Okiewan

Thanks for the reply.

No way am I investing that much in a 85K, 6 year old car. I'm going to do the VB and hope for the best. Just paid the thing off too. Not a happy Nissan owner.

po8pimp

coming up on 8 months with the kit installed and still no issues. Works as good as it did with the first install. Not saying it will last forever, however I should have seen it slip if it was going to go out. Not sure what Athlon's problems are, but I don't think this new valvebody is going to fix the P0744 code.

2k4MaximaSE

Finally got my car in the dealership and this is what I have been told.....

1. I had to replace the starter since I hadn't driven the car in several months and it was just sitting in my garage as I drove another one of my cars. So I had them replace the starter which set me back about $420.

2. Once they had the starter installed they couldn't come up with any codes! The one code they got was something about solenoid????

3. They told me my transmission fluid was beyond filthy which I changed out about 3-4 years ago or about (30,000-35,000) miles ago. Nissan service rep told me he would recommend me doing the change and see if that would resolve this issue because either way I had to drain and refill that tranny fluid so I told them to do it.

4. Today I get a call back saying that the car now runs (wasn't running before, it was stuck in 5th gear and the last time I drove the car, the engine wouldn't turn over when I tried turning the car on) so that was a bit of good news, but the rep told me the car was still shifting hard at times. Told them to check the camshaft position sensor and he told me that no code was coming up for that so it couldn't be that and I insisted to the guy it obviously had to be something because the car was still shifting with that bang. He indicated he would have his guys take another look at the car tomorrow.


I mean, really? These guys make their living because of these vehicles and because you have people who aren't mechanically inclined such as myself. I'm actually telling this guy to dig further so he can do repairs which equates to money coming out of my pockets and this guy is actually kind of turning me down...wtf???


Excuse my ignorance and I don't know if I asked this before, but what exactly is the camshaft position sensor for? Also, what's the valve body and what's its purpose?


I tried getting an idea as to how much that valve body may cost from this website, but have no clue where to search for it....can someone guide me in the right direction?


www.everythingnissan.com

po8pimp

look for quick reference questions like "what is a valve body and what are camshaft position sensors for?", you should google them. Trust me when I say google is your friend. The valve body is a part that attaches to the transmission that directs the trans fluid to go where it needs to in order for the vehicle to shift. It holds all of the solenoids and some electronics that shift the car. As for the camshaft position sensor. It is exactly what the name suggests. It is a sensor that monitors where your camshaft is it it's rotation. This is needed for the engine to turn over and for the transmission to know where your cams are in order to shift correctly. If you are getting codes about your solenoids, then that would more than likely be in the valve body.

KevMaster

Valve body repair costis anywhere between $700 to $1500 depending on your mechanical skills.

1. Levelten is the place many people get their valve body repaired or repaired + installed. To get it repair, you have to remove valve body from your transmission and send it to them and they will send it back to you with $700 labor. Or if you're close to NJ then you can drive-up there and they do everything for you under $1000

2. Valvebodyexpress is another place and I am not sure what their price is. You can order valve body from them and have it installed through your local shop. labor cost will run anywhere between $300 to $500 plus transmission fluid cost.

3. Trademotion or google "AAA nissan part" is another place to order OEM valvebody for cheap I believe under $850. Make sure you get the latest "B" version of valve body from them. You can order valve body from them and have it installed through your local shop. labor cost will run anywhere between $300 to $500 plus transmission fluid cost.

4. Get it installed from your local dealer. Valve body cost at dealers anyehwre between $1000 to $1200 I believe. Make sure you get the latest "B" version of valve body from dealer. I don't know how much they will charge you for labor.

5. The cheapest (not really) way is to get transgo kit for under $150 and final local transmission shop willing to install transgo kit. labor will run anywhere between $300 to $500 plus cost of transmission fluid.

I prefer option 1 as I am not that far away from NJ.

2k4MaximaSE

Got more news today on the car.....they drained the tranny fluid they had put in yesterday because it got contaminated with the remnants of the tranny fluid it initially had. Nissan rep told me they took it out for a ride and this time around the car ran much smoother with little "bang" between gears. Told me that since I've let the car stay stationary for several months that I should give it about 300-400 miles on this new tranny fluid and the "bang" should be gone.....what???? I mean I'm by far the less mechanically inclined person (I know about specs on cars and all but I can't do anything hands on my car if my life depended on it) but this seems to me like the biggest sack of (insert 4 letter word here) I've heard in a good while. Tomorrow I'm picking the car up because they tell me they aren't getting any codes for the camshaft position sensor or anything having to do with the valve body....they just aren't getting anything....since the last time I drove the car and now I've installed a yellow top Optima battery so I don't know in the process of doing that if perhaps any codes the computer may have had perhaps erased?? Can someone tell me if that in fact is possible or not?

I'm actually wanting to hear that it's either the sensor or valve body because this way I know they've diagnosed the root of the problem, but I keep getting nothing. Oh yea, was told I needed a new radiator because the one I have is all rusted and it's just a matter of time before that one starts leaking so in goes a new radiator tomorrow. Taking the car to some local tranny shop that's supposed to be very reputable to see if they can pinpoint exactly what's wrong with the car.

Nissan is the worst...glad that this is the only Nissan vehicle I own and never again will I be purchasing another one....damn shame to because ever since my teen years especially when the 20th anniversary Maxima came out I remember I was a Senior in high school and I told myself that one day I was gonna buy a Maxima and that day happened several years ago, brand spanking new and now I regret having that day because I regret buying this car which I still love.

BTW, if the tranny shop does indicate it's some sort of tranny related issue (i.e. valve body) I was looking at that Level10 as the way to go to take care of that and of course purchasing that Transgo kit.

Jay66

Hey, so was the Valve body the only thing you had to fix on ur tranny?? That and the torqu converter?? I ask because I just got my trans "rebuilt" by aamco transmissions Yaa I messed up takin it to them in the first place but they rebuilt my trans n got me a reman'd valve body and got me a new torque converter n they obv had to change gaskets n seals n ****... My point is that I had the same exact problem you described, knock from 1 to 2. Super long delayed shift from 2nd to 3rd as well as a winding down feeling before shifting into 3rd... Eventually m 3rd gear dissappeared so I would have to drive n shift from 2nd to 4th and would get a 4th gear lag ! Lockup ... I paid 3200 for my rebuilt trans n just wanted to know if the valve body n the shift kit would have fixed the problem??

2k4MaximaSE

Well I got feedback from the dealership today they made a "discovery". Nissan rep calls me and with a surprised voice says they found out what the issue was. Here I am thinking they finally got some solid answers and the guys proceeds to tell me that it's my transmission that was bad. Really?!?! I guess the fact that I told him that beforehand when I dropped the car off didn't make sense to him, or the fact that I had the car towed to the dealership, or even the fact that when they drove it the car would "bang" when shifting....to make a long story short, he made a pitch to sell me a remanufactured tranny which he quoted me for a total of $3,225 with installation. No thanks. Got a hold of a tranny shop that's very reputable and described to the guy the problem with the car and before I could finish the guy told me it was the valve body. So I guess I'm gonna be getting that Level10 valve body build out

ingchristo

I know there are mixed opinions on the Transgo shift kit. So I will give my .02. I am only giving it since I got some pm's about how I did it and what problems I had. Just some background I am NOT a mechanic or claim to nor claim to understand the inner working of my car. I am an IT manager who is somewhat mechanically inclined. In these tough times I don't have $1400 to buy a new valve body.

The problems I had started after 40 mins of driving. Long delay shifting gears from 2-3 & 3-4. Sometimes bang from 2-3. Bangs from 4-3. I was able to ride it out for a few months using the manual shift but bangs became more apparent which was worse than the shift delay.

I went to a trans shop they told me it is strange for Maxima to have the actual trans to be bad. It is understandable on Sentras and lower models. Since my car shifted fine and only had issues after 40 min of driving. I was suggested to take it to either to the dealer to have the assess the situation or another reputable shop the specialized in upgrades and better equipped to analyze my electronics.

2 reasons why I trust this trans shop:
1. He didn't right a way tell me I needed a new trans.
2. He was honest about telling me he didn't know and didn't want speculate.

I went with take it to the dealership route. I was told it was $100 for inspection. Got the usual sell but it will be applied to any work I get done. I figured they would tell me definitive answer. 24 hours later they call and tell me the only thing wrong is my left/rear abs sensor is bad. The dealership wants to do a drain and fill since my tranny fluid is dirty. At this point I call bullsh*t since I did a drain and refill 2 weeks earlier. I reiterate to them you need to drive the car at least 40 min. They finally do drive it and tell me that its a bad trans you need a whole new valve body.

When the added it all up with labor & parts my bill would be close to $4000. Why would I put $4000 into a new trans with my car having over 100,000 mile. Which brings me to my decision to do the shift kit.

When doing the shift kit key is being clean and organized. The major costs for me were the cost of the kit, fluid and a table grinder I bought at Sears for $60. Following the instructions that Transgo supplies is very detailed and concise make the job pretty easy. Just time consuming.

My car drives and shifts great right now.

I don't know how to attach a pdf. So if anyone wants the instructions pm me your email or hit me up if you need help.

2k4MaximaSE

Kev or Po, can one of you answer this for me? Again, excuse my lack of mechanical knowledge....if I did the valve body repair through Level 10 would I still need the Transgo Kit or by doing the Level 10 option will I no longer need the Transgo Kit?

KevMaster

Transgo and sonnax are the two known valve body upgrade kits available for many transmissions. Levelten does not use either of two. What levelten does is use their own designed valve body kit that claimed to be superior to transgo and sonnax kit according to levelten techs. So the short answer is you need nothing except for $700 if you want to send your valve body to them, or $1000 if you want to drive there and have them do everything for you. However there or more players like levelten who provide valve body repair service. One is ISP (import performance transmission) and another one is valve body express and I believe they both compete with levelten. There are some members here who have done work through levelten so I hope they will reply you with their experience with levelten work.

po8pimp

^ couldn't have said it better. I have a hybrid so to say in my valve body. I have all the sonnax parts except for the oversized booster valve that requires a special tool to install, and the transgo shift kit installed. both kits are different in the sonnax kit will not fix the problem by itself. The transgo kit will. The transgo kit repairs the solenoids that help shift the trans. The sonnax kit consists of just parts like the moving springs and valves in the valvebody. I did the sonnax kit first thinking it would solve my problems. I was wrong and that is when I found the transgo kit. Night and day difference.

bigfan

i had the same issues at low speeds...slips, bangs. had my valve body replaced. car drives great. i would recommend this. save yourself the grief. there is a problem in the valve body. if you live in the toronto area, i have a great contact for a shop that deals with with valve body builders with sonnax parts.

traveler1

Tranny fixes:

1 - Try replacing both (or one at a time) Camshaft Position Sensor

You can do it yourself with very little mechanical know-how (hell, I did it).

FIRST THING TO DO DISCONNECT BATTERY

2 bolts, one on each sensor - need to use 10 mm socket with a couple of short extensions to get to the bolts.

Take off air intake between the area of the sensor - screwdriver to loosen clamps

I went ahead and reset the ECU or CEL, however you wanna call it.

TA-DA !

No more shifting hard between 1-2-3 gears. No CEL on. No "Limp-Mode"

Choke on that NISSAN! No $3000-$5000 tranny repairs for me (yet!).

SacFitz

All

My 05 Maxima is shifting hard between 2-3rd, and the Dealership said to replace the Valve body.

