Hi all,

Would anyone happen to know the differences between these two transmissions and if they're interchangeable?

I know that the RS6F52H is found in the 2007+ Sentra Spec-V and the 2008+ Altima 6MT.

I also know that the RS6F51H that's in the 6MT Maximas, 02-07 Altimas, and older Sentra Spec-Vs is interchangeable.

I'm thinking that the RS6F52H might offer some improved shifting feel and better syncros.

I don't see why the transmission wouldn't bolt to the motor, but I'm not so sure about the axles and other things...

Any input is appreciated.

 

Subscribed.

 

I just checked and the gear ratios are identical minus a BARELY offset 2nd gear. If the axles and bolt patterns match ..........

 

Maybe if someone wanted to possibly go through with the swap, could possibly ask someone at a dealer to compare the axles or maybe Dave B? Provided he does more than enough for the community, but this could potentially unlock another transmission swap possibility.

 

I cannot connect to Nissan4u.com otherwise I would check for parts interchange. Hopefully the case/differential are the interchangeable and the units are exchangeable.

 

Ask DaveB the part numbers for both differentials and see if they are the same.

I just read that there was a guy on an altima forum who wanted HLSD but it was not available for the altima. But it was available for the 07 spec V. Same tranny except for the diff. So he bought the spec V diff and swapped it into the 6mt on his altima.

We may be able to swap the 06 diff into the 08 and if it bolted up fine the axles would fit.

 

Is there an advantage to the FS6F52H over the FS6F51H variants? If the gearing is the same, I don't see an advantage; though it will be good to know other options for transmission replacements.

 

i'm downloading the 08 FSM right now, i'll check the specs on the synchros etc to see if it is worth it.

 

can you tell me where you are downloading the fsm from? i have been trying to get the 02 from here

http://www.boredmder.com/FSM/Nissan/Maxima/2002/em.pdf

but its been down for months...

 

i could email you the fsm for 03 it's 33 mb assuming your mailbox will hold that much

 

Try here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/.

 

pm sent

 

I was looking on that site but for the altima the FSM does not have an MT.pdf file, so I am downloading from another source. I hate downloading 20 files when I can get it zipped in one file.

 

RFS6F52H ('08 Altima & '07 Sentra SE-R SpecV):
3rd gear double-cone synchronizer
1st & 2nd triple-cone synchronizer

RFS6F51H ('05 & '06 Maxima):
Same as above.

RFS6F51H ('04 Maxima):
2nd triple-cone synchronizer
1st double-cone synchronizer

RFS6F51H ('02 & '03 Maxima):
1st & 2nd double-cone synchronizer

 

I use it as a last resort. The links within the pdf files do not function, but all sections are there; the '08 Altima's manual transmission section is tm rather than mt.

 

correction on the 02-03 is a double baulk ring synchro on 1st and 2nd.

 

file is too big for the server

 

Great info. Do you know if the Sentra Spec-v's (Older model) transmission is like the 02-03 Maxima or the 05-06 Maxima?

Also, it would be really great if this RFS6F52H was a direct swap in considering that there's a bunch of 2007+ Spec V Sentra transmissions on car-part with ~15k miles for like $700, and this is with HLSD.

 

I remember someone was trying a swap with the spec V tranny, there was something about the bell housing being slightly different, but he felt it would work. Can't remember how it turned out though.

 

Has anyone here driven a 6MT '08 Altima? I really wonder how much smoother the shifts are.

 

according to the FSM the 08 mt has slightly different gearing, different input gears

I'll try to post them so it makes sense. 1st number in list will be 06 tranny, 2nd number is 08 tranny
Looking at the sketches of the housings... they look slightly different, they may fit, but I am not an expert, and it is getting late so I'm too lazy to do a full comparison.


1st 3.153 - 3.154
2nd 1.944 - 1.950
3rd 1.392 - 1.393
4th 1.055 - 1.056
5th .809 - .810
6th .630- .630
rev 3.002 - 3.002

input gear 06 -08
13 - 13
18 - 20
28 - 28
36 - 36
42 - 42
46 - 46

 

I updated the original list with the 2007 Sentra SE-R SpecV RS6F52H transmission; it has the same synchros as the '08 Altima.

The RS6F52H has a different shift pattern than the RS6F51H which may cause shifter/reverse lock-out issues:

RS6F52H: RS6F51H:

According to Nissan4u.com the '05 Maxima HLSD was superceeded by 38411-JA60B which is interchangeable across the 52 & 51 models:

http://nissan4u.com/parts/info/38411JA60B/

A comparison of gear ratios for the FSMs I can access:

 

Since I have some extra time on my hands:



The chart shows the engine to vehicle speed relationship for the '02 & '04 Maxima transmissions using an '02 Maxima tire size (245/45/17). For another comparison, the '04 Maxima ratios are nearly identical to the VQ '08 Altima.

