Does anyone know a good place in the northwest area to get a quality remanufactured 5spd tranny? My input shaft bearings are on their last leg, and debating either getting the ISB replaced, or looking at a remanufactured tranny. It's the RS5F50V (VLSD).

Thanks

 

I recommend you just have the input shaft bearing replaced by a reputable tranny shop.

a rebuilt unit is going to be hella expensive.

 

Yeah that's what I was originally planning on doing. I thought that if they have to break the tranny apart anyway, it won't be cheap. But I definitely don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a reman one.

Do you think just getting the ISB replaced would be fine? The tranny is pretty solid (I don't beat on the car), with maybe the exception of 2nd gear synchros which are slightly notchy, it shifts like butter. Well it used to anyway before the ISB started going.

 

Usually,the only issue with maxima manual transmissions is the isb only,and i would bet the second gear notchyness is due to the isb,not the synchronizer.

 

I picked up a VE trans with 230+ miles. Replaced the bearing myself, and it's SOLID. So long as you weren't grinding gears before the bearing went bad, then you may have to pay extra for gears or synchros.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice mygreenmax, that's good news! I think I'll go that route.

And thanks for the input goon. The tranny was solid before the ISB went, so I think I'll be good.

Is there any chance of doing any catastrophic damage if I drive it for another week or so? The tranny guy I talked to won't be able to take it until a week from now. It's getting so bad that it is starting to pop out of first by itself.

 

I know hectic has done a few ISB replacements. IIRC, he has done a 3rd gen and a 4th gen one. He is in the Portland area.

I don't know if he is interested in doing the work on your car or not, you would have to ask him.

I thought about asking him so my spare would be ready to swap in when this one goes out.

 

I'm up for it. Just drop me a PM, I will do it for a fair price opposed to a shop, and I will do it correctly. I didn't realize you were local mszilves.. Thanks for the plug Chris BTW, I went to FAP yesterday for a MAF and ignition coil, saw a pearl 94 SE, so I went back today and got me some pristine replacement doors..finally! They have brown pinstriping, but I was surprised at how easially it chips off using your fingernail, shouldn't be a problem, i'm stoked.

 

Hey thanks alot for the offer Hectic. I'm actually in Vancouver, BC, which is about a 4hr drive down to Portland. If the tranny was in better shape, I would drive down and get you to do the ISB, but at this point, I don't think that's an option. I've found a reputable guy (friend of a friend) who will do it for not too much $, so I'm crossing my fingers. I'll let you guys know how it turns out... I'll have the car back end of this week.

 

I don't blame you at all. Seattle is roughly 4 hours north of here, I think Vancouver is more like 8, plus there's a border fee.. Good luck with the repair.

 

Just FYI.. reman tranny is about $2000 + clutch + install if you have a shop do it.

a rebuild is about $1000 for all 6 bearings, out the door. I paid $850 for my first rebuild and took them the tranny. so figure another $150 for them to pull/install it.

If they just do the ISB and 2nd gear synchro (go ahead and have them do the synchro while you're there), it should cost you under $1000 easily, as the differential bearings are $$$$$.

 

ouch that sux to hear your trans pops out of gear sometimes. i have a bad ISB and yet still havent had any problems with it popping out of gear or anything. i am doing a trans rebuild next quarter in college for my max.

 

I think this may have been covered before elsewhere, but it's too late for me to search for it. Is the tranny ID# given above, RS5F50V, the same for the 3rd and 4th gen 5spd LSD trannies? If so, can we use the 4th gen tranny with the 3rd gen engines, VE and VG? If so, would the 4th gen axles, etc. need to be used also? Thanks

 

different mounting holes on the engine side.
otherwise, instead of ve-5 swaps, we'd be doing vq-5 swaps too.
internals are the same, though.
thats why they are the same numbers.

 

As for the VQ trannies, you said that the bolt pattern is different on the engine side. Is that part of the tranny called the bell housing? If so, I have heard of some guys welding on a different bell housing in order to fit the tranny to their engine. Maybe that would be possible with our cars. If so, I would look at the 6spd from later model VQs!

 

Yeah it's definatly worth just replacing the bearings. Before I bought my car it wouldn't go in first or second due to bearing shards doing God knows what inside. After replacing the bearing it was like brand new.

