I have a 1995 Maxima SE 5-Speed. Last week I noticed a noise come on all of the sudden from the transmission in 1st and 2nd gear mainly. It's like a groaning, whining noise. I've determined it to be the input shaft bearings that are taking a dump.

I found a 2001 Maxima 5-speed transmission for $850 locally. It's a non-locking unit with 53k miles on it. I've decided to just go that route as it will get me back on the road quicker. I can then either replace the bearings on the old tranmission or just sell it as is. It still shifts and works fine - however due to the noise I stopped driving the car as I didn't want to damage the transmission.

I'm going to go with a 2001 Clutch and Pressure plate, along with the throwout bearing. Is there anything else I should need when I do this swap?

Thanks for the help.

 

This is the EXACT same thing im doing right now
5 Days ago my 1st 2nd and some of 3rd gear became VERY loud so i think its the differential bearing going

I just ordered a 2k1 5 speed no LSD w/37K miles for 850 + 50 for shipping and they gave me the clutch, pressure plate, TO bearing, and the flywheel for free
Im heaving Tilley put everything in for me next tue.

 

$850 for a used tranny? ouch, i got my 5speed rebuilt for $800

 

What was wrong with it? Diffy bearings? Did they install the proper shims? Good price BTW.

 

im not exactly sure what the soecific problem was with my car but it was fuked.

the shifter started by getting stuck in the reverse position, i tried to drive a little bit in reverse to pop it out because that had worked before in the past. well while driving, the tranny shifted to 4th by itself, then while driving more, it shifted to 2nd by itself. my house was only about 5 minutes away so i tried to get it home in 2nd gear. well eventually the clutch was ground down to the bone and started tearing up the flywheel. eventually it got so bad that all it did was rev and nothing more.

i got it rebuilt for $800, and then another $700 covered the rest of the parts and labor, so $1500 out the door.

 

^^^ Woah.

Sounds like your old tranny was posessed

 

I'm doing the labor myself. $850 for a used transmission in California is reasonable - we pay more for everything here. Plus I know I can sell my old transmission to recoup a little bit of that cost so in the long run it may be cheaper to go this route. It will get the car back on the road the same day. I have 3 cars so it's not like it's critical to get it going again, but I seem to like driving the Maxima more than my new cars!

 

unix, how many miles do you have? Do you drive hard?

 

I bought the car with 120k miles on it and it's now at 124,500 and the tranny crapped out. I don't really beat on the car too hard, but that's not to say I have not caught second gear a few times.

 

Problem is the previous owner(s) may have driven it like they stole it and knew there was a potential problem which then led them to sell the car.

 

The car seemed fine when I got it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and do most all of the repairs on the vehicles I own myself. Like I said I just noticed it come on quick, in the matter of a days commute. My car is really in very above average condition for being 10 years old. I have all of the service records from the time it was new. Judging by the cheese fish in the back seat and the maintenance history - it was mainly female driven and hauled a child or two around. I think it's just one of those things that happen. In the 12 years or so that I've been driving, I've been fortunate in never having to replace anything major like a transmission or engine. In that time I've owned 12 cars. I just wish I had bought an automatic Maxima.

 

there is something you never hear. Its kinda scary for me to see all these thread as of lately everyones tranny seems to be going and due to the same problem. I do feel a little better i notice its mostly guys with 95-96 cars who are complaining. I am hoping that the tranny in my 1999 is a little better than the eary maxima gear boxes.Good luck man.

 

I just called up my parts guy at the local Nissan dealership. I've got a buddy deal going with him so I ordered up:

All 5th Gen Parts:

Clutch Disc
Pressure Plate
Release Bearing
Pilot Bearing
Flywheel Assembly with new Bolts
Axle Shaft Seals

All told it was about $430 out the door with tax which isn't too bad.

I also went ahead and ordered up a B&M Short Throw shifter to finish things off.

 

is it possible to use 5th gen parts for a 5spd conv?

 

Yep. I'm using a 2001 Transmission and all of the 5th gen parts on my 4th gen motor and vehicle. The 5th gen transmissions are stronger, however it will change the placement of the shifter. That is why I bought the short throw shifter to hopefully get things back in line with where they were stock.

 

Well I picked up the 2001 Transmission this morning. It looks good, input shaft has no side to side movement. I also made my trip to AutoZone (I work for an AutoZone Company) and picked up brake clean, brake fluid, loctite blue, etc. Then I went to Napa and bought a universal clutch alignment tool. Lastly the dealer called me and said all of my parts were in so I headed down there and picked up the axle seals, flywheel, 5th gen clutch/pressureplate, release bearing, pilot bearing (will not be replacing).

I came home and cleaned up the used transmission and replaced the axle seals. I went ahead and removed the clutch fork and cleaned and greased the ball. Lastly I installed the new throwout bearing and reinstalled the clutch fork. So at this point the transmission is good to go.

UPS showed up with my Amsoil Synthetic gear oil - so I've got all of the parts at this point.

