RaeRaeAllen Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Someone please help!! My transmission will not engage all the time. This morning it was fine on the ride to work but then I went to run to store and the transmission would not engage. I tried every gear. It would start to roll back in neutral then stop (even with a jolt). I would put it into drive it would move forward a little then try again no reverse no neutral. Finally got it out of driveway but now I can only drive 20 mph. I tried putting it in 2nd same thing and when I put it in 1st is stops. Its an automatic. Is first gear gone? Is it just fluid? Do I need a new tranny? I dont know anything about the tranny maintenance as I just bought it 6 months ago. Also when I bought it it had no reverse. Girl said something about it got thrown into R or P at 35 mph and R never worked again??? Someone please help me fix my baby!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaeRaeAllen Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) I checked fluid. Its fine and beautiful pink/red color. No grit. No flakes. No burnt smell. Thinking this may be a linkage problem but I am new to Pathfinders so if anyone can help that would be great! Edited July 7, 2014 by RaeRaeAllen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I think this is way beyond maintenance. drain the transmission and check the filter for metal bits. that will be a definitive clue as to needing to A. rebuild this one or B. find a new(used) one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm sorry to say this, but I would start shopping for a new transmission, or get it rebuilt if you want to go that route. I'm going to go out and say that girl lied to you, as these trannies if they are not maintained will drop reverse at random, and after that it is all downhill from there. You can swap in a transmission from a 2000-2004 Xterra as well, or a 96-2000 pathfinder. The 01+ ones are considered HD and are extremely tough. I have done this swap myself, and it bolts right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 ^Agreed A slim chance is to make sure the cable for the shifter is properly adjusted. (FSM downloadable from the pinned thread in the Garage section) The only reason I say this is that it should never stop rolling in neutral, so you might not be in the gear you think. Other than that, yes, I suspect you have serious issues with the tranny... B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebayfish Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I hope for your sake that the tranny is not shot. I just did the Xterra swap & it made a huge difference! Pulling that transmission is the hardest transmission I've ever pulled, lots of hidden bolts, behind the starter mount, etc. I found an Xterra transmission with 45k miles on www.car-parts.com for $300 & shipped it to my work for $110 through RYC. I used my pathfinder transfer case, topped it with Valvoline Max Life ATF & everything went together well. I then sold my old core tranny for $125. If you got the time, that'll probably be your best bet if it comes down to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Don't drive it anywhere, get it towed immediately to a trans shop for diagnosis. My trans did exactly the same thing, except I was in the worse place you could be when a trans goes, on the freeway. I could only get 2nd gear and crawled at 50 km/h and I went straight to the transmission shop. $2,500 later I had a recon trans. The mechanic showed me what had happened to the old trans. It looked like Mechatron and Bumblebee had a fight inside, there was metal fragments everywhere. Totally destroyed. I'd never seen anything like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaeRaeAllen Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Hey guys thanks for all the comments! I managed to drive it home yesterday at first it seemed like 1st gear had gone but by the time i was only a few miles from home it just miraculously drove fine shifting perfectly into 1st to 2nd then 3rd. Will post further info. One quick question tho... if I were to swap trannys does the fact that mine is 4wd makes this swap more difficult?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'm glad it is behaving now, but be suspicious, don't think it 'fixed' it's self... 95% of Pathfinders out there are 4x4, so just assume that is what everyone is talking about. As ebayfish mentioned, it is just a lot of work; the tranny is huge and heavy you have to jack the Pathy way up to get it to clear, some of the bolts are hard to get to, you have to pull the T-bars and a cross member to get it out, etc. Not trying to scare you, plenty of people have done it, but it is a lot of work... B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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