 

our cars don't have "bell housings"
the reason is the traditional bell housing is manufactured as part of the case.
I believe the cases on our cars are cast, so welding is a bad idea, or so i hear.

you *might* be able to swap a vq tranny case/gears with the VGs, reusing the engine side case half. (THIS WILL NEED TO BE CONFIRMED!!!!)

 

Just wanted to update everyone, I got the car back yesterday. I got a good deal through some connections for a full rebuild (all internal wear parts: bearings, synchros, seals) with a trusted mechanic. It turns out it wasn't the ISB after all, it was a mainshaft bearing. The car feels brand new! It's amazing how smooth everything feels, it shifts like butter. I took the car around for a good spin, and man, it's so much fun to drive again, I couldn't be happier.

Thanks again everyone for the advice and offers of help. I've said it before, but this really is a great community here.

On a side note, after driving the loaner car around for a couple of days, I'm happy to be back in my max. I know we're probably biased, but I find that most cars out there (even new ones), just can't compare to the quality of these Maximas. The power, smoothness, looks, fit and finish: to me, it's the best car Nissan ever made.

Here's some pics of the old tranny guts. The bottom pic is the main shaft bearing, or what's left of it. BTW, I now have an OEM ISB from Courtesy Nissan left over, so if anyone needs it, let me know: $35.

 

I actually had bearing noise long before it started popping out of gear, so I probably shouldn't have left it so long before doing the work, but luckily, I didn't do any damage. The mechanic said the gears were pristine. Good luck with your rebuild. Let me know if you need the ISB. Since they used a whole kit, I have the one I ordered from Courtesy Nissan left over.

 

What are some signs that ur tranny might be goin bad, i have a hard time putting the car in first gear sometimes

 

Auto/manual?

 

Its getting closer... dont romp on it. Mine lasted about a month... AND I was doggin it. Man oh man was that stupid of me.


After reading this thread though. I have concluded what had been wrong with my car. It wasnt my clutch nor my Throw out (TO) bearing. It was my Input Shaft Bearing (ISB)
I had the "popping out of gear" and some "clutch jutter". I was blaming my TO bearing, since I knew my clutch was in VERY bad condition. Pic of what my bad ISB did to my transmission.



Wasnt much fun. As it broke driving normally with my girlfriend on our 2 year anniversary. (Still had a good night though)

 

AAMCO quoted me $1500 to rebuild my tranny when i had a maxima.

When i had my 2nd 1989 maxima, the 1st gear went bad. swapped in the tranny from my 1st '89 maxima (which was totaled in a rollover) and the 1st gear also went bad within 2 years.

My friend picked up a rebuilt 5 speed for his VE, and it had a leak. Never got it back for warranty work because he never had time to take it off the car. He is now constantly refilling the tranny with oil.

 

That's the mainshaft going through the side of the tranny, not the input shaft.
You sure it was ISB that caused the problem?

 

Its a manual, its really tough to put into first and even harder to downshift into first if i was coming to a rolling stop

 

You may have a worn clutch assembly(clutch disk/pressure plate/throw out bearing)

 

My car is the same way and theres only 20K on the clutch assembly, and I know my ISB is dead.

Make sure your clutch pedal is adjusted properly too. If it full disengages near the floor and has slack up top Id move it up. It'll be easier to drive since you don't have the slack up top and it'll be better for shifting as the clutch will be definitely disengaged.

~Alex

 

Generally that's due to a worn TO bearing, causing the clutch not to completely disengage.
BUT it's also common to see that when the synchros on 1st gear are worn.
I went through 2 bearing rebuilds and about 5 clutches over the years and had that same problem.
The issue finally went away when I had a mechanic friend go through the tranny and clean up the synchros. he didn't replace them, but cleaned up the worn edges and whatnot with a dremel. exactly how I dunno. 30 years of experience will do that for ya.

 

but you drive like a maniac..

I'm on my second tranny,and it's not far from dead..

 

well yeah... :

but my point was the hard 1st gear downshift wasn't related to the bearings or clutch. it was a synchro issue.

 

Yeah,i got your point.

I'm thinking it may also be a isb issue,since 1st gear is so close to the isb?(i.e. shaft wobble from worn isb causing first gear engagement issues) my original trans had this problem shortly before it completely locked me out of 1st and 2nd gear.

 

Think i found the problem yesterday morn when i went out to look at it my master cylinder had a slight leak so i replaced it this morn and its much better as far as takin off. All gears shift smother, but still a little rough when down shifitng into first. This weekend i will adjust the pedal cause it has some play in it and see how that improves it... Thanks