We'll be starting tomorrow at around 9am. With air tools and 2 guys, I hope we're done in about 4-5 hours. With any luck, everything will work as it should and my Maxima will be noise free.

 

Good luck with the install
Tell me how the short shifter sits with the new tranny, im getting my swap done on tuesdayand i'd like to know if the shifter is now centered properly.

 

I won't be installing the short throw until next weekend because it's not arriving until Wednesday. I'll update the post when I get everything installed.

 

i just payed 2100 for a tranny rebuilld & clutch for my 95...did i over pay?

 

You can get a brand new transmission w/VLSD for ~$1700...figure labor at ~4 hours, using shop rates at ~$90/hour...figure ~$400 for clutch... 1700+4*90+400=2460.

That's for a brand new 2k1 AE tranny...I'd say you overpaid.

 

Ouch. That's over half what I paid for my 95 Maxima. I had a hard time digesting my $1450 investment here - but I like the car and in all other respects it's in very good condition.

 

If you have the knowledge, time, and tools, you can save yourself alot of money...

I am replacing the diffy bearings and shims in my trans, and it's only going to cost roughly $100

 

Well the 2001 Manual Non-Locking transmission is in. One word to sum up the install - PERFECT.

Wow - I didn't really realize how trashed the original bearings were in my old transmission. This one with 50k miles on it is silent. It's like a whole new car. The new clutch and flywheel make it enjoyable to take off from a stop light, where as the car has always been extremely touchy with the clutch.. it just never felt right to me.

I did find that the input shaft was very stationary with no deflection on the old transmission. However spinning the input shaft made for the skateboard sound. My axle boots were all good, so I did not change the CV joints. I swapped the speed sensor from the 95 transmission into the 2001 unit. I used the 5th gen neutral switch. 4th gen axles fit perfectly. I replaced the oil seals on the transmission and used a new throwout bearing.

The clutch, flywheel and pressure plate are all 5th gen parts. The flywheel differed in design from my original one. I forgot to buy the dowels for the flywheel, however luckily the dealership had them in stock so I picked them up. All told it was about a 6.5 hour job with two of us working.

Here are some tips that I saw:

1. Two guys makes this job MUCH easier and safer if you are doing it on the ground
2. We did not touch the exhaust (y-pipe) or the center member.
3. Wobble sockets are required
4. A mixed variety of extensions are required, not your average 3 and 6" ones.. more like 4.5" to get to the axle carrier bolts.
5. Have a good prybar
6. The Napa universal clutch alignment tool that cost me $14 worked perfectly
7. The pilot bearing should not be touched
8. Remove the 4 bolts from the transmission mount before taking any of the transmission to engine bolts out. Once it's loose, remove the through bolt and pry the mount out. The bolts can be a bit tricky. I used a ratcheting boxed end wrench for one of the bolts closest to the battery tray.
9. Have some VERY long extensions
10. Air tools - have a good impact and air ratchet.
11. Have a 36mm Socket. ~$6 from Sears - I know I had to buy one today.
12. Have a big breaker bar and impact sockets.
13. Have a deadblow hammer for seating the axles.
14. Keep the friction surfaces clean. Have a couple of cans of brake clean on hand to get the parts ready.. even the new parts.

The two of us lifted the transmission into place and it slid right in. We got lucky.. it went the first time with no issues. It was easy with the two of us.

I also noticed my serpentine belts were looking bad and my oil pressure switch was starting to leak - so I bought new parts at the dealer when I picked up the dowels and installed the belts and switch. That made a nice difference too. Quiet belts!

My car had a clutch replacement at 96k. It also had the rear main seal done. The rear main was not leaking.. but damn I don't think I've ever seen more grey RTV used to seal between the retainer and the upper oilpan. HAHA... but hey it does not leak and has not in 30k, so it didn't look to be worth messing with.

The clutch that was installed at 96k was probbaly done due to a rear main leak.. because the transmission has an old oily film look.. like the leak was fixed but the after effects are there. It was marked "DK" on the clutch.. probably for DONKEY or something. Only the outer third of the clutch seemed to engage the flywheel or pressure plate. No wonder the POS was slipping with a couple of guys in the car and a hard 1-2 shift. I'm glad I replaced everything... the clutch though looked to have another 30k miles on it.. but it was jacked. Crappy aftermarket clutches.

All told, this thing drives like a whole new car. The shifter position is different, but since I'm tall I don'd mind it. It's true, 1st gear is where about neutral was before. B&M on the way to fix that though. This is not a very easy job, but if you've got the tools and the parts up front it's doable. I don't look forward to doing it again... but hey in all honesty it could not have gone more smoothly. I love the 5th gen clutch and transmission.. man it just feels great. The car is 20x more quiet in 1st and 2nd... I can't believe how loud it has been the whole time I've owned it.

Good luck with your transmission projects guys! 2001 transmission all the way!!!!

 

Great writeup. Thanks for the info...