' 01 R50 transmission slips, 2nd to 3rd shift...

[Bunchie]

Ok so it's been doing this for a while now. Worse when it's still cold. Looked into some upgraded tranny offerings online but they are somewhat cost prohibitive-got a lot of other things requiring attention prior to THAT sort of cash outlay. Any suggestions as to what I can check prior to major repair options. It's got over 200, none abusive miles on it and there were no alarming things found in the bottom of the pan when I last changed the fluid and filter. Truck doesn't leak any fluids, etc. Bring forth the wisdom, good people of NPORA!! Thx

[onespiritbrain]

When you say slips from 2nd to 3rd, do you mean a long transition when engaging the 3rd gear? I believe a slow/long transition from 2nd in to 3rd can be caused by a valve body issue. I'm going to go have a look at the FSM for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onespiritbrain]

Check this out

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/31897-01-se-35-flare-and-other-problems/

 

 

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[Bunchie]

Hey Onespiritbrain, thanx for the prompt reply...MAF sensor, hey??? Who'da thunk? So just to be clear: the engine speed increases about 500 rpm for the 1.2 seconds it takes to shift from 2nd to 3rd, especially when cold. When warm, its somewhat better. All other shifts are pretty crisp for a 16 y/o tranny. Most of the parts on my buggy are the original equipment so I'm NOT surprised that things are starting to wear out-lol. Big thanx to Howie for the scoop on the Maxima MAF!! My money tree hasn't produced any foliage yet-haha. Cheeky buggers those dealerships...can't recall any of them going out of business in my neck of the woods and it's no wonder. Will clean MAF before replacing it...on Short Term Disabilty at present so $$ are kinda tight right now. Will advise on outcome of cleaning MAF. Thx again, V.

[LittleFR]

I had to do a total relearn to run maxima MAF.

So I put stock MAF back in and cleaned TB. Changed fuel filter and flushed trans fluid and went back with OEM fluid.

And my issues went totally away except when it's cold at first startup.

 

I don't fire it up when it's cold and haven't felt 2-3 flare in ages.

[Bunchie]

I had to do a total relearn to run maxima MAF.

So I put stock MAF back in and cleaned TB. Changed fuel filter and flushed trans fluid and went back with OEM fluid.

And my issues went totally away except when it's cold at first startup.

 

I don't fire it up when it's cold and haven't felt 2-3 flare in ages.

[Bunchie]

Well THAT "quote" thing didn't work...I AM NOOB....hear me sigh. Ok LittleFR, when you say you put OEM MAF "back" in, do you mean the old one or a new, replacement Pathfinder MAF back in? And are you saying you simply let the engine warm up b4 driving? Thx

[LittleFR]

Yeah. Put the stock MAF back in because the Maxima one hated my truck and I didn't have the time to relearn it before I had to drive to work again.

 

And after the flush and stuff I let it warm up in cold weather it works. When it's freezing I can make it flare when cold but I don't. When it's warm out or been parked less than several hours no issue.

 

When it's cold I read something about reduced line pressure, idk if it's true but I do know your Overdrive and Torque converter lockup won't work until you reach operating temperature. That drove me nuts when it got cold till I read my owners manual.

Edited February 3, 2017 by LittleFR

[Bunchie]

Oh yeah THAT stupid book...left mine in the "hidey hole and my lift gate leaks and it filled up w/water...it was OOKKEY and smelled real bad when I found it again so right in the bin it went! Waiting on the STD check right now and the mortgage hasta be paid every 2 weeks so I'm on an ostairity program for the moment. Will buy the MAF cleaner when dat check comes and see what sort of difference is made. Curious, what octane rating you running in ur 01? That "stupid" book says mine needs(wants?) 91+...Its a 3.5 with 10:1 compression so my VIN indicates. Im payin $5.46 CAN or $6.90 US per gallon here in the Greater Vancouver area for the good stuff, which is just sick...what are y'all paying per gallon?

[LittleFR]

If fuel is high I run 87 because I'm poor.

In the winter I often run 87 because my only performance issues seem to be in heat and when towing.

 

If I can get it cheap I run 93 and often mix 87 in at the next half a tank.

 

I think it's $2.25 a gallon now for 87 and 2.55 for 93.

I can get ethanol free 90 for 3.25 but don't because I'm poor.

 

Cheap gas does effect my mileage a hair but not hugely.

[adamzan]

If fuel is high I run 87 because I'm poor.

In the winter I often run 87 because my only performance issues seem to be in heat and when towing.

 

If I can get it cheap I run 93 and often mix 87 in at the next half a tank.

 

I think it's $2.25 a gallon now for 87 and 2.55 for 93.

I can get ethanol free 90 for 3.25 but don't because I'm poor.

 

Cheap gas does effect my mileage a hair but not hugely.

I don't understand the logic in this. The vehicle needs premium (91 usually) for best performance. Say you fill up 18 gallons each time. 40.5 for regular at your price, and 45.9 for 93 (91 would be cheaper). That's a $5.40 difference. Is the mileage/performance hit really worth that? That being said 91 would be cheaper than 93. Just trying to understand. I have an 02 Xterra supercharged, and always run 91 in it. My parents have a maxima that gets 2-3mpg less if you run cheap gas. Not worth it IMO.

 

And don't complain to me about gas prices because I pay 4.00 a gallon for regular

Edited February 4, 2017 by adamzan

[Citron]

Octane is a rating of how easily the fuel ignites. Gas has the same energy rating, BTU, per gallon no matter the octane rating. Lower the octane, easier it ignites. If you have high compression, the act of compressing the gas heats it. Low octane in this situation can pre-ignite. It would be similar to running out of time. So the only performance gain would be preventing pre-ignition, but higher octane does not have more energy. A bad case of pre-ignition is spark knock.

 

If you have lower compression, then running high-octane fuel is pointless since you would not have pre-ignition with low octane and there is no energy difference.

 

Octane booster is only needed for super high compression race engines, it is BS marketing saying it will improve performance in your mercury villager, it only makes the fuel harder to ignite.

 

Save money and run the lowest octane fuel that doesn't pre-ignite. If you want more performance, run non-ethanol fuel. Ethanol has a lower BTU rating so it does affect performance.

[LittleFR]

The only performance benefit to me is that around here you get 87 or 93.

And if I want 91 I drive 25 miles.

 

So explain that to me.

 

I'm aware about how octane works. What I don't understand is how my local gas stations work.

 

I didn't complain about fuel prices if it was $10 a gallon it's not like I'm going to walk to work. However I do have a 96 Cavalier that gets 30+mpg I usually drive to work. So I put 200 miles on R50 a month and 500 on my car.

 

Friday they had non ethanol 90 octane under $3 a gallon. I topped up my half a tank of 93 and 87. I hate ethanol gas. It's the best thing to ever happen to Sta-Bil. My brother has his own fuel tank he runs 87 non ethanol in everything. Except when people get to stealing it and he puts diesel in that tank... It's pretty funny, you can follow the smoke trail to the broken down cars.

Edited February 5, 2017 by LittleFR

[Citron]

Sorry, it wasn't meant to be offensive, just informative. People get mislead by the octane booster marketing, so the post was more for the benefit of all, not aimed at any one person.

[Bunchie]

Ok y'all y'all, I started this thread and now I have a few Q's regarding your answers/comments.

 

Citron: thank you, I did not know how ethanol affected the ignition of the fuel. Is that ALL it does? Do you know WHY they seem to put it in all the "lower" grade fuels?

 

LittleFR: Trying to understand how Sta-bil factors in to the ethanol equation. Ive noticed here in Vancouver, & BC in general, most of the main fuel suppliers state, on the pumps, that fuel "may contain up to 10% ethanol", except for "premium" which seems to contain NO ethanol. Both 93 and 94(available at Chevron only) are considered "premium".

 

Anyone: Is/was the 3.5 ltr engine made from 2001 and on, always built as a 10:1 compression engine and thus requires the premium fuel?

 

Adamzan: Hey buds, don't be moaning about the local gas prices...I put $40 CAN into the tank yesterday at $1.47 per litre only so I could get 20X the Airmiles, "premium fuel" offering at Shell(with min 25 litre purchase)-haha, just so I could get a half a tanks worth of fuel. So using the following formula: $1.47 X 3.78 (ltrs in a gallon)=$5.56 CAN for a "gallon" of premium...now let's factor in that US/CANADIAN exchage rate at X 1.27% =$7.06 per gallon!!!! JC, that's just SO wrong on a multitude of levels....

 

Everyone: Now I hope y'all have a clear idea of why I'm asking about HAVING to run premium in my ride. Well it snowed here again yesterday and last night...about 8 inches overall (inlaws about 1/2 hour away got 1-1/2 feet-lucky them) so I think I'll put some clothes on and go see if I can burn off some of that expensive premium fuel I have use...after all, I wouldn't want it to go BAD!! CHEERS from snowy Vancouver.

[Bunchie]

Wife is just talking to her Mom and she says they have almost 2 feet and it's snowing w/a vengeance again...might have to take a run out there in case they need any provisions. They have a 2 WD SUV and I dont want them driving that in these conditions...BUT I WILL, HEEHEEHEE! I love my Pathy!

[adamzan]

Where in BC are you? I was out there in September. (drove my pathy there) The gas was more expensive. Right now here it is 1.05/L for regular 87. You can't really find ethanol free 87 around here anymore.

 

LittleFR, a 96 cavalier? Don't see many of those anymore around here, they're all rotted away, just like the wd21 pathys. My solution to commuting to work was to move within 5 miles of my job and work from home 2-3 days a week. Of course not everyone can.

[Citron]

Ok y'all y'all, I started this thread and now I have a few Q's regarding your answers/comments.

 

Citron: thank you, I did not know how ethanol affected the ignition of the fuel. Is that ALL it does? Do you know WHY they seem to put it in all the "lower" grade fuels?

 

LittleFR: Trying to understand how Sta-bil factors in to the ethanol equation. Ive noticed here in Vancouver, & BC in general, most of the main fuel suppliers state, on the pumps, that fuel "may contain up to 10% ethanol", except for "premium" which seems to contain NO ethanol. Both 93 and 94(available at Chevron only) are considered "premium".

 

Anyone: Is/was the 3.5 ltr engine made from 2001 and on, always built as a 10:1 compression engine and thus requires the premium fuel?

 

Adamzan: Hey buds, don't be moaning about the local gas prices...I put $40 CAN into the tank yesterday at $1.47 per litre only so I could get 20X the Airmiles, "premium fuel" offering at Shell(with min 25 litre purchase)-haha, just so I could get a half a tanks worth of fuel. So using the following formula: $1.47 X 3.78 (ltrs in a gallon)=$5.56 CAN for a "gallon" of premium...now let's factor in that US/CANADIAN exchage rate at X 1.27% =$7.06 per gallon!!!! JC, that's just SO wrong on a multitude of levels....

 

Everyone: Now I hope y'all have a clear idea of why I'm asking about HAVING to run premium in my ride. Well it snowed here again yesterday and last night...about 8 inches overall (inlaws about 1/2 hour away got 1-1/2 feet-lucky them) so I think I'll put some clothes on and go see if I can burn off some of that expensive premium fuel I have use...after all, I wouldn't want it to go BAD!! CHEERS from snowy Vancouver.

Ethanol is an alcohol made from grain, mostly corn. It has less BTU per gallon then gas, so that is why performance and gas mileage suffer when running ethanol blended fuel, especially E85. Also, since it is an alcohol, it can dry out and harden seals and gaskets causing them to fail sooner than normal. Most automakers have made the seals and gaskets in their newer vehicles resistant to this, but older vehicles and small engines, lawn mowers, chainsaws etc, can still suffer.

 

We have it because some very powerful politicians from corn growing states wanted to find a new market for there constituents. It does burn a little cleaner than gas, but there is much debate on if it is actually better for the environment, considering the amount of diesel, chemical fertilizers, refining process etc that is used to produce it.

 

That is probably more than anyone ever wanted to know about ethanol.

[LittleFR]

 

LittleFR, a 96 cavalier? Don't see many of those anymore around here, they're all rotted away, just like the wd21 pathys. My solution to commuting to work was to move within 5 miles of my job and work from home 2-3 days a week. Of course not everyone can.

We don't have the hard winters like ya'll. my R50 and my Cavvy are both rust free even underneath. I live 6 miles from work but work 7 days a week. I try to save my 115k mile Pathy.

 

I gave $500 for the car, it needed wheel bearings... fixed it and been driving it ever since. Love the little thing.

 

 

Sta-Bil is doing well because the ethanol gas gums up carbs as it evaporates. Our local small engine repair shops are making a killing off it. I've had to rebuild my I laws 4wheeler carb twice. Now I sneak over there and treat the fuel every few months.

[Bunchie]

Hey folks, thanx for all the answers to my questions. Adamzan, I live in a suburb of Vancouver. It's called Cloverdale and those of use who live here, like to say we live in Cloverdale bc it means we don't have to say we live in SURREY-LOL! Well it looks like we've had our last dump of snow for this year...we don't get snow here all that often and year's allotment was more than most people around here have any sort of clue how to deal with. Now maybe I can get on with the list of repairs required for Pathy so she's Summer ready!!