View Poll Results: What problems has your tranny had?
Needed a complely rebuilt transmission
52
18.91%
Is suffering from bearing failure
45
16.36%
Is positively suffering from another failure, but no total rebuild needed
7
2.55%
Suspect problem (leak, noise, shavings)
58
21.09%
No problems
113
41.09%
Voters: 275. You may not vote on this poll
So how many here have or suspect 5 speed transmission problems on 4th gen?
09-14-2003, 05:47 PM
#81
Originally Posted by HitManSE
You guys realize this thread started back in 2001 right?
09-14-2003, 05:48 PM
#82
Originally Posted by MaxedOut97SE
About a grand if you go thru the dealer.
09-15-2003, 05:45 PM
#83
vicodin ... gift of life
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: norcal
Posts: 5,401
Originally Posted by d_98SE
I thought medicsonic addressed you properly in the last thread on the same topic.
I for one have a 5sp and i don't tend to abuse it like some of us here.
I have no problems at all and i think you wouldn't too if you had kept of those 5000rpm launches.
I for one have a 5sp and i don't tend to abuse it like some of us here.
I have no problems at all and i think you wouldn't too if you had kept of those 5000rpm launches.
yeah, and how many miles do you have on your existing tranny?
my bearings failed at 135k... i let the problem go for about 15k miles before i had my tranny rebuilt.
edit: i just read hitman's post... yeah it's an old thread. i wonder how his tranny is doin now
09-15-2003, 06:04 PM
#84
Originally Posted by nadir_s
yeah, and how many miles do you have on your existing tranny?
my bearings failed at 135k... i let the problem go for about 15k miles before i had my tranny rebuilt.
09-15-2003, 06:06 PM
#85
vicodin ... gift of life
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: norcal
Posts: 5,401
Originally Posted by rguida
Mine failed/or are failing at around 165k....since the sound got bad i have not let 1000 miles go on it out of fear of breaking down somewhere and having to pay the extra money for that....I priced a new manual tranny through nissan today and the grandtotal for the piece alone came to 2385....and after i heard that I drove straight into Aamco.
09-15-2003, 07:56 PM
#87
Originally Posted by Scruit