Transmission problems after engine swap
 

About a month and a half ago, I brought my car to a small auto shop owned by my friend's father. I took the car in because the timing chain system was bad. the mechanic suggested that I replace the engine because there were metal shavings in the oil pan. I was quoted for about $1600 for the entire job which included a used engine w/ about 84k miles on it and labor. I felt it was a great deal and agreed for the work to be done. When the work was done, I went to go pick it up and was told by the mechanic to take it for a spin. I drove the car for about 5 minutes then the car started to jerk when I'd accelerate. Finally just a few blocks from the shop, I tried to make a 3 point turn and got stuck because I couldn't put the out the car in gear. I would press the gas and the engine would just rev. Luckily I was near the shop and was able to call them to tow the car back. My question is this. Do you guys think that the transmission was damaged when the engine was replaced and is the mechanic liable for this damage? Mechanic did say that it is possible that something in the tranny was touched or knocked loose in the during the engine work. All I know is that I had no issues with the transmission prior to me bringing it to this shop. I am aware that 2005 Maximas are notorious for having faulty transmissions and timing chain systems. I'm also aware that there is was a class action lawsuit involving this year/make/model. Unfortunately the mechanic is too and seems to not be taking responsibility for this damage. What do you guys think? Did the the mechanic damage the transmission when he removed and installed a new engine? Or was my tranny already messed up and this is all just a case of bad timing??

Make sure the drive shafts are fully inserted into the transmission. Chances are the drivers side is not pushed in. If it won't stay in, check the C clip on the end of the shaft for damage.

did you talk to your friend's father who owns the shop and discuss your concerns?
did the shop actually do a test drive prior to your arrival?
are they going to make an attempt to find out what's exactly wrong with the transmission?

the mechanic is not going to do anything. you'll need to talk to the mgr/owner/someone in charge and let them know that your car is officially undriveable. you will not pay for any repairs to the engine until the car drives the way it came in. if the transmission shifted correctly when you bought the car in then it should shift correctly on it's way out. an engine swap doesn't entail making impacts on the transmission or anything unless they dropped the transmission and engine assembly during removal. i assume they added the fluid back in to the transmission...if not then these guys are idiots.

if the drive shaft is not fully seated into the transmission then you'll have a massive ATF leak on the floor.

Yes, I have talked to my friend's father who also happens to be one of the mechanics working on the car. The other mechanic told me he test drove the car and had actually just pulled back into the shop when I arrived. There's two of them working on the car. Immediately after we realized the car was gonna Be out of commission , the owner drove me to his house and loaned me one of his son's cars to drive while my maxima was being worked on. He did not demand payment and told me that they will figure out what's wrong and we'd sort out the payment later. In the week after, he said that they were going to rebuild the transmission with all new parts which they did (or so he claims) and we were all optimistic that that was going to be it...after all that the car still couldn't go when in gear for too long. Mechanic was able to drive it down the street from the shop then the slipping happened again. We talked about possibly getting a used replacement tranny but the part was a lot of money for a part with 90k plus miles on it. Last we all talked about it the mechanic team were talking about the problem possibly being electrical or having to do with an error code that they have yet to figure out. I've been popping by the shop unannounced over the past week and even though I would stop by pretty late, sure enough the lights would be on and the car is hooked up to a diagnostic machine....haven't been any new developments in the last week...