of all since we see so many of those smart assss NUTs on this forum!!!

If I were the post orginiator, I will be looking for a used tranny ASAP....

Col Ronson

a 95 nissan maxima can have 80k on the odometer or 200k. trannys wear down to mileage, not age.

evalyn

Col Ronson and Love_00_Max,

It'd be great if you two could take your bickering elsewhere and quit hijacking my thread, before I decide to delete it. I could use your help, and it sounds like you both have a lot of experience with transmissions.

I bought this car 15 months ago, when it had 70k miles. The little old lady I bought it from probably never abused the car, but she probably didn't get it serviced very often either. The fact is, I don't know, and she didn't have any service records.

I have put ~40k miles on the car since I bought it. It's a fast car and fun to drive, and I behave accordingly. That being said, I'd like to think I maintain my cars extremely well. When I sold my 1990 Accord last summer, it easily went for twice the Kelly Blue Book value.

To save you the trouble of reading through the last 2 pages, here's a brief rundown:
* 2001 Maxima SE Automatic
* 107k miles now; have had this problem since 80k miles
* when first started after sitting for 8 hours or more, it has problems shifting into 1st and 2nd gear
* lately, when the above is true, I have another problem where I put the gear shift lever into R, D, 2, or L, and the transmission does not seem to engage at all. when this occurs, pressing on the gas pedal yields a very slow creep forward, but something is not right. the engine revs go up very high, but the car does not make much forward progress

I have done the following:
* drained and refilled with DEXRON III at 80k miles
* drained and refilled again at 81k miles
* dropped pan, cleaned a ton of powder and flakes out, and refilled at 106k miles

I prepared to keep this car for a long time, so if I need to get a new transmission, that's fine. If you were me, what would you do?

Love_00_Max

First off we are not bickering, we have a difference in opinion. That is what forums are for anyway, we differ but in the end we contribute too, it is for the readers of the thread to take what is relevant.

Now get urself a used tranny and move on since u want to keep it for the forseable future!!!

Good luck..

2kmax865

Hate to say it but your trans is fried. Last time I seen that much metal in a trany pan, pump went out causing clutch pack to burn up.

spock

iTrader: (5)

I am certainly NOT a transmission expert, but I have had my hands and tools on cars for over 25 years.
Given the fact the it wont shift and/or engauge plus the amount of shavings in the pan, I'm sorry to say that tranny is toast.
Take your pics to a reputable tranny specialist and question a rebuild or buy a,(hopefully low mileage), used one. From what I've experienced with a couple of friends rebuilds, they don't last as long as originals that don't have problems.

williamgd2

Not bickering either but find a good used transmission and someone to put it in, It would almost $2000.00 to have it rebuilt and you could find a good used one for around $300-$400

P. Samson

I'm laughing after reading all the posts in this thread because it just hit me that this thread reminds me of the famous Monty Python's dead parrot routine. The parrot was definitely dead......just like the thread starter's tranny.

spock

iTrader: (5)

It's not dead, it's just resting.

vastmax

iTrader: (18)

my shavings had a fuzzy look to them, not all sharp and pointy. Also, If you were to drop the whole valve body, you could get to that nut.

I've done a couple Transgo Kits, in fact I still have 2 modified VB's sitting around...

Scottwax

iTrader: (8)

If the transmission has been shifting badly for 27,000 miles now, your clutch packs are probably toast. DO NOT get yours rebuilt. Shops that can properly rebuild any import automatic transmission are rarer than an honest politician. Ask SexyLeo about her multiple rebuilds and I went through it with an Accord. 5 times they went back through it under warranty (at a cost to me of 45 days of car rental) and never got it right.

Look for a low mileage used transmission. Drop the pad and see what is stuck to the magnets, also check to make sure the fluid is red and most importantly, smells like ATF. If it is dark and has a burnt odor to it, pass on that transmission.

spock

iTrader: (5)

Changed your opinion?

Scottwax

iTrader: (8)

Fluid looked good in the pictures and not having pulled the pan off my transmission, I have no idea what the normal amount of shavings looks like. My old Accord always had a lot of stuff stuck to the magnetic drain plug and it made it to 190,000 miles. If others who've pulled their pans say that is an excessive amount of material on the magnets, I'm not going to argue with them, they are in a better position to judge than I am. Besides, I said it doesn't look "too excessive".

Based on what others have said and the problems the OP is having with shifting, I agree that the transmission is on its way out.

evalyn

Well, to everyone who said this transmission was on its way out, I have to hand it to you. This afternoon, I was rolling to a stop, probably in 2nd gear, when I saw my chance to go and scoot out into traffic. I punched it, and BOOM goes the dynamite. Cars are just not supposed to make sounds like what I heard.

I limped into a parking lot and got out to see. There was a giant trail of transmission fluid leading back to the stop sign. I took a look under the car, and just about screamed. She's dead. The transmission casing busted wide open. I can see the gears.

Pics attached.

Nelsito65

... that's unfortunate. Hope you were $omehow prepared for thi$$$, especially $o around Xma$$ time...

evalyn

Yeah, I have the money, thankfully. My mechanic (whom I trust very much) referred me to a transmission shop that is currently calling around town to get prices on a rebuilt transmission from Nissan, and a used transmission in good shape.

