Trogdor636 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I bet you'd make a lot of money if you lived local to some members with auto tragics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 After the install, I wanted to be able to monitor the fluid temps to see if anything went wrong with the rebuild. Our tranny has a thermistor type temp sensor from the factory that feeds the tranny computer. (there is also a temp switch located beside this thermistor which actuates the dash light for the tranny over temp) So for a quick fix I tapped into this input here at the computer. The manual states that this thermistor will cause the voltage on pin 12 to be 1.56 volts at 20c and .45 volts at 80c. I just hooked up a voltmeter to this line and went driving. The highest I saw after putting the tranny through a rigorous workout wast 190f (through interpolation), although I am fine with seeing up to 200f at the pan, I went ahead and installed a Hayden tube and fin cooler I had on hand. More tests will follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 Are you going to put an auxiliary cooler or in-line filter on? Thanks for all the pictures, very interesting! I put an aux cooler in series with the stock cooler but haven't gotten around to any filter options yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 One problem I saw with the stock thermistor temp sensor is that taking a "constant" reading from a thermistor requires a CONSTANT reference voltage and as we know on these vehicles, the alternator output varies with electrical loads, so using the stock temp sensor with a voltmeter is only so accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 I didn't want an analog tranny temp guage taking up space on my dash but I also didn't feel like paying big bucks for a digital guage so I used this device that I had on hand from my RC plane stuff: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9744__Hobby_King_Voltage_Temperature_Monitor_2_6S_0_150C_.html It is a combination voltmeter and temp sensor, it uses an LM-35 type sensor and it is closed loop (no body ground needed). Most of all, if it fails, it only cost 8 bucks! I took an extra tranny drain plug, drilled a hole through it and used permatex ultra copper RTV to install the sensor into the center of the drain plug. I ran the wires through the shift boot and hooked the voltmeter up to the cigarette lighter circuit and finally grounded the unit to the fuse box. The end result is a small digital readout of system voltage and tranny pan temp. This device also has programmable alarms for temp and voltage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 i didnt know the auto had a drain plug! lol. cool tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 (edited) I doubt any Nissan auto doesn't have a drain plug. Except maybe some of the newer stuff like 7-speed A/Ts in the G37 that have a check plug and no dipstick and a "lifetime fill" of fluid and all that other nonsense... Tube-and-fins are less efficient than stacked plate type coolers, so you may wish to look into getting a stacked plate cooler down the road at some point. A B&M 70268 will fit a WD21 without any clearance issues and it's rated for 19k GVW. Edited December 1, 2012 by Towncivilian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 i had a 28 or 24 GVW Plate and fin cooler on my 94 auto. did just fine as far as i could tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 If you think that's a lot of plates, the newer RE4R01A that's in the Xterra's and Frontier's have even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 If you think that's a lot of plates, the newer RE4R01A that's in the Xterra's and Frontier's have even more. Yeah I'd like to get a junkyard xterra tranny and build it up in the future, I just had to get this truck back on the road for a decent price and so far it has only cost $150 or the rebuild kit, $150 for new torque converter, $40 for fluid, and about $20 for a new brake band and internal filter. I went ahead and did the rear main seal which was about $13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 Here was my rear main, I believe this was stock and you can see it was leaking a little. The only other major leak I have is the drivers side valve cover.... Should have done that one when I did head work about 5 months ago!!! I'll learn one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I'm curious as to how it shifts. The stock shifts are normally hard 1-2, long soft 2-3, and a "normal" 3-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 One problem I saw with the stock thermistor temp sensor is that taking a "constant" reading from a thermistor requires a CONSTANT reference voltage and as we know on these vehicles, the alternator output varies with electrical loads, so using the stock temp sensor with a voltmeter is only so accurate. Good to know1 I like your rigging it with what you had on hand. Good job! I didn't want to try to patch into the sensor so I went with an analog 2" gauge. It fits perfectly in the plastic to the right on the 94-95 models. There is a thread on it and filters as well pinned in this section IIRC... It almost looks factory and doesn't clutter up the dash. