Tranny Question - Strange Symptoms

[femur]

Greetings! (this is my first post EVER)

 

I have a wonderful '95 pathy with 234k on it that I plan on driving forever. Lately, I have had an interesting situation with my tranny that I cant seem to figure out. I have spent several hours on this very addictive (and wonderful!) forum reading up on the different AT threads and have not found anybody with similar symptoms. They are:

 

1. Tranny takes a bit (2-3 seconds) to 'engage' when i shift from park to drive. When the tranny is warm the delay is shorter. Also, the delay is worse in the winter.

2. Lately when im on the highway the tranny is taking longer and longer to finally go from third to overdrive when i first start driving on the highway. After it is warm, i can go to OD with no problem.

3. When i shift from park to reverse or drive to reverse i get that same delay before my AT 'catches'

 

Ive had this problem for about 1.5 years but it has been getting worse (slowly).

 

 

All my other shifts (1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3d) are as smooth as silk.

 

My thoughts are to change out the AT fluid/filter as described in this aweseome thread:http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9928 and then put in some Redline ATF.

 

Some background on my pathy:

Ive changed the AT fluid twice in it's life. The fluid was nice and unburnt. Ive owned the truck the whole time and taken good care of it. Never hauled anything heavy. I do not have any AT cooler other than the stock on. Also, i am running with 20w50 because i leak oil from my RMS and the thicker stuff slows that leak.

 

 

 

Any Ideas/help that any of you'all have would be VERY appreciated!

 

Thanks a lot!

Eric

[Pavelow Leaks]

my overdrive only works when I'm not on the freeway...which is kinda crap...goin around 50, it turns normal RPM's, and if you turn the overdrive off, it jumps up, @ 70MPH I'm running right at 4k Rpm's and the overdrive does not seem to engage. I changed the fluid and the filter and nothing, but since that is the only symptom I have for now, I never really looked into it further.

 

Good luck.

[hmrepairs]

Femur,

So during the shift from third into overdrive, does the engine rev-up like something is slipping for a second or two before overdrive engages, or does it just run at a high rpm, trying to shift but taking a long time to do it? Have you noticed any kind of slippage in any gear? How about when you changed fluid/filer in the past, was there any kind of debris in the pan?

[88pathoffroad]

Internal problems like you describe are an indication that the transmission is dying. Install an external fluid cooler ASAP and DO NOT USE THE STOCK TRANS FLUID COOLER. The stock cooler clogs up easily and restricts flow to the trans, which burns it up and ruins it. Rebuilds are NOT cheap, they usually run from $1100-$2200.

[femur]

@hmrepairs

 

I get no slippage or hard shifts at all, ever. My shifts are silky smooth! It just seems to take a while to 'decide' to finally go to 4th from 3rd, and from park to drive like i described above. For 3rd to OD, Ill drive in third for about 10 minutes and then finally it just shifts to overdrive very smooth like nothing happened. After that, the tranny will go from 4th to 3rd on hills and stuff and shift back and forth with no problem for the rest of my drive. Seems like once it's warm, everything is ok.

 

I have never changed the filter before and have never had the pan off. When i did change the fluid it was pretty clean and unburnt. No wierd smells and no metal shavings or anything.

 

Do you recommend changing the ATF filter out and checking the pan?

 

Thanks!

 

-Eric

Edited January 8, 2007 by femur

[femur]

@88pathoffroad

 

You are making me scared man! Is a tranny cooler necessary when im not towing or driving hard? From what i have been reading in the other threads in this forum, they are recommended for people who tow a lot and drive really hard which i never do.

 

Also, what are the symptoms of a tranny starting to die? From stores i have read in this forumn about tranny's dying usually this happens:

 

 

Documented here:

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12113

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9741

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12174

 

and I always thought that this kind of stuff usually happens:

 

-Inability to shift (reverse usually goes first?)