I'll search around on the forum more when I get the chance, but how much should I expect to put into this? I am considering dumping this car and getting a 5.5 Max, which is what I always wanted anyways (HIDs and 3.5 liter motor).

Nelsito65

I wouldn't know these days how much a job like that should cost, let alone how you should expect to put into it. The money you put into having it fixed is a matter of personal opinion and depends mostly on how much YOU value your car. After you get your quotes you'll have a better idea on what decision to make. I was getting ready to dump a car, about 15 years ago, because of the same reason, until a friend stepped in and did the swap for less money than what the shops were asking.

atlantagraves

iTrader: (3)

wow. sorry about your loss man. first pics ive seen of a blown tranny. ouch. good luck on the replacement, or whatever you decide to do

evalyn

Here are my options so far, as presented to me by Arturo Valadez of Valadez Transmission in San Antonio, TX:

Option #1: rebuilt transmission from Gunn Nissan: $4100
Warranty: 12 months on parts, no warranty on labor

Option #2: used transmission with 70K miles: $2100
Warranty: 12 months on parts, no warranty on labor

Option #3: mechanic buys core, installs all new parts: $2000
Warranty: 12 months on both parts AND labor

All prices are pre-tax, but otherwise include all associated costs (parts, labor, etc.). This mechanic charges $70/hr. for labor, and is estimating 8 hours on Options #1 and #2.

I'm at a fork in the road here, and in need of help. Please offer whatever advice you can. If I left something out, let me know, and I'll try to fill it in.

Ben

Nelsito65

Try to get quotes with comparable warranties from at least 3 different places to see what the others have to offer. I would think that in this economy, and with christmas fast approaching, shops might be a little more competitive to earn your business.
$2k for the least expensive option is something to think about so I don't blame you. I bet you are now leaning hard towards getting the 2003 and dumping this one.

Scottwax

iTrader: (8)

I've seen much better prices for used transmissions than that quote, you should be able to find one for $500-750 and another $300 for installation.

spock

iTrader: (5)

Wow, blowed up real good!
I'd go for the used one, as long as the pan could be dropped and inspected first. Be sure to change your rad too.

evalyn

What's got y'all so hooked on buying a used transmission? I see rebuilding a core as the clear winner, due to the similar prices. Am I missing something?

cmax1

make SURE that when you get the trans installed that they flush the trans cooler and the lines. All those shavings went to those areas and could travel right back into your new trans, killing it again.

atomicplague

WOW! Who here saw that coming? I would've expected the clutches to finally give up, but not the diff blowing the case apart! Sorry about your loss, evalyn, but that is ironic.

If you don't mind "missing" about a thousand bucks. Pick up a phone book tomorrow and start calling auto recyclers. You should find one much cheaper. You could probably even pull the pan before you buy it to check the magnets. If they look like yours did, keep shopping.

spock

iTrader: (5)

For whatever reason, rebuilds just don't seem to last as long as a low mileage used one. Remember that they were rebuilt for a reason-they failed. And you'll never know to what extent they failed. I can't stress enough to replace your rad when the replacement tranny goes in.

atomicplague

I never understood this. If you flush and backflush the cooler, shouldn't that be fine? All the fluid from the cooler goes back through the strainer before entering the internals of the trans. Am I missing something?

10's or bust

if done properly a rebuild will always outlast the original counterpart but that's only if the build is giong to replace everything and reuse nothing other than the case, valvebody, and front differential gear itself. That being said just get a JDM replacement they're quite a bit stronger than stock and unless the builder is gonna present u all of the used parts and matching reciepts to show all of the parts replaced in the tranny and nothing reused i mean absolutely nothing reused!!!

spock

iTrader: (5)

It's still a risk. Theoretically, you should be fine. If there is a restriction or blockage of any kind the flow of fluid will be reduced. I wouldn't take that chance for the price of a new rad.

10's or bust

I've built a few of these trannies and I can tell u to build them and build them right everything inside must be replaced and nothing reused at all. Assuming the builder buys everthying new the price for just the parts in the tranny alone will run cost about 900-1500 dollars easy not to mention the labor and cost of tearing it down with is seperate from the cost of parts.The extra 1200-1400 dollars more it would cost them in total labor added to the cost of parts and you can see very quickly why a $3000 job would never come close to the estimated $1000 the shop would have to invest in the job just to charge a customer $2000 and still make money off the transmission rebuild. Whatever the total price the shop charges the shop always has around 40 percent of that job invested in just parts.

atomicplague

I could hardly read that.

10's or bust

just get the JDM tranny, and get an oversized transcooler and dont even bother with cooler in the radiator as all FWD Borg Warner trannies that nissan use suffer from the effects of low lube flow and severe overheating causing the direct drive clutches to burn and the direct drive and foward input drum to warp from the overheating. Some cases are not as bad as others but they suffer from this because this was a design flaw in the tranny itself!!! This is why that same tranny has been through at least four-five different redesigns and updates at nissan.

evalyn

Yeah, I'm pretty confused, man. Can you bring it down a couple levels? I'm pretty new to this.

Scottwax

iTrader: (8)

That is a huge "if". 90% of the shops just throw in a new set of clutch packs and call it a rebuild and never touch the valve body, bands, etc.

atomicplague

Borg Warner? Isn't it a ford derived 4f20e?

vastmax

iTrader: (18)

CAR-PART.COM

enough said.