Hi gents, haven't been on in a while but it appears i may be moving into the 6th gen room. I may be trading in my 98 SE today on a 2004 SL. The SL has only 31K on it and looks to be very slick. Fingers are crossed.

 

Details on incoming car?

4AT?

 

After work today I go to check it out. My close friend is the salesman and is very impressed by it. He can't wait for me to see it because he thinks it's the one. Depending on the outcome and verdict, I will make sure to post some more info. I'm getting a little revved up...

 

Congrats on your potential buy, just be careful, the Tranny's on the 04 are very weak, If it is a Stick you should be fine but the 5at and 4at have issues relating to the valve body. Do a quick search on the valve body.

Good luck

 

+1

If it is 31,000 miles and an AT, you should have some time to do some preventative care (i.e. valve body swap) versus inheriting a high mileage vehicle with a potentially damaged trans.

 

My tranny didn't go bad on me until I hit about 55k miles, so definitely the recommendation above is something to consider

 

IIRC, the 4AT is solid, its the same as in the 5th gen. The 5at is the one with the valve body issue. But.... with only 31,000 I would swap out the tranny fluid for a full synthetic and you should be golden.

 

The 5AT is the 'weak' one (relatively speaking since the 4AT isn't much better, IMO).

BUT, it's an SL, so it's not stick, and if an early build model, it will be the 4AT.

 

Update?

 

Bought it! Once it is shined up and up to display standards I will post pix. I'll keep all thoughts in mind concerning the tranny. I believe I have the 5at. Car is pretty damn impressive. Concerning the valve swap, are we talking big bucks? I plan to have my mechanic give it his once over and check the fluid to maybe flush and replace with synthetic as I always like that along with synthetic oil. Any and all comments/thoughts are most welcome as I was only familiar with my bulletproof 98 SE. Thanks guys.

 

Congrats man!! Looking forward to seeing some pics. Hopefully you'll be good with a 5AT. There's been some members that have never had that issue with theirs.

As for the valve swap. I honestly don't have a clue on that but, someone will probably help you out with those questions.

 

congrats bro, ur gonna love the new max. post some pics up soon

 

I personally solved all my tranny roughness by doing a 3x fill, drive and drain the same day. I plan to drain and refill every year now. I think the issue is tranny fluid that gets cooked in there, with chunks of friction parts, etc.

If it's a 5 speed, use only nissan k matic. Nothing else is perfectly equivalent. You would be asking for trouble.

 

Congrats dude

 

That's right. And if 4speed use Matic D. If 4speed you really have little to worry about on the tranny; it's the 5speed that's fundamentally faulty.

 

Congrats on the new ride. Subbed for pics

 

Do I get the k magic directly from a Nissan dealership?

 

Yes.

 

Thanks bro. I will do that. My mechanic will do the work but I'll hit the dealership for the fluid. Do you guys think my local Aamco will know about doing a valve body swap? Also, do I need to obtain parts and take them in if I do go that way eventually?

 

Looking a bit more, it appears I have a 4at. Makes me feel a little better. That being said, I really baby my cars and don't race or generally work my cars too hard with an extremely heavy foot.

 

So Costee, since I think I have a 4at, I'll need to go with Matic D? I assume I would hit the dealership for this as well? Do any of you guys ever use any Lucas products in your trannies? I have over the years, and it does seem to help some.

 

Hi Men,
Doing a little more research, the information I have found tells me the 2004 SL with automatic tranny is a 4 speed only. 05 and 06 SL's, however, were 5 speed autos. So it appears that I may have the better of the two transmissions, no?

 

With the information out there, yes so it would seem

 

No. The early build 04s had the 4 speed and the later run of 04s had the 5 speed. I have an 04 SL with the 5 speed. If it has the shifter gate that allows you to manually shift the gears up/down then it's the 5 speed.

 

This is the shifter on the 5 speed



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Thank you and thanks to all of you. I had called my local Nissan Service Dept. I was told the same thing. Unfortunately now I know I have the 5 speed. Driving as easy as I do normally though shouldn't put it through a tremendous toll I'm hoping. Either way, I'm getting the tranny flushed and putting synthetic in. I should get the synthetic fluid from a Nissan dealer though, right?

 

use only nissan k matic

 

Got it. Thanks everyone.

 

Doc, check your owner's manual; if it says matic D then it's 4speed, if matic K it's 5speed. You could also post the pic of the shifter here so we could confirm or even your car VIN.

 

Congrats

 

Thanks Costee. My shifter gate is like the one shown above. 5 speed it is for me. During the holiday break I'll be getting flushed and filled with matic k. I thank all the guys here for the words of caution and advice. This is why this is the best forum around. It's good to be able to dialogue with guys who have inside knowledge since I am in no way a gear head (and I only mean that as a compliment). I definitely want to swap the ugly stock grill as well this spring. I want a clean and simple look. I won't heavily mod my Max but want to personalize it a little bit. I think this weekend I can post some pix. Finally got her all clean and detailed.

 

^^^^ have you been to my6thgen.org?? Check it out lost of How To's and DIY's for our cars.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

 

Kryogen, i plan to get mine flushed and filled. Do you see or know of any problem with that? One of the guys here had mentioned to me that Nissan recommends against flushing the tranny.

 

The 4AT still is not that great. I have it in mine. See sig.

 

Here is a pic of my new Max '04 SL. Can't wait until spring!

 

congrats on the buy man - you will deff enjoy it!!

loving the red, not many of them around (I think you fall into the limited club as I do)

 

Nice color. Looks like it's been well taken care of by the previous owner.

 

Looks good and the tires look like a good deal of tread is left which would be helpful on snow days like today in Cleveland. My 04 does not have traction control and I don't remember if that was an option for it or not, could have used it today. Congrats and welcome over to the 6th gen.

 

very clean NICE !