I was under the car and noticed alot of dusting around the tranny casing that is usually a culprit of minor oil leaks. Just wanted to check if these pics of my tranny are *normal*

http://larrio.maximaclubca.com/tranny/tranny1.JPG
http://larrio.maximaclubca.com/tranny/tranny2.JPG
http://larrio.maximaclubca.com/tranny/tranny3.JPG
http://larrio.maximaclubca.com/tranny/tranny4.JPG

 

That looks really good Larry. Both of my cars do that, even worse (damn 91) go ahead and get some Gunk engine cleaner and get under the car, spray it down and power nozzle it off.

 

Like don said clean it off with a high pressure washer and deagreser, or brake cleaner. And see if it comes back. The areas don't look wet, so it's all good.

 

Mine does that too. Not sure. Just cleaned it with steel wool to see if it comes back.

 

Larry, I see the underside of over 20+ cars a day...trust me your fine. Just get a can of Brake cleaner and spray it off. Its just gunk from the road, the only time you should worry is if it looked "wet".

 

haha... i'm just trying to find the slightest reason to head back for my 5 yr tranny warranty so i can get a new one before it ends

 

You got plenty of time

 

the third and fifth gear engagements are sometimes relatively loud. First gear is difficult to get into, but I know thats a maxima thing. And second gear is somewhat notchy in the 1-2 or 3-2 shifts.

the engine sounds really.... i dunno the word, rumbly? I'm guessing its the really dirty/clogged k&n panel filter and i'll probably need to clean the tb since this was a used car before hand.

 

The TB clean as you recall from you last car, will help that out a bit but as for the notchy gears like you said, its a maxima thing.
Check your plugs too, I know the OEM ones are rated to last upto 100K or something but I still replaced mine at like 26K. Depending on how many miles you got on it as well, a fuel injection flush might also help.
Just some food for thought.

 

yea, i'm due for a fuel injection and tb cleaning. i'll look into the spark plugs.

the original owner only put 20k miles in three years of ownership.

 

WHAAAAAA!!!?? 20k miles in three years of ownership, probably somebody is a granny or a gramp. My car has 32k already since the day I bought it brand spanking new.

 

hence my car still looks spankin new. as for how it runs... i can't be sure until I dyno next week

 

It looks like you might have a coolant leak leaving the yellowish marks on your tranny. Check the coolant pipe just above the tranny for signs of leakage.

 

the yellowish marks is from the rust when the original owner had a battery acid leak.

i've been battling it in the engine compartment for awhile now.

 

If you are worried, get some dye and pour it in. Run it for a week and use a "Black Light (I think its called UV light)" light and see if there are any traces of dye. They sell kits of that at part stores. Prett sad I use it all the time and cant remember what its exactly called.

 

Is that normal? NO.

Is it a bad leak? Not really. clean it off and keep checking the fluid level. I'd also suggest that you take it by the shop before you clean it.. show them the leak so that they have ti on record for if/when something nasty does happen-- then at minimum you can say you brought the leak to their attention and they didn't fix it.

 

hmm... i guess its time to take a trip to the nissan dealer and point it out to them just in case.

i'm hoping to get a new tranny before the warranty ends.

 

Definitely say something to them. mine is bone dry and I have 210k on my car.... well, the tranny doesn't.. It's about 40k old, but doesn't leak a drop.

 

matt: so your saying that the black spots on the tranny could very well be a slight oil leak? Cause that was my first impression. The black spots look like areas in the engine bay when you overspill oil during oil changes

 

It LOOKS as if it's coming out of the seam between the tranny case and the bellhousing, but I can't be too certain because it's so dirty.

That's NOT normal though. there's either a leak somewhere, you drive through massive amounts of oil on the road, or you reall need help changing your oil.

 

haha... well i know for sure thats not oil from the oil changes as I use a funnel.

i'll take it to the dealer since this is becoming a concern. now I just gotta wait for the TS ecu to be done with and put back the stock intake