I am new to this forum and kindly request assistance with regard to a recently inherited 2000 A33 Maxima I have decided to restore. Overall it is in amazing condition for its year though it does have a few issues ...

I am slowly working my way through the list of things to do but the auto gearbox is causing me a little concern. Although it runs beautifully with smooth gear-changes when slowly travelling around town, I note that if I push it a little harder, the gearchange becomes quite harsh with a solid THUMP when it changes gear. Not smooth at all. By memory it is worse in the lower gear changes ie 1st to second.

Is this a problem on its way? Or is there some form of adjustment to take care of this?

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards,

Pieter

 

check motor mounts, if they haven't been replaced the car is at an age where they are probably shot. bad motor mounts = excessive engine movement = unwanted stuff happening at gear change. replace auto mounts with manual mounts, manual are cheaper and auto mounts can cause damage to the ecu.

also check the lower radiator support for rust, it can completely rust through to where the crossmember is no longer supported, giving similar symptoms to bad mounts

 

Thanks the fast response. Interesting insofar I have a vibration which I believe to be a spark plug/injector/coil pack playing up. It clears on acceleration or when idling in neutral. However, when idling in gear or low revs there is a bit of vibration. This is much more noticeable (car actually shaking) if slowly reversing uphill (my drive is on a slope). This would make your thoughts on engine mounts a logical answer, though the miss would be a different issue of course. Thanks for that. I will check them out and take your advise as far as "manual" mounts are concerned. Thanks again. PS No sign of rust where you suggest ... or anywhere on the car for that matter.

 

The rust problem is on cars where it snows and salt is used on the roads to melt the snow and ice buildups. I would not expect cars in Australia to have this problem.

 

I remember those problems on the UK and NZ roads. As you correctly say, not many rust problems here in Australia ... and cars can last a very long time if looked after. Thanks again for your previous advise re resistor pack ... now installed a new unit correctly and enjoying nice cold aircon! The old unit that I fried and jumpered is now a back-up

 

Change the trans fluid. I had a hard shift that was fixed after I got new fluid.

 

You got some very good advice in post #2 above. Very good and brief - this note explains why you really want to do all the things that Cornholio suggested: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6O...1fNlF5QjQ/view .

Re. your tranny: Since you don't know the maintenance history of the car, you should try to replace all the transmission fluid, all 12 qts of it. To achieve a full replacement, you'll have to do three consecutive drain&fill's in a row.

 

Are the manual mounts directly compatible with the auto setup (front and rear)? What about on a 2001?

 

I'm never sure where to post a general question lol!!'

 

There is the General Maxima Discussion forum.

It is above the 8th Generation Maxima forum.

 

Yes, they'll be a direct fit. I believe 3 of the 4 mounts are compatible, the exception being the transmission mount.

 

Thank you for the info. I will change the autofluid as recommended. An update to the 'miss' was a simple fuel cleanser additive ... NULON brand. Been running beautifully ever since. I'm not one for fuel additives, but this certainly has worked well. Thanks also for the link ... Christmas holidays coming up so plenty of opportunity to get all that stuff checked and done. Again many many thanks to everyone who helped point me in the right direction. Your assistance is VERY much appreciated

 

I used to get a ruff 1-2 shift, like it had a shift kit in it. I found found a error code from the trans. I then found a tread about a loose wire in the trans.
I dropped the pan, soldiered the wire, cleaned the pan and installed. Added 4 quarts of fluid and it stopped.
Do you get a check engine light? Does your transmission dash light flash like 8 times?
.

 

No check engine light, no error codes, no flashing lights. If I drive slowly, it shifts first to second smoothly but if I give it a little more throttle (not flooring it, just a bit more), it will change first to second with a hard thump (the more the throttle the harder the 'thump' in other words the degree of roughness is proportional to the amount of throttle) ... smooth all other gears. Followed instructions as in this thread and changed transmission fluid but no difference.

 

Check your motor mounts

 

I'll check those again. Cornholio suggested this before and when I checked they seemed good. Manual mounts as well ... maybe different here in Australia? But I'll go through the procedure again ... I might have missed something. Thanks for your help

 

This worked for me : http://www.autocodes.com/uploads/nissan/NTB05-001.pdf
You don't say your mileage or if the motor mounts were checked or changed.

 

Thanks for the link, Arthur. It describes the problem perfectly and I'm guessing you've hit the nail on the head. Vehicle has covered 274,000 kms or 170,000 miles. It is a one owner vehicle owned by a relative who was fastidious to a fault ... even took it to the dealer for servicing for the whole of it's life. Motor mounts I checked and noted were manual. Seemed OK but I will recheck. Thanks again for your help. I'll let you know how I go

 

The mounts by just looking at them could appear to be ok. The best way to be positive is to drop the cross member and check them with it on the ground. Sometimes you cannot see that the rubber is actually broken all the way through with it attached to the motor.

 

Thanks for that. Will definitely follow your advice and check them properly. Thanks again

 

That NTB referenced in post #17 above only applies to 2003-2004 Maximas and your car is a 2000. However, it's probably a worthwhile check.

 

Thanks.

 

As others have said do a thorough check on the motor mounts.

If those still check out ok, then drop the pan and take a look at all of your solenoid wire connections.

If those check out ok, refill ATF and see if there is any change.

Honestly, a hard shift doesn't really hurt the car, except possible excessive wear on the motor mounts. Aside from that...nothing.

If you are really annoyed by it you can replace the solenoids, although they do not come cheap...

 

Thanks. This Christmas break is a good excuse to go through all the suggestions made. As said previously, I am somewhat surprised that this car is in such good condition, considering it's age and mileage. I am even more surprised (pleasantly) that so many helpful people exist on this forum. You have all been a great help and I sincerely appreciate your assistance. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR