Casoni30

Ok the car shifts great and smooth if you don't dog on it. If you need to put it to the floor to pass or whatnot, when it shifts at high RPM there is a thud that is felt and heard.

This might be like guessing where a needle is in a haystack, but has anyone had this issue and what did you do to rectify this? I understand this may be a stupid question, but these things do have TCM's. Any ideas?

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Are you saying it shifts hard at WOT? Could be a lot of things. If the car has a lot of miles, maybe a transmission oil change may help.

The car does have a TCM. It is below the ash tray. There are 2 modules stacked there. The lower one is the TCM. The upper one is for the cruise control.

Casoni30

Good suggestions for sure. The only thing I am worried about is that I have heard horror stories about a full transmission service totally killing the transmission. Whats your opinion on that? It has 132k today.

I thought about just draining what will drain from the pan and refilling with fresh instead of flushing and changing the filter. Not because it's harder, I just hear thats a better idea than a full flush. Whats your take?

Casoni30

I haven't tested for a shift difference from cold to WOT. I suppose everytime it has done it has been at WOT. What would you suggest as far as fluid? Any will do or do you prefer a specific type considering the high mileage?

T_Behr904

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

DO NOT DO A FLUSH AT THE SHOP IT WILL KILL YOUR TRANSMISSION AND NEVER ASSUME ANY FLUID WILL DO EVER. Does it shift better or worse when it is cold? When is the last time you changed some of the fluid? I can almost guarantee you that a drain and refill process would help it, if not fix it. Drain what will drain out when the transmission is up to temperature into a pan that you can measure how much came out. Then put EXACTLY that same amount of fresh fluid in. Do this same process once every few days until you do a drain and it looks almost all new and red, should take about 7 quarts. It wont be perfect but doing 7 quarts still leaves some old fluid in there so as not to shock the transmission. Dont get tranny fluid at Wal-Mart or the auto parts store. Go to nissan and ask them what kind of deal they can give you on 7 quarts of Matic-D, which is Nissan's automatic transmission fluid or buy it online. Hope this helps and if not it should only cost you a few hours work(simply draining and measuring) and about $50 for the fluid

Casoni30

Thanks a bunch for the info.

When I drive it to work tomorrow, I will dog on it when I leave my long driveway and get the answer to that question. I'm assuming the trans will still be cool by the time I get on the road, even if the engine has just reached WOT?

Matic-D it is. Thanks for the referral. The drain and fill method you describe is pretty much what my mechanic buddy suggested as well. I am glad you have faith in this fixing it. I'd love to not worry about the trans anymore.

Before I crank it in the morning, I will be checking dipstick levels on both the oil and tranny. I should probably be kicked for this, but I have yet to accurately check it. If it is low, that might explain things a bit as well.

BigLou55

iTrader: (6)

you wont get an accurate reading of the tranny level when its cold and not running. Your supposed to get the car to operating temperature and run the transmission through ALL the gears then check the level while its running. This may even be in the owner's manual.

ShocknAwe

iTrader: (3)

getting an accurate reading from a nissan dipstick? Go easy on it until you get the new fluid in there. People hate on the performance side of the tranny but its is fairly strong if you take care of it

Casoni30

Alright,

The Nissan guy told me all Matic-D is is Dexron... Dexron what?? 3? 5? At about 25 bucks savings for 7 quarts, I think I will do that...

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

To check the fluid you have to be at operating temperature and gone through all gears. You must also be on a level surface, the car running and shifted into park. The manual is very specific with this and I have found the dipsticks to be quite accurate when following the manual regardless what shocknawe says.

Now, as far as fluid you need dexron III which can be hand at any auto store. Because of your issues I don't recommend wasting a bunch of money on fluid for the drain and refill. You can use any major brand and be fine. If the drain and refill method works then great. At that point you can decide what fluid to use long term.

Ok, nobody asked, but do you know your current ATF level? If you are low it creates shifting issues and the same if you are high. Check your level first and go from there.

Also, this might be a reach, but are you the original owner? I ask because there was at one time a VB mod available and it gives a hard thus between shifts which is normal. No real way to tell if you have that mod or not without having someone who knows what they are doing pull apart the VB.