Is there some test to check to see if it's a camshaft sensor or Valve Body? I have no lights or codes related to the hard shift.

Are people changing the sensors first whether that is the problem or not to see if that fixes it?

Thanks

SacFitz

traveler1

Bought both from either Autozone or Advance. $130 for both. had them out and the new ones in in under 25 min. Little tight space on the one near the rear of the engine, but no problem.

Only problem is that now my car shifts worse? Gonna see what codes it's throwing now and go from there. Prob gonna put old sensors back in.

KevMaster

Many folks reported transmission issue here with using nissan recommended fluid all the time, matter of fact serviced their cars at dealership all the time. I am a living proof of that matter (always used nissan recommended fluid) and I am also experiencing some transmission issues.

po8pimp

I on the other hand have used Nissan Matic K fluid, Royal Purple ATF, and Nissan Matic J fluid. I think I have Matic K in right now.

SATXBOX

Hello everyone im from the bahamas, my 04 maxima doesn't shift hard but it slips ( how ever the tech said it neutrals out ) between the gears 2,3 and the rest when the trany is warm but not when its cold. I had 2 tranny specialist place a test on it both said i need a overhaul or a rebuild. Im sory couldn't remember the code he got on the scanner but i saw where it said trany needs rebuild and also i didn't get any error codes like valve body solenoid A/B/C stuck or camshaft sensor error and also my mounts r fine. Yes i already change fluid it work for 2 days great when tranny warm and cold but it did the same thing again. I am in the process of getn the trany rebuild and also is there anything anyone here recommend me to perform on my rebuild because the trany specialist is in the valve body section atm and already completed installn the new gears, seals etc in the transmission itself.....

po8pimp

Satxbox, I recommend you either have them put in the kit discussed here or get a level 10 valve body installed. This will just happen again in the near future unless the problem is addressed. Good luck

SATXBOX

Do i have to purchase the entire valve body from level 10 ? Or do i have to send in my existing valve body and get it upgraded and also where can i purchase it from because i have to order it since I'm in the Bahamas. Btw i was thinking of buying this rebuilt valve body with Sonnax parts + 1year warranty if i really have to replace it http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NISSA...Q5fAccessories

KevMaster

I would encourage to send your valve body to level 10 and have them ship back to you if you want to go through level 10 way. You need nothing to buy except to send them your valve body and $700 for labor + shipping.

SATXBOX

I went with the rebuild valve body with sonnax updated parts, will keep your guys posted on the progress. I seen where sonnax parts where recommended too another reason I went with it.... Here is what i purchase: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NISSA...Q5fAccessories

po8pimp

not going to work unless it has the Over sized boost valve installed. I replaced everything in my valve body with sonnax parts and it did nothing. The only sonnax part I did not install was the over sized boost valve which required a special tool to install. The tool was on back order and about $270. it was a reaming tool. I highly doubt the guy selling you this did that tedious work for the price he is selling this valve body for. I still think you need the transgo kit installed. The kit comes with tools to open up the solenoids better for easier movement.

SATXBOX

Sorry for the misunderstanding i didn't get my valve body rebuild, i bought one already built with sonnax parts and also it comes with new solenoids and all other electronics. How ever if i have a issue with the valve body i have 1 year warranty on it. This is what i actually got http://www.solenoidstore.com/prod.itml/icOid/510

2k4MaximaSE

Finally had my car fixed.....in a nutshell this is what they needed to do

New starter (car wouldn't start)
New radiator (old one was rusted bad)

That was done @ the dealership and than I took it somewhere reputable for the actual core of the problems

Brand new valve body with new interior parts altered
Complete tranny rebuild

I've had it for almost a week now and the car rides smoothly, no issues whatsoever

SATXBOX

Thanks for the report back on the remanufactured valve body with sonnax parts just ordered one recently from http://www.solenoidstore.com/prod.itml/icOid/510 and got it for $699

Blackxima

I have just read this entire thread and I am still scared to pull the trigger on the Transgo kit. My wifes car has all the symptoms with the hard shifts, jerks, delays for R to D ect, but not the stuck in 5th or any CEL's. Shifts have gotten a lot worse in the last few weeks.

