Okay i've looked at level 10's site for built trannys an came accross their kits one is like 675 which seems really low but now i'm wondering is that all I need or do I also have to get their torque converters and all that other stuff they have listed there? Heres the link. Can you guys tell me if I will need more than just that kit?

Heres the Link : http://www.levelten.com/store/import...rts_nissan.htm

 

will you put it in yourself? It's not an easy task.

 

Actually, $675 is high for a rebuild kit.

What's wrong with your unit? Be as specific as possible and I'll see if I can help.

 

Wow thats high? Damn I thought they were going to be much higher than that. Anyways my tranny has no 3rd or 4th gear anymore. I want my tranny to be stronger so I won't have to go through any trouble later on down the line. I'm not going to do it myself so I was wondering if buying the kit is worth it instead of a whole new unit and if the kit is a good choice is that all I will need?

 

There's not a good short answer to your question but here goes:

Your tranny consists of soft parts, hard parts, electronics and a torque converter. The kit you are thinking about buying are the soft parts only. Hard parts are all purchased separately (not in a kit). Of course the torque converter is purchased separately as well.

If you're not doing this yourself (which I think is a good move on your part), I'm assuming you have a shop or friend that has experience rebuilding these units working with you. If that's the case, you need to tell whoever is rebuilding your trans that you want to make sure the rebuild is done correctly. Lots of people think that this means taking it apart and putting it back together with new parts. Of course, you have to do that BUT you also need to set up all the clearances correctly (which most people don't even know about), replacing bushings (that don't come in any kit) and most trans rebuilds include mods that will make the trans last longer, work better and often help resolve problems that were not known when the unit was built from the factory. That's assuming of course that your rebuilder knows what he's doing.

This means replacing all of the soft parts and any hard parts that are needed. Unfortunately, unless you have xray vision, you won't know if you need any hard parts until the trans is removed from the car and tore completely down and inspected. So to answer one of your questions, a kit like you're wanting to buy is a good start but there's no guarantee you won't need additional parts once the unit is opened up. Whoever is rebuilding your unit will likely have access to parts much cheaper than you can get them. If nothing else, most cities of any size have places where you can buy parts at wholesale costs. Just google it or check yellow pages where you live. A full soft parts kit should not be more than $250. Probably less.

Ok, now here's the part that may not make much sense to you. BEFORE you pull the unit out of the car, make sure that whomever is rebuilding the unit checks out the trans electrical components. This means looking for codes (even if the CEL is not on), etc. If electronic components go bad, they can destroy the trans and if you don't catch this, you'll rebuild the unit and it'll either not work properly or won't last long. The trans is the most complicated thing under the hood and you really need to find someone that knows their stuff.

As far as rebuilding it more heavy duty, if the unit is rebuilt PROPERLY (and few are!), adding a valve body kit (if you can find one) will tremendously increase the life of the unit. HOWEVER, remember that the original design of the trans was to move people from point A to point B and most of these people drive "normal". No matter what you do, you can tear up anything so don't go thinking you can't. These trans are pretty tough but they can be tore up.

I would replace the torque converter while you have it out of the car. Even if the converter is still good, it's full of contaminated fluid that you simply can't get out of it and that contaminated fluid will end up right back in your new rebuild. You don't need to spend a ton of money on a converter. The place that you buy your parts from will likely have a stock converter for it. That's all you need. You can go get a stall converter which if you're a diehard street guy, you can probably learn to live with. But I would just get a rebuilt unit and you'll be fine.

Last but not least, after the unit is out of the car, flush out the cooler lines best you can. A little solvent and compressed air works well. The goal is to get the system as clean as possible. Finally, disconnect the cooler lines from the radiator and install an external trans cooler (they are very cheap). This will do two things. One, the new trans cooler will not be contaminated (the one in your car is) and two, your trans will run a little cooler which prolongs the life of the fluid. This helps keep the fluid from breaking down so quickly and allows it to lubricate the trans as it's designed to do.

Hopefully I've got you to thinking about this. Let me know if you have any other questions.