4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999) Visit the 4th Generation forum to ask specific questions or find out more about the 4th Generation Maxima.
View Poll Results: Have you had a transmission problem related to power output?
No
26
70.27%
Yes, I blew a gear (please specify which gear)
2
5.41%
Yes, something else happened other than blowing a gear
4
10.81%
Yes, something is wrong right now and I don't know what yet
6
16.22%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 37. You may not vote on this poll

Calling all 200whp+ 5spds: How's your transmission holding up?

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Old Aug 21, 2005 | 04:47 PM
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Calling all 200whp+ 5spds: How's your transmission holding up?

Have you blown a gear or had some other problem related to the transmission caused by your power output? If so, what happened?
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 05:35 PM
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mine was replaced at 120k miles. Im not sure if im pushing 200+ with my mods (mevi, y pipe, intake, exhaust) but it seems to be holding well now that its been replaced.

A few bearings went and it was making a whining noise.
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 06:47 PM
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No problems here, other than a dead clutch.
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 06:50 PM
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Nope no probs with my transmisson, my engine on the other hand isn't doing so well. When I bought the car the previous owner had the transmisson rebuilt and a new clutch installed so that's probally why I have no issues.
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 11:09 PM
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Original stock 125k clutch but the tranny started making noises about a month ago so beware.Thankfully i didn't sell you my VLSD so i am not worried since i have a spare.
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 11:16 PM
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My tranny is making the whining noise in first gear and my clutch slips sometimes in the winter. I have about 73k on my car.
Old Aug 21, 2005 | 11:34 PM
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I wouldn't say its cause by power rather than bad shims, from what i've heard, our 4th gen trans are prone to go out around 100k due to a bad shim in one of the bearings, I replaced my trans last year because of the bearing noise that many currently experiencing. Replaced it with an 01 trans and now running 125 shot with a stage 3 Spec clutch, its been few months so far no problems. Just be extra careful I guess, I had no symptoms before it went out but if it happens replace it with a 5th gen trans and u shoud be good.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 01:06 AM
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well over 200hp with no problems so far
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Iilac
My tranny is making the whining noise in first gear and my clutch slips sometimes in the winter. I have about 73k on my car.
isnt this noise normal? i would get the same noise in my prelude and now in my max. its a light whining noise but noticable.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:14 AM
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If it's the same whine you get in reverse then you're alright, if not then its something else wrong.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:16 AM
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same whine. whew! THT, ur 5sp is not messing up already is it?
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:32 AM
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Could someone maybe get a recording of what it souinds like when the shims start going? I have space we can use to host wmv's or mpgs. A video cam would be perfect so you can see the motion of the car as well.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:56 AM
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Well I only have an intake but from what I'm told, I have bad bearings. I'm at 135k. I have a grinding sound. I have a thread on it as we speak.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 10:08 AM
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not sure if i'm at 200 yet but clutch and throwout are gone, still having problems getting it running again i/y/h/B soon to come... 00VI
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 02:28 PM
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My trans is fine. I just want to know if I should be anticipating any problems.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by PTownMax
not sure if i'm at 200 yet but clutch and throwout are gone, still having problems getting it running again i/y/h/B soon to come... 00VI
so it wasn't just the clutch jeff?
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 05:16 PM
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If you ever blow a gear out or feel like going a step up then throw in the 5th Gen transmission.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by scrhale
If you ever blow a gear out or feel like going a step up then throw in the 5th Gen transmission.
Neal disproved this.
Old Aug 22, 2005 | 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by shmad
isnt this noise normal? i would get the same noise in my prelude and now in my max. its a light whining noise but noticable.

Same whine as reverse. I thought it was a symptom of bad bearings but if this is normal then I am glad to hear that.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 03:45 PM
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Surprising and disturbing that nearly half of those who voted had a problem.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 05:27 PM
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Boosted for almost 60k miles, over 365 hp for the last 8k, many WOT runs. No problems at all, but I shift like a grandma.

I rebuilt the tranny and reshimmed it when I converted to 5 speed.

By the way, it's torque that kills the drivetrain, not hp.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 07:07 PM
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with 75 shots of nitrous and still holding strong. I replaced my perfectly good clutch for my exedy clutch at 80k.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 08:04 PM
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man. thats not much. 190 stock at the flywheel
isnt that like 180 or something at the wheels?
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 08:26 PM
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Originally Posted by maxinthamax
man. thats not much. 190 stock at the flywheel
isnt that like 180 or something at the wheels?
No, more in the 170 whp range.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 08:57 PM
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Originally Posted by maxinthamax
man. thats not much. 190 stock at the flywheel
isnt that like 180 or something at the wheels?
It's called power to weight ratios my friend (and a sweet a$$ Nissan 5 speed transmission for the icing on the cake). That is the reason why Maximas can run with the older stock mustang GT's.

Do you even have a maxima?
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by THT
Surprising and disturbing that nearly half of those who voted had a problem.
And to top it off... I wouldn't doubt the fact that there were a handful of people who can't follow instructions and who voted for the "No trans probs" even though they don't have nearly 200 fwhp.
Old Aug 25, 2005 | 09:24 PM
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I was saying thats not much of a gain from stock.
And yes, I have a maxima, why else would I be on these boards?
Not to mention the old 5.0's suck haha
Old Aug 27, 2005 | 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by maxinthamax
I was saying thats not much of a gain from stock.
And yes, I have a maxima, why else would I be on these boards?
Not to mention the old 5.0's suck haha
It takes a lot to break the 200whp/wtq barrier in a NA 4th gen.
Old Aug 27, 2005 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
By the way, it's torque that kills the drivetrain, not hp.
horsepower doesn't exist, it is a useless number calculated directly from the torque output and the engine RPM. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower1.htm and http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower2.htm

What you are saying is true though, applying huge torque at the low end will kill a tranny faster. But the our time, everyone ignores torque ....