-Really hard shifts

-Burnt out ATF

 

 

The fact that my shifts are usually very smooth is really throwing me off. I could be wrong though! Thank you for the advice. Any other feedback you have would be very much appreciated!

 

Thanks 88,

 

Femur

[Pavelow Leaks]

the tranny cooler in a auto is a necessity, not because of the extra cooling, but because the stock cooler is prone to clogging, and there for f'n up your tranny.

[88pathoffroad]

Exactly, the stock cooler is inadequate for use at ALL. Over time it WILL kill a transmission if left in use, especially with infrequent fluid changes(which will allow particle and debris build-up in the unchanged fluid that clogs the cooler over time). Read more in the trans shift kit thread I posted: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=11862

 

Did you know trans fluid is supposed to be changed every 30K miles or 24 months, regardless of how it looks or smells? That's something to think about if you have over 100K and have only changed it twice...

 

Loss of reverse, burnt smelling fluid, hard shifts or missed shifts, etc...the symptoms listed in the threads above are the signs that damage has already occurred and are manifesting themselves by creating driveability problems. Experiencing an occasional missed shift or slow shifting or anything out of the ordinary are simply smaller signs of the same. Protect yourself while you still can and do everything you can to alleviate any further damage, unless you have several thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket...it only makes sense.

[femur]

@88,

 

Thanks for the info man. I was checkin out the pic you posted in thread:

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8817

 

and your tranny coolers look pretty sweet. you think installing one of those would keep my tranny from dying (as quick)? BTW, im all about $10 from a junk yard as you mentioned.

 

I read that thread about the shift kit... seems like it is a son-of-a-gun to install and i dont really have the expertise to do something like that. Seems like id have to drop big $$$ to get it installed by a shop (although assuredly cheaper than a new tranny, i know).

 

Basically: Would a cooler like you have in your pic keep my tranny from dying as fast? Assuming i install a tranny cooler tomorrow, is my tranny still gonna die?

 

Im gonna start changing out my ATF every 30k now. Good call man!

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Any other readers ever have any tranny problems like im describing? What can i expect? Any other advice/ideas/talk would be appreciated!

[hmrepairs]

Femur,

If I were you, I would install a cooler immediately. Also, drop the pan and change the fluid and filter. You may see an improvement, or you may not. Clearly this is the place to start. It is common knowledge that the internal cooler becomes clogged. Now in addition to it's normal work, your pump must work that much harder to push fluid through a clogged cooler(and pull it through an old filter). More work = more heat = more work = more heat and on and on. Please try this first and let us all know if you notice any difference at all.

[88pathoffroad]

@88,

 

Thanks for the info man. I was checkin out the pic you posted in thread:

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8817

 

and your tranny coolers look pretty sweet. you think installing one of those would keep my tranny from dying (as quick)? BTW, im all about $10 from a junk yard as you mentioned.

 

I read that thread about the shift kit... seems like it is a son-of-a-gun to install and i dont really have the expertise to do something like that. Seems like id have to drop big $$$ to get it installed by a shop (although assuredly cheaper than a new tranny, i know).

 

Basically: Would a cooler like you have in your pic keep my tranny from dying as fast? Assuming i install a tranny cooler tomorrow, is my tranny still gonna die?

 

Im gonna start changing out my ATF every 30k now. Good call man!

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Any other readers ever have any tranny problems like im describing? What can i expect? Any other advice/ideas/talk would be appreciated!

Hey, thanks. Yeah, I was looking through stuff at the junkyard and said, "what's wrong with those coolers?" Not a damn thing, they work perfect and the equivalent would cost me $40 for ONE at the parts store!

 

There are no guarantees that a cooler will fix your problems, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Just an FYI, there are OTHER small screens inside a RE4R01A that aren't accessible to you from underneath, so there's more than one thing that can clog up.

 

I've heard that some people have had good results using the Lucas Oil additive for transmissions with a slipping trans. Not that it'll fix anything, but it seems to help.