Help!!!! My tranny is slipping at 36k miles (1996 gle). The damn thing wont even go into 3rd gear anymore. It happened just today. I got the service engine light about 2 days ago but was going to wait till next weekend to check it out. Is this the failrue of my auto tranny? I have changed the fluid within the last 3000 miles, and the dipstick looks and smells just fine. I dont know what it could be. I have to manually shift it from 1st to second. If i leave the car in Drive it will struggle to get into second (like rev to 4-5k and jerk). It doesn't even want to go into third. I can manually shift it just fine from 1st to second but i cannot get any higher gear. Is this the end for the tranny? The car has 36k and has been taken care of. It has only about 8k of abuse on it. My stepfather used to own it and barely drove it since we got it in 95. WHat should i do? And if it is dead, how much more will it cost me to just convert it to a 5 speed than to rebuild it? Where would i get the parts and how much would labor run me? thanks,,,all help is appreciated. and i did search.....

 

sounds really weird, are you sure the fluid level is right? But, if anything.... your car is under warranty for engine and tranny up to 60k miles, so take it to Nissan when you diagnose the problem and do find out it is the tranny, because if you go to the dealer now they might charge ya a good amount of $$$ to diagnose it, then they might try to screw you and pick on some other non-existing problems etc..

labor costs depend, if you find a place or person to do it for you.. parts? probably like a grand at most, really have no idea..

 

what is the warranty on the maximas? I dont even know. Even though its a 96 its covered?

 

He has no warranty

 

Great!

 

Maybe I am wrong... I never knew it had 60,000 I thought it was 36,000.

 

wait.... driveterrain warranty is up to 60k miles, no? which is supposed to cover engine and tranny. Or is it 6 years or 60k miles.. whichever is reached 1st.... ????

 

Powertrain is 5 years/60,000 miles. If you got a 96, you maybe out of luck. However, check to see if nissan will do a "good will warranty". If no luck from your dealer, contact regional and they should be able to help you better, particularly if the car has this few miles on it.

 

forgot to mention. The car makes like a whizzing sound when trying to find third gear, which it never does find. It sounds like when the car is losing traction on ice and the wheels spin.

 

Check your fluid levels. Has the car every overheated before. You mentioned abuse for 8k, what is that all about? I would do a flush,pan/magnet cleaning and inspection/gasket replacement. Go with synthetic fluid. Also i would flush my cooling system out big time! And stop manually shifting an automatic, you will only make it worse! Your engine is taking a pounding when you get those rpm's too high for extended periods at a time. If the dealer can't help you out warranty wise, then go the cheaper feasible aforementioned route (trial/error). As the other members have stated you have to be very careful because the dealer may try and screw you over for other things that you don't even need just to jack your wallet! Good luck! 96se (had since new) auto 158,400 miles original tranny no issues! keep us posted as to what you findings are.

www.amsoil.com
www.redlineoil.com (water wetter coolant additive)

 

Well i mentioned only 8 k abuse or hard driving because my stepfather owned the car till 26k. I got the car in march 01, and i drive pretty hard. I changed the pan recently and gasket,fluid etc after hitting a high sewer cap

 

wow!!

 

wow???? about what

 

I had my automatic replaced w/ a used automatic(50k miles) for 850$ including parts/labor.. I did not use the nissan dealership, I used a shop. Which most shops hate doing maxi trannies b/c they are a pain to get at

This sounds like a perfect time for you to swap in a 5spd if you ask me....

hope it turns out to be something else for you though (are you sure you put it in "D", not like "2" ?

 

it sounds like your car broke because you beat the crap out of it.

 

That's what I thought too.
Take it easy, it's not a true performance vehicle you know.

 

I have 23.5k miles on my auto 99. My normal driving habits consist of leaving the car in 2nd for most of the time. The RPM's stay at around 2.5k-4k. I really only shift into D when I get onto the freeway so I'm not doing much actual shifting at all because all the roads around my house/work/town are short (have a lot of stop signs/lights). Is this okay, or am I 'abusing' the tranny somehow? I am pretty easy on the car overall, and service the car according to the manual's recommendations...

 

DAMN.......and i thought my max would stop me from dreaming of a porsche...

 

By leaving the car in 2nd it's acutally easier on the trans. All it will do is 1-2, 2-1 shifts, and shift fewer times than it would in D. It will hurt you gas milage though.

 

yeah but the higher rpms are more wear and tear on the engine....more heat too......plus my car sounds like its falling apart or something with the intake and ypipe..........i mean its constantly driving at 5krpm....its prettty loud....oh by the way, will a auto tranny let you shift to 1st if your going lets say 70? i know on hondas it wont...im just too scared to try...

 

I just checked the ecu code for the engine service light. It is 1106. Here is what it is:

DTC 1106
Diagnostic Trouble Code 1106 means "Automatic Transmission 4th gear malfunction." This malfunction is detected when the automatic transmission does not shift into fourth gear or the torque converter clutch does not lock up as instructed by the Transmission Control Unit. The factory service manual lists these possible causes...
- Shift solenoid A
- Shift solenoid B
- Overrun clutch solenoid valve
- Line pressure solenoid valve
- Each clutch
- Hydraulic control circuit
- Torque converter clutch solenoid valve

You can do some troubleshooting without opening the automatic transmission. Find the harnesses which emanate from the transaxle. One of them terminates in a brown plastic connector with eight pins. This is connector F42, located (approximately) above the transaxle case and below the black plastic engine air intake ductwork. With the engine off, disconnect F42. You want to measure the transmission side of F42. Hold the connector such that the plastic latch is at the top. You should now see two rows of four terminals. These are numbered (top row, left to right) 1 - 4, and (bottom row, left to right) 5 - 8. Make resistance measurements between a clean ground and the following terminals:
#1, Shift solenoid B, 20 - 40 ohms.
#2, Shift solenoid A, 20 - 40 ohms.
#3, Overrun clutch solenoid valve, 20 - 40 ohms.
#4, Line pressure solenoid valve, 2.5 - 5 ohms.
#5, Torque converter clutch solenoid valve, 10 - 20 ohms.

There is also a "bench test" procedure for testing these solenoids with a 12 volt supply such as a car battery. However, this requires removal of the shift solenoid valve assembly. I don't know if you want to get involved with that.


How serious is this code? B/c i have no clue. Also it says to make resistance measurements, but what do i do with those??? is it if its not within those specs that means that that is wrong? Like if #1 is not b/w 20-40 ohms that would mean that shift solenoid b is messed up? ANyone have any ideas suggestions or want to repair my tranny for me?

 

Went to one of those transmission shops today (i forgot what its called, its one of those chains) and had the tranny pan removed. Bad news, little chips of metal on the bottom of the pan and on the magnet, and looks like I'm going to get it rebuilt. The good thing is that the guy told me it will cost 375 + parts so i guess the price shouldnt be over a grand. I'm probably gonna get the high stall torque converter and the valve body kit at the same time......still can't believe it happened at 36k......

 

Could possibly be your tranny computer...Sounds VERY similar to what my old Stealth did...But the computer alone was $700...OUCH~!
Rob

 

tranny computer,,,,do you mean valve body? if you mean that...i dont think thats what it was it looked ok, but then again they are taking the tranny apart monday and will let me know exactly the problem. so far they just took the pan off and then took out the tranny. damn it seemed so easy. it took them about an hour to take off the tranny from the car....what a joke....ill keep updating as i find out more

 

I have a similiar situation but leave in it drive with OD off. 1 more gear but it saves your gas mileage/engine while still protecting the tranny from going to 4th.