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Good to know1 I like your rigging it with what you had on hand. Good job! I didn't want to try to patch into the sensor so I went with an analog 2" gauge. It fits perfectly in the plastic to the right on the 94-95 models. There is a thread on it and filters as well pinned in this section IIRC... It almost looks factory and doesn't clutter up the dash. B Thanks for the post, I read that one and you're right, that looks pretty good. I'm going to mount my digital guage below the aftermarket radio I have and see how that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 I'm curious as to how it shifts. The stock shifts are normally hard 1-2, long soft 2-3, and a "normal" 3-4. I'm glad you asked this question! It does shift stock with a hard 1 to 2 and a soft 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 is what I would call normal. Regarding the 2 to 3, I think third gear is kinda funny on these trannys, from what I gather, third gear is 1:1 and requires all forward clutches to be engaged (could be wrong on this) thus it takes the highest volume/pressure of fluid in order to "lock" without slipping. My background is airplanes which usually have a gearbox with one speed so I could be wrong lol. Anyway, I think third gear seems to be a weak point in our RE4R01A trannys in these year models. What say you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Generally when these transmissions "fail" they lose reverse. I believe 3rd is next to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Not sure on the OD trannys but on the earlier non OD ones when my trans went the first time in my old hardbody, I don't remember if I lost first or reverse but the guy at the tranny shop told me first and reverse are on the same clutch pack and when one goes the other is not far behind. No idea if that is true or not just what I was told way back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Makes sense that one gear would quickly follow another, if they share a clutch pack. The clutch gets buggered until it can't hold on at the higher ratio, it slips, then the slipping wears it until it won't hold the lower ratio either. I like the model airplane temp gauge. +1 for creative use of parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Anyway, I think third gear seems to be a weak point in our RE4R01A trannys in these year models. What say you? Try not to use 3rd... Oddly enough, plenty of people drive 150-200k+ with these trannys without issue, then others fail pre-100k. It doesn't seem to be a particular year/model issue, so maybe it is a fluid/maintenance/driving style issue. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepwalkn Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 (edited) or the tps switch on the injector pump is too slack and causes early shifts and lots of load/slipping and then HEAT Edited December 2, 2012 by keepwalkn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willfly4money Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 The reverse clutch and the high clutch are in their own clutch pack so I can see how loosing one would contaminate the other. I'll try to go easy on third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 the trans in my 87 hardbody, non OD, made it to 130K miles before it's first rebuild. The tranny shop guy said it didn't owe me a thing as he had seen a lot of them needing to be rebuilt with a lot less miles on them than mine. At first rebuild they added a tranny cooler. Trans ended up being rebuilt 2 more times before I got rid of the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I'm glad you asked this question! It does shift stock with a hard 1 to 2 and a soft 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 is what I would call normal. Regarding the 2 to 3, I think third gear is kinda funny on these trannys, from what I gather, third gear is 1:1 and requires all forward clutches to be engaged (could be wrong on this) thus it takes the highest volume/pressure of fluid in order to "lock" without slipping. My background is airplanes which usually have a gearbox with one speed so I could be wrong lol. Anyway, I think third gear seems to be a weak point in our RE4R01A trannys in these year models. What say you? I'm not sure. The most I've seen fail in person were ones with no reverse, or reverse that slipped so bad you had it at 4k rpm and it crawled along. I also saw one once that had 1st and 3rd but no 2nd or overdrive LOL. The guy was 2 quarts low on ATF but unfortunately topping it up did not fix it. My old pathy that I had for almost 6 years had an intermittent no reverse problem that turned out to be a clogged valve body. My new one, the previous owner replaced the transmission with a "low mileage" one from a used auto parts place. It shifts ok but I find the shifts kind of sloppy. If I have to I will get it rebuilt or find an xterra HD tranny to rebuild and throw in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 The two pathfinder's I have owned, were both automatics and neither had reverse. All forward gears worked perfectly though. Both trucks had about 170,000 miles on them. One I know had just lost reverse since the PO was a friend of mine, I don't know about the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Hi, OP! Can you share where you got your rebuild kit and the rest of the replacement parts you used? I looked in Amazon but can't find it. Someone local is selling a no-reverse tranny which I'm thinking of buying to rebuild. The one on my Pathy has the same no-reverse issue. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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