Originally Posted by Radtoo

Thanks to all the posts on this matter and especially to Chernmax, Costee, Kevmaster, and Pimp and MEGA THANKS TO Scrui for his how-to Post (Link Below).

and HAD to sign up just to thank you all.





Here's my tale..

1. 2005 Purchased Maxima new
2. May 2010 - vehicle paid off
3. August 2011 - 140,000 Miles, 1st noticed jerking in reverse to drive
4. September 2011 - noticed slipping from stop to drive
5. September 2011 - surfed the problem on the net and found Maxima Forum
6. September 2011 - Read Chernmax's post and registered with class action suit
7. September 2011 - Read of the Transgo Kit fix
8. October 2011 - had to breakdown and call my ex (significant other and mechanic) for help
9. October 2011 - ex sent me to his transmission specialist buddy who couldn't find any transmission problems but said to take to dealer for code readout
10. October 2011 - took to dealer and I didn't mention slipping and neither did they but told me to buy a new car-too many issues and it wouldn't pass the upcoming (August 2012) inspection. The $100 printout listed over $5000 in repairs (the gave me a $30 break on the diagnostic).
11. Winter 2011 - noticed no slipping/jerking
12. Spring 2012 - slipping/jerking started up again
13. June 2012 - panicked of mega $s needed to repair for upcoming inspection (August 2012)
14. June 2012 - Read Max Forum posts on TRANSGO SHIFT KIT vs VALVE BODY
15. June 2012 - Read Max Forum post from Scrui's on how-to-fix slipping problem (link below) and called Courtesyparts Nissan for the valve body (part #31705-8Y00A) and was quoted $844
16. July 2012 - Searched for a mechanic to put in Valve Body
17. July 2012 - wanted to drive to queens to see Scrui!!!!
18. August 2012 - Called both local dealers and were told two different prices (both over $1000). I quoted the Courtesyparts price and after fussing and them looking up the cost, one sold it at the online rate.
19. August 2012 - new boyfriend (not a mechanic) followed Scrui's instructions to a tee, except he used a lift-took 3-4 hrs.
20. November 2012 - 25,757 miles later still no problems! - HALLELUHAH!
21. November 2012 - New Boyfriend is a keeper-for now-but will get rid of Max at some point!

Question:

• Did I read that the transmission oil should be changed at some point? If so, when or how many miles?

Maxima forums - Post #577 & #588 by Scrui:
http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generation-maxima-2004-2008/597683-re5f22a-transmission-fix-15.html#post8017210

Originally Posted by scrui

How to change a Valve Body

Lift the front end of the car about two feet, high enough for you to get underneath and have
easy access. I used ramps. Please make sure car is lifted safely so there's no serious injuries.

Drain oil from transmission, use allan key to remove plug


Remove battery & battery plate. You will be able to see the upper bolts.


Also remove this bracket.


Now you are ready to start unbolting cover, but first spray Torx bolts with WD40, wait a few minutes before loosen them. The manual tells you not to reuse them,
well let me tell you they cost $8 each at Nissan, I reused them. I cleaned them up with wire brush and break fluid cleaner.
Tip: A couple of the bottom ones were a little more worn from the weather, so when reinstalling put them on top.


Remove cover bolts first. (this cover has a gasket that's very brittle, it will most likely brake if you try to handle it. Tip have a new one on hand when reinstalling).


I strongly recommend having a second person working with you, one can be underneath the car and the other on top.
I had more then one person working with me so we chose to unbolt first then to disconnect wires, if you are by yourself then I would recommend disconnecting before unbolting them just like on the service manual.
From underneath take out bottom and center bolts first, then from the top take out upper bolts, be sure to hold on to valve. You will notice they are not to tight,
remember this when reinstalling not to over tighten them, if you have a tork wrench better for you. I didn't have one so i just used same pressure to tighten them.
Once you pull the valve out, two small washers will either fall off or stay behind. from my photo one fell right away and the other eventually fell off also. these two washers were in excellent condition, so i reused them. In order for these two washers to stay up use vasoline when you reinstalling new valve body.



Here you will start to disconnect all the wires from the selonoids, the S1 - S5 were easy to disconnect, but the PS1 - PS3 were a pain to disconnect.
All the connectors are color coded and measure to length. when you reconnect them it's hard to make a mistake.



Remove bolt from sensor.


Installing new valve;
Place two washers with a bit of vasoline on them back first, then
while holding control valve assembly, connect the parking lock rod sub assembly to manual valve lever sub assembly. Then make sure you put the right bolts were they belong,
(what I did was, as I took one out I placed them on a towel picturing the valve, this made it easy to reinstall in order).
Don't over tight them, remember how they felt when you took them out.
Connect all the wires, again they are color coded and measured to length, but be carefull ok. Make sure they are all connected.


Follow these instructions to put cover back.


wait an 1 hr for RTV silicone to cure before putting new oil.
I lost 3 1/2 qts of matic k oil, so i replaced 3 1/2 qts of new matic k oil.
check for leaks, tighten accordandly.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by dgr

I am new to the forum and wanted to know if anyone had problems with a new remanufactured tranny? 2005 maxima I got lucky and extended warranty covered mine after tranny failed at 60K miles. But the new one still jerks hard from 2nd to 3rd while warming up. Should I take it back to the dealer? Over $8,000 in repairs for this car and I've only had it for a year. What a headache

Originally Posted by Costee

Dunno if you went through this, admittedly laborious, thread; but one thing that comes out clearly is that it's the valve body that's the pain in the neck and not the tranny per se. So a re-manufactured tranny isn't likely to take you far in resolving your issue. If you ask me, you might as well reinstall your old tranny with a new valve body. Anyway, to answer your question: take it back to the dealer.

