My Transmission blew up!

[AaronHorrocks]

My Transmission blew up!

So I was a little past 345,000 miles, and I started hearing a clanking/rattling. Repeatable only during acceleration. This might have been something else getting loose. I was towing. Like the photo below, but this isn't a current photo. I was hoping to make it home to inspect everything and work it out, but I didn't.

My highway speed slowly decreased while my RPMs had no effect. I came to a roll on the side of the freeway with a bit of gray smoke. It's also entirely possible that my clutch is burnt up, but this didn't smell like clutch. I'm pretty sure that the transmission is gone. I've been having a few issues with it in recent months anyhow.


1994 Nissan Pathfinder, 4x4, Auto Transmission, Over Drive, etc...

 

 

I was able to get it towed home... So at this point, all I can think of doing is pulling it into the side yard off of the public street, and begin to pull the transmission and clutch. Does anyone have a guide to do that?

Also what should I do about the transmission? Should I get a take-off transmission somewhere? Is there a good place that does rebuilt transmissions? Should I remove my transmission, and have a local shop rebuild it? I've rebuilt engines and manual transmissions before, however rebuilding an automatic is completely foreign to me.
For location wise, I'm in the "East Bay" of California's San Francisco "Bay Area".

[Slartibartfast]

An auto trans doesn't have one big clutch, it's got a bunch of little ones inside (part of what's replaced during a rebuild). They're wet clutches, so I imagine any burning smell would've been absorbed by the fluid. You could have it rebuilt, but check prices on good used ones first; if you can find one from an 01+ Pathy or Xterra (not really sure of the year range) they're supposed to last longer and bolt right up.

 

When you swap the trans out, make sure you get all the old fluid and bits of dead trans out of the cooler lines and the cooler itself. If you're still running the little cooler in the radiator, probably best to ditch that for an aftermarket cooler (especially for towing).

[Precise1]

Sorry to hear that Bud, but 350k is a long life for an auto tranny, especially a WD21's!

In all honesty, I'd just try to source a newer tranny out of a Frontier or Xterra, they are said to be heavier duty and still bolt right in. I believe the years are something like 1999-2003, but best look around here and confirm that; there is a thread or two that covers the info well. Make sure the torque converter comes with the tranny...

 

If you have a decent place to work, the right tools, etc, I recommend doing the swap yourself as it isn't terribly hard, but takes a lot of time, so shop rates would be a killer.

If you really want to add new life, source a VG33 and the newer tranny, put the VG33 in with all the stock VG30 furniture/equipment. It'll still pass smog and they'll probably never know there is a larger motor installed.

 

I was driving through Livermore yesterday afternoon, it was too damn hot!

 

B

[ThaBigPerm]

Your torque converter may have also been what went rather than the transmission. Although it's a bit of a chicken vs. egg argument, since one going out can (and usually does) take the other with it, and if there was a serious mechanical issue with one, it's generally recommended to replace both at the same time.