I called two transmission shops , both told me over the phone I needed a new/rebuilt tranny and would not install the kit for me.

I have not really seen a write-up in detail about removing the VB. I am positive I could handle the removal and sending it off. I would just like to have the info in front of me before I do it.

fish4checks

I too have a 04 Maxima, At 70K I experienced hard downshifting when transmission become hot. After going to my local dealer, I was told that I needed a new transmission (4K). After doing some research and finding this website. We had the Transgo kit/correction kit installed and a new boost valve for under $700. The transmission now shifts better than it did brand new. Shame on you NISSAN for not stepping up and correcting this issue. So I thank po8pimp and others on this blog, Transgo for making this kit and Jeff Gillette at Schukes Transmission out of Dublin, Calif. for installing it.

SATXBOX

The Transmission specialist mentioned today that none of my gears were worn out and nothing seems damage in my transmission, but i still overhaul it, since i already bought the master kit, and also its a good thing that i did some online research and found this helpful website as i was unaware that the valve body was a major fault in the 6 gen. My re-manufactured upgraded valve body with sonnax parts should be to my shipping company sometime this week. But like most ppl said once the transmission slips, only when it's hot its most likely to be the valve body that cause this issue... and when its cold my tranny shifts fine and no slips.

Longotter

Nice site to stumble across. I own a 2004 Nissan Maxima wth the exact shift problems everyone has described. My warranty also just expired on my car at 100,000 miles (I have 115,000 miles on the car now). I am a little confused however. Is the Transmission Body Valve Kit the same as the Transgo Kit? It sounds to me like they are not and that the Transgo Kit would be the most logical and less expensive remedy to the problem. Also, if the two kits are different, does the Transmission Body Valve Kit include the Transgo Kit as well? Can someone please clear my confusion?

po8pimp

http://forums.maxima.org/7522453-post153.html this should help explain things better. If not send me a PM and I will help as much as possible.

Blackxima

Well I bought the transgo kit and gaskets on ebay. Car is going to the shop tomorrow. Both transmissions shops I took it to would not touch it. They wanted to rebuild the tranny. I found a speed shop that mainly specializes in mustangs. I showed him the kit and directions and he said no problem we will do it. FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Longotter

Did he give an exact part number for the kit?

Longotter

Please let me know how it works out for you. I'm taking mine into the shop today for assessment. I'm told it may be something as simple as the solenoid shift plug on the bottom of the tranny? If not, then I'm having the shift kit installed which will hopefully give me a few extra miles on the tranny until I can save up for the complete rebuild ($3,000-$4,000). Nissan should be ashamed for putting their customers through this nightmare.

SATXBOX

Talk about no one don't want to install this kit in your area, inside Bahamas i couldn't find not one person who can install it, neither recommend it, so i had to go with a re manufactured valve body upgraded with sonnax parts, which seems easy to install but more costly, over installing the transgo shift kit.

Blackxima

It is all in this post:

http://forums.maxima.org/7522453-post153.html

or Transgo - AW55-50SN shift kit

some of the other numbers in the link, I could not find anything on the Transtar stuff. That is the only reason I went with the ebay route.

po8pimp

I am so confident in this shift kit, that even if I have to do a rebuild. I will put this shift kit in again along with the sonnax parts.

rickyross

p08pimp,so i just ordered my transgo shift kit because of what i read on here i hope it works. what else would i need to do to eliminate the hard shifting?

po8pimp

Well I can tell you what I did. I put all the Sonnax parts they offer, with the exception of the larger Boost valve that requires the special tool. I put the kit in with new gaskets. I put an after market trans cooler in as well as new radiator fluid. This car runs extremely hot, I recommend a more efficient radiator or an after market trans cooler.