For those with a '04+ transmission in an '02-'03, do you notice the increased engine speed or a reduction in fuel economy? I feel 1st is short enough with the '02 and would prefer its final drive gear ratio.

 

My gas mileage is about the same, but I do rev a bit higher than I did before. But I am tuned so cruising is at stoich all the time. Here's my comparison from the dyno before and after the swap showing wheel speed...

As you can see I hit red line about 10 mph sooner than before

I have to admit that during racing situations, with the shorter final drive and the lighter flywheel, 1st gear is just a bit too short. It seems like I blink and the shift light pops on and then I hit the rev limiter. I set the timing light to 6200 and I still bounce off the limiter once in a while. But second gear is hella fun.

 

Hmm... If the bellhousing is different, maybe the RFS6F52H bellhousing could be used. I would think the FWD VQ35 would still have the same bolt pattern across all the years.

And it also seems that the 2.5 Altima transmission has basically the same final drive as the 02-03 Maxima, but definitly has a different bellhousing. So using the stock bellhousing with the 2.5 Altima's trans may be an option for those who do not wish to change their final drive ratio.

 

If you are doing a swap you can take the final drive gear out of your old tranny and put it in the new tranny, you will get the original 03 max final drive with the upgraded synchros. I saw the procedure for doing that and it does not look very difficult

 

http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=402554&page=1
this is a good read but it's for the altima, but I see no reason why we can do the same thing albeit with different transmissions

 

The final drive should be an easy swap, but it adds complexity which makes this less attractive than finding a low mile HLSD '02-'03 trans. Although, you wouldn't get the '04+ upgraded synchros.

After skimming the Altima thread, I found a question that hasn't been addressed: are the transmission input shafts the same?

On another note, was the '06 Maxima available with the HLSD? The FSM doesn't list it, but the nissan4u parts list does. Or what synchros and gear ratios did the Altima SE-R trans come with?

 

I'm pretty sure the HLSD was optional on the 2006 Maxima.

As far as input shaft differences, perhaps an 08 Altima clutch disc and pressure plate could be used?

No clue on the SE-R trans, but it's likely that it has the same trans as the 05-06 Maxima.

Nissan probably stopped making the previous transmission after they released the 05-06 Maxima transmission.

 

I have the 06 HLSD tranny in my car. Has about 5000 Km on it, got it installed back in September

Don't they keep putting 5 spds in the altimas?

I realize it's a little more work to swap the final drive, but if you were lucky to find a used 04-06 tranny and wanted to keep the original final drive it isn't a huge amount of work. Maybe an extra couple hours to do that swap.

I will post the pics from the 06 and 08 transmissions and you can see the slight differences. I think the bolt pattern to the engine is the same, but there are subtle differences which may make it incompatible

 

After closer inspection of the FSM I don't think the 08 trans will work. The 06 has a shift controller as one unit, the 08 has a few shift levers in different position

08 alty


06maxima



mounting holes appear to be different, starter bolt hole pattern is different, shift lever is different...

 

Thanks for all the valuable information guys. I guess an 05/06 with the 02/03 final drive is the way to go.

 

Would there be a noticable benefit in swapping in a shorter final drive ratio into a 2002 HLSD tranny? From what I understand, for the 02 manual tranny the final drive ratio is 3.812 and 04-06 tranny is 4.133. Would it be worth it to just swap out the ring and pinion gear set to get the 4.133 in the 02 tranny?

I know going from the stock 3.62 gears to 4.10's was a huge difference in the M3. But I wonder if going from 3.8 > 4.1 would be a big difference for the Maxima.

Thanks in advance.

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother doing that unless you were going to get some bigger wheels, as I think that is the main reason the 04-06 Maximas have the different final drive.

It could also be beneficial if you get the extended rev limiter from Technosquare, as this will allow you to stay in each gear the same amount of time as before, but with the more "powerful" hearing.

 

car seems to accelerate a lot faster, but you have to shift more often. It revs higher on the highway, which is good for me because the it's beyond the point where header drone occurs. But it does affect mileage. And with the lightened flywheel second gear comes a little too fast.

 

I wouldn't even bother with first gear with 253hp. Especially with the lightened flywheel lol

I can't even punch first gear from a roll without peeling out in my car and I am using the stock gearing.

 

Yea, I can see 1st gear being a problem. Especially if you're modded. I guess the difference between the stock gearing and 4.133 is not enough to justify just swapping the ring and pinion. Might as well wait until it's time to replace the tranny and just go for the 04-06 and do the lightweight flywheel and stage 1 clutch.