As for the OP, I'm not at 200whp, as I just have I/Y/E, but I'd probably run similar track numbers, as I've got a pretty stripped maxima (cloth seats, 15" steelies, etc. etc.), and my tranny just started leaking last month. Now i'm on the hunt for a good place to rebuild my tranny.
Old Sep 4, 2005 | 01:33 PM
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It is not hard at all to break 200 NA. Toss on I/H/Y/E, 00VI, and ECU ... call it a day. You might not even need ECU. That setup is guarenteed to break 200 but it will cost you for sure. Headers ... 700 easily, nice exhaust 450, ECU 350, 00VI 250. Adds up fast.
Old Sep 4, 2005 | 02:55 PM
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Originally Posted by scrhale
It is not hard at all to break 200 NA. Toss on I/H/Y/E, 00VI, and ECU ... call it a day. You might not even need ECU. That setup is guarenteed to break 200 but it will cost you for sure. Headers ... 700 easily, nice exhaust 450, ECU 350, 00VI 250. Adds up fast.
Not hard? That's basically all the NA mods available to us...
Old Sep 4, 2005 | 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by scrhale
It is not hard at all to break 200 NA. Toss on I/H/Y/E, 00VI, and ECU ... call it a day. You might not even need ECU. That setup is guarenteed to break 200

It's a little bit more complicated than just tossing them on...



Also, I belive MardiGrasMax is on a stock tranny (built 3.5, turbo @ 16.5? psi)
Old Sep 9, 2005 | 06:10 AM
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No probs here. I had my bearings and seals replaced at 100K (right after I got it). THe car has 141K now. I'm running a 6-puck sprung hub clutch. No probs yet.

I have never dyno'd but I can say that I have a SC with a 3.1" pulley putting out about 10psi and I'm running a 75 shot. I don't do WOT shifts or redline launches though.
Old Sep 9, 2005 | 07:07 AM
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Never ran mine on a dyno but if I had to guess I would say 225whp/225wtq because my best trap speed is 105.29 mph.

Originally Posted by Stephen Max
By the way, it's torque that kills the drivetrain, not hp.


I blew 3rd gear back in June, and I blew 1st gear last Sunday. I race alot, though. I can understand why I blew 3rd gear, I was wheelhopping back then, but 1st gear? Come on, that's just lame. I haven't done 6.5k clutch dumps with the 6-puck since June so I doubt 1st gear took a beating. I just launch off idle (1.5k) always.

One thing I have to mention is that my 1st and 2nd gears come from a 2000 Altima 5-speed and are a bit more aggressive. Nissan only used those first two gears in the 2000-2001 Altima so I guess it wasn't that hot.

Since I'm opening the tranny I want to check for synchros and such, but they were fine last time. I will also change the final drive from 3.82 to 4.47 and check for a VLSD differencial because mine no longer works and acts like a regular US Open Diff (stupid one wheel burnouts).
Old Sep 12, 2005 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by JClaw
Never ran mine on a dyno but if I had to guess I would say 225whp/225wtq because my best trap speed is 105.29 mph.





I blew 3rd gear back in June, and I blew 1st gear last Sunday. I race alot, though. I can understand why I blew 3rd gear, I was wheelhopping back then, but 1st gear? Come on, that's just lame. I haven't done 6.5k clutch dumps with the 6-puck since June so I doubt 1st gear took a beating. I just launch off idle (1.5k) always.

One thing I have to mention is that my 1st and 2nd gears come from a 2000 Altima 5-speed and are a bit more aggressive. Nissan only used those first two gears in the 2000-2001 Altima so I guess it wasn't that hot.

Since I'm opening the tranny I want to check for synchros and such, but they were fine last time. I will also change the final drive from 3.82 to 4.47 and check for a VLSD differencial because mine no longer works and acts like a regular US Open Diff (stupid one wheel burnouts).

Why not build the tranny up the next time you blow a gear so you don't have to go through the hassle of taking it off, replacing parts, cleaning it out, and bolting it back up to the engine?
Old Sep 12, 2005 | 03:59 PM
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172,XXX miles on original tranny.....second motor with S/C~294hp/ 278tq...went through 2 clutch OEM clutch/ 1 ACT & a clutch fork...still in great condition after all the the power shifting it took from all the races it endure....gotta love my tranny.
Old Sep 12, 2005 | 07:23 PM
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Nice. 1st / 2nd gear were gone, + clutch @ 117K.... hard driving, intake/exhaust


SUCKS to have to have a tranny rebuild.
Old Sep 12, 2005 | 08:21 PM
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Input shaft bearings are bad. 200 bucks for 6 gay bearings.
Old Oct 12, 2005 | 07:13 PM
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i blew my tranny 3 nights ago it sucks... car is curently on jack stands with tranny on floor...gettin a used one monday... cant ait miss my car...also does anyone kno wha is a bigger throttle body i can put on my car...??? message me if you do thanx
Old Oct 12, 2005 | 07:35 PM
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Don't bother maximas suck.



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