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Transmission dying?


joshrichard
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So today after work I got in my truck right after driving it to a work site and when I started it up it was fine but I got in and put it in reverse and when I put it into drive it was tougher than usual but I was slightly rolling back so I didn’t really think much of it. Then when I was starting to accelerate I pushed the pedal and it did nothing at first then slowly kinda started speeding up but quickly and then revved to 3k and lurched into third. What does this mean???

 

^That happened the other night

 

Tonight I was driving around and it happened again this time worse and I got home and when I restarted it my overdrive light flashed for a couple seconds ... I think if I remember correctly the overdrive flashing has to do with the transmission. What’s going on?

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When you say that it was tough to put into gear, you mean the lever itself was harder to move or the shift from park felt tough?

 

Also, does it take a few seconds to engage drive, especially from reverse? For instance, my old transmission would take 3 seconds, sometimes even more, after I moved the lever to D before actually engaging 1st.

 

Check the fluid, and not just on the dip stick. I’d clean the drain plug area real good and drain about a half cup or so to bring inside your house and inspect closely.

 

Didn’t you just buy this vehicle?

 

One more question, does the transmission fail to downshift ever? Say your driving on the interstate, has it ever kicked out of OD while passing (high RPM) and then wouldn’t shift back into OD (4th) even if you take your foot all the way off the accelerator?

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I'm no trans doctor, but yeah, that doesn't sound promising. It sounds like first gear didn't engage properly and the computer saw the clutches slipping, which made it lock into third gear (limp home mode) to prevent further damage. The flashing light when you restart it is indeed trying to tell you something. I had a look at the '03 manual (haven't bothered to download the '04, I assume it's about the same) and the instructions for how to read the flashes without special tools begins on AT-48 (the actual codes are on AT-52). The manual shows a stupid little dance you can do to run the test at any time, but unless it's an electrical issue, you may have to replicate the problem to get it to fault, then turn it off/on again to get it to tell you why it's going into limp mode. If that's the case, record the flashing light with your phone, that way you can watch it again and make sure you've got it decoded right. The manual should have some troubleshooting steps for each code to help you track down what's going on. Good luck!


The manual's available here if you haven't gotten it yet.

+1 for checking the fluid level and condition as well. Warm it up, shift through all the gears, then check it.

On a side note, Nissan calls the flashes "judgement flickers." I can't help but think that a judgement flicker must be a small woodpecker that grumbles about how this is all your fault.

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Sorry if it seems like I'm hijacking this thread but I'm kinda recognizing some od the issues I have with my transmission.

Also, does it take a few seconds to engage drive, especially from reverse? For instance, my old transmission would take 3 seconds, sometimes even more, after I moved the lever to D before actually engaging 1st.

 
When cold mine takes a while to go into 1st after putting ut in D. If I want it to engage right away I must not put it in D but in 1st or 2nd. After driving a few hunderd meters or so I can put it in D while the car is moving and it changes from 2nd to 3rd. However if I haven't been driving that far yet and I come to a stop, say in a traffic jam, I will need to put it in 2nd again to engage. But if I've been driving for a while it behaves normally.


One more question, does the transmission fail to downshift ever?


Downshifts as normal.

Can anyone tell me what might be the issue here? And what to look for?
My previous tranny also had this problem and after it completely jammed I pulled it out andnit had metal pieces in the pan.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

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7 hours ago, onespiritbrain said:

When you say that it was tough to put into gear, you mean the lever itself was harder to move or the shift from park felt tough?

 

Also, does it take a few seconds to engage drive, especially from reverse? For instance, my old transmission would take 3 seconds, sometimes even more, after I moved the lever to D before actually engaging 1st.

 

One more question, does the transmission fail to downshift ever? Say your driving on the interstate, has it ever kicked out of OD while passing (high RPM) and then wouldn’t shift back into OD (4th) even if you take your foot all the way off the accelerator?

 

Funny enough, I’ve got these issues occasionally, though I usually just blame having 33s. What’s your conclusion to these symptoms? They’re quite specific, so you definitely know of a problem haha. It doesnt happen as severely as the OP says it, but I know what he’s talking about. If I give it gas after shifting from R to D and not giving it a few seconds, it’ll go into limp mode as well.

Edited by QuasarDecimari
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When you say that it was tough to put into gear, you mean the lever itself was harder to move or the shift from park felt tough?

 

Also, does it take a few seconds to engage drive, especially from reverse? For instance, my old transmission would take 3 seconds, sometimes even more, after I moved the lever to D before actually engaging 1st.

 

Check the fluid, and not just on the dip stick. I’d clean the drain plug area real good and drain about a half cup or so to bring inside your house and inspect closely.

 

Didn’t you just buy this vehicle?

 

One more question, does the transmission fail to downshift ever? Say your driving on the interstate, has it ever kicked out of OD while passing (high RPM) and then wouldn’t shift back into OD (4th) even if you take your foot all the way off the accelerator?

The shift itself was itself was tough, not the lever and it was only from reverse. I’m going to check the fluid in a little bit. I’ve had this vehicle for almost 2 years now. There’s a long story because when we first got it everything worked perfectly no slips in the transmission everything worked fine, but when my brother had to drive it for a few months he would drive it off curbs and pedal to the medal everywhere he went and tore it up. Back on topic, no it doesn’t have shifting problems with overdrive but it’s always slipped going into 2nd gear ever since my brother. It down shift fine as wel

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Well those symptoms, for me, ended shortly afterward in complete transmission failure. When mine died (for those who know about my recent trans failure, this what I’m talking about now was the first trans failure and was before I knew about this forum) it made a very loud grinding noise, like so loud the windows vibrated, and locked into 4th gear permanently. I had to put it in 4LO and drove at 40mph for almost an hour to make it home. By the time I got home the transmission had gotten extremely hot and smelled like burned clutch super super strong even from 20-30 feet away. Also it didn’t matter what position the lever was in, P R N D 1 2, it always had forward movement.

 

When I took the pan off there were large curls of metal, some were several inches long, tons of metal chips, and probably 10-20 whole pins from pin bearings and a whole bunch of pieces of broken pins...

 

Our integrated radiator trans oil cooler is inadequate in the summer time.. especially if you have a clogged radiator like I had. I measured transmission temps over 225degF and that’s not okay. Prolonged 230-250degF trans temps will dramatically shorten the life of the transmission even if your changing the oil all the time. Rubber hardens at those temps with time.

 

Anyways, what in the world is it with family mistreating vehicles..?? Also, first thing to do is check the oil. If that looks OK then you might borrow a temp gun and after a long spirited drive stick it right up against the cooling lines coming to and from the transmission to the radiator as close to the trans as possible. If you’ve got 230degF+ temps then you need to bypass the stupid radiator trans cooler and buy a big aftermarket one to go in its place.

 

At the very least you will stop the excessive wear from overheating.

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Well those symptoms, for me, ended shortly afterward in complete transmission failure. When mine died (for those who know about my recent trans failure, this what I’m talking about now was the first trans failure and was before I knew about this forum) it made a very loud grinding noise, like so loud the windows vibrated, and locked into 4th gear permanently. I had to put it in 4LO and drove at 40mph for almost an hour to make it home. By the time I got home the transmission had gotten extremely hot and smelled like burned clutch super super strong even from 20-30 feet away. Also it didn’t matter what position the lever was in, P R N D 1 2, it always had forward movement.

 

When I took the pan off there were large curls of metal, some were several inches long, tons of metal chips, and probably 10-20 whole pins from pin bearings and a whole bunch of pieces of broken pins...

 

Our integrated radiator trans oil cooler is inadequate in the summer time.. especially if you have a clogged radiator like I had. I measured transmission temps over 225degF and that’s not okay. Prolonged 230-250degF trans temps will dramatically shorten the life of the transmission even if your changing the oil all the time. Rubber hardens at those temps with time.

 

Anyways, what in the world is it with family mistreating vehicles..?? Also, first thing to do is check the oil. If that looks OK then you might borrow a temp gun and after a long spirited drive stick it right up against the cooling lines coming to and from the transmission to the radiator as close to the trans as possible. If you’ve got 230degF+ temps then you need to bypass the stupid radiator trans cooler and by a big aftermarket one to go in its place.

 

At the very least you will stop the excessive wear from overheating.

 

I don’t doubt I will need a transmission in a year or so but i was hopping to get that before it craps out. It shifts perfect when it’s cold and I start it and drive away but in a couple minutes when it’s warmed up it slips when going into second gear it’s been like that ever since my brother which is, odd any answer to that? Don’t they make an app for a Temperature gun? About my brother he’s 21 and gotten in 7 crashes had 4 vehicles totaled and 3-4 tickets... he’s dumb sometimes. I love him but dang he’s not the best at driving.

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The oil pressure in the transmission is higher when it’s cold and applies greater pressure to the clutches but as the oil thins when everything warms up there is less pressure and the worn clutch slips.

There is a product called Lucas Transmission Fix and it will help to increase oil pressure at temperature. It’s worth a try. I don’t think you should change the trans fluid. It will likely cause the slipping to become even worse. I’d just add the thickener(Lucas) and see what happens.

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The oil pressure in the transmission is higher when it’s cold and applies greater pressure to the clutches but as the oil thins when everything warms up there is less pressure and the worn clutch slips.

There is a product called Lucas Transmission Fix and it will help to increase oil pressure at temperature. It’s worth a try. I don’t think you should change the trans fluid. It will likely cause the slipping to become even worse. I’d just add the thickener(Lucas) and see what happens.

I’ll do that thank you
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I may be jumping ahead but, if you decide to rebuild the gearbox, it is much easier to pull the transfer case out first. The transfer case and transmission as an assembly is about a mile long and very heavy. I had to do it twice...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I added the thickener and nothing happened. Everything has been fine besides the normal slip between first and second gear which has felt worse but I’m not sure. 001f6b1d1836860720dfbc76c37c47ea.jpg
I decided to do some research and found out that it’s a “common” transmission problem with this certain transmission. I don’t know anything about transmissions so would somebody be able to translate this into something understandable? I get the concept of what it’s saying but what would be the procedure? Cost? Help? Lol

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If you want to check the oil pressure, there is a procedure to do it in the AT section.

 

If it were me and I was going to dig into the valve body where the accumulators and solenoids are, then I’d grab one (a whole other valve body) to swap in from a donor at the junk yard. It’d be good practice anyway.

 

The secret to a successful valve body removal is to remove only the long screws. So if you remove a screw and it’s short then put it back. Then, when the valve body is completely loose take it down very slowly and level. Don’t worry about any of the oil that’s pouring onto you, keep your eyes locked to the valve body as it’s coming down. There are three (or four— can’t remember) springs that are just sitting in the accumulators and they will fall out. I think there’s only one way it’ll go back together without having to fight it so if they fall out then it’s still okay.

 

There’s a guy that posted for a short while about a fix for some shifting issue (only went into 2nd after warmed up or something like that) and his issue was completely resolved by swapping in a valve body from a donor RE4R01A at the junk yard. I think it was even from an Nissan Xtera too.

 

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Had a similar problem- working and driving fine until started to notice slipping 1/2nd gears.  Was delayed to accelerate.  Never went into limp mode but eventually gave up and couldn't upshift past 2nd.  Thought it was a solenoid problem but when sent to the shop, it had to be internally rebuilt due to worn bands.  Only had ~140,000 miles on it, so wish yours the best!

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2 hours ago, onespiritbrain said:

A.Sans can you describe your slipping? Like slipping while shifting from 1st to 2nd? Or slipping after already in gear and getting on the accelerator?

It slipped in first and second gears.  You will depress the accelerator and a delayed response, or RPM will go up without taking off.  Already in gear when you're slipping.  Eventually when I couldn't shift to 3rd, the shifting between 1st and 2nd was hard.  So yes, slipping IN the gear.

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