Originally Posted by NissanBoss

Okay, I've spent several hours on this thread going through all the posts and I've decided on replacing the valve body instead of using the transgo fix mainly because it seems like it's only a temporary fix and most likely the mechanic I go to will screw it up and I'll end up having to replace the valve body anyway. My question though, is should I go with levelten(which is located fairly close to me, but will cost a 1000+) or with sunbelt valve body builders (for $525 + labor). I'm not sure which one is more reliable. The last option of course is to go straight to the dealer but I don't know (1) how much they sell it for (2) if theirs is improved/built better and (3) if they will try to screw me over and say it's something else (i.e. camshaft position sensor). Thanks for the advice.

Also, if anyone knows a good tranny shop in NJ/Tristate Area please pm me.

Originally Posted by po8pimp

well it happened. I destroyed 3rd gear. Messing around in the rain and shifted at what the speedometer said was 90mph and from 2nd to 3rd. Car was only doing about 20mph So my dumba$$ is looking into a new valve body. Nissan dealer diagnosed it to a stuck valve in the valve body. If it's stuck, then it probably scored the inside, and the chances of this happening again is extremely high if I just unstick it and put it all back together. I have sent sunbelt and email to see if it is worth my time, money, and effort to go with them. I guess we will see. I don't want just an oem valvebody with sonnax parts installed. That does not correct the problem we all are experiencing. The problem lies in the parts as well as the solenoids sticking in combination with defective Camshaft Position Sensors and broken motor mounts. Horrible I know, but if they tell me what I want to hear, then I will go with them. Thanks Brian C for a good find.

Originally Posted by po8pimp

Won't do that again, not anytime soon anyway.

Originally Posted by kmaha

have the same problems as everyone else on my '04 max se, purch. New in july '03 w/ 99,000mi. Can't afford a new car + dlr. Wouldn't give much on trade-in w/ tranny prob. Didn't see a reply to thread #1102 and wondering same things. What the f*** to do. Go the cheapie route and do the transgo fix or repl. The valve body. Had a tranny guy ck it out a couple of months ago. He flushed the trans. And said to come back and get the fluid changed again after the 1st of the year. He drove it but of course it drove fine on the road test. It's gotten much worse since then and realize i must do something. Tranny guy seemed honest enough but had not worked on a max. So am wondering if i should find someone who's had experience w/ this problem. I could drive it to napa or santa rosa or even sacramento....anyone know a competent & honest tranny garage in those areas? Thinking maybe do the transgo fix and then sell i and look for a low mileage honda. Have driven nissan's for 25 yrs. Will miss her!
Thanks for a reply and for this great site....hope nissan takes notice.

Originally Posted by blumax05

My 2005 max SE Auto has around 140,000 miles on it. I have posted on here before in regards to transmission issues. I pretty much have some of everything going on, all the jerking, slipping, etc. Took the car to AAMCO, long story short, they stated that I need a new tranny or a rebuild. I am trying to squeeze as many as I can out of this car before I get rid of it, and of course it's paid off so there is another reason. Would Level 10 rebuild kit suffice or would I need to do more than that?

I was going to just go with the Valve Body from level 10, the shop said that the VB alone would not fix all my issues. Sucks because I already do not trust transmission shops as it is and cannot really tell when they are blowing smoke!! If I do get the rebuild kit I am going to have Nissan install it.

Originally Posted by po8pimp

rebuild kits are for hard parts and clutch packs. The problems we are all experiencing are in the Valve Body. AAMCO is a horrible place to get specific trans work done. It is like taking your car to Jiffy Lube and asking for specific oil and filter installed. They will only do what they are accustom to. Take it to a hotrod trans shop or a specialist to get the work done. If you are mechanically inclined, do it yourself. There is a pretty good write up on here with pictures included. I have the shift kit done and have never been happier with this car. I did blow out the third gear band by screwing around, however this cars trans is strong with the shift kit installed. I was in the same boat as everyone else, "get the trans fixed and sell the headache to someone else". After the kit install, I quickly changed my mind. Good luck with your decision, let us know if there is anything else we can help with.

Originally Posted by Sarge

I have been following this form for awhile now. Decided to join and post because I am going the OEM VB Route. After hours and hours of research, this seems like the fix for me. I should have the new VB in my hands tomorrow morning. I got mine from Courtesy Nissan for about $850 with shipping. Everywhere else I called wanted $1000+!!! I am going to follow the post by Scrui and others that I have found on the interweb. I will Let everyone know how this goes. I can't wait to do this! Wish me luck

-Sarge

Originally Posted by Sarge

I have been following this form for awhile now. Decided to join and post because I am going the OEM VB Route. After hours and hours of research, this seems like the fix for me. I should have the new VB in my hands tomorrow morning. I got mine from Courtesy Nissan for about $850 with shipping. Everywhere else I called wanted $1000+!!! I am going to follow the post by Scrui and others that I have found on the interweb. I will Let everyone know how this goes. I can't wait to do this! Wish me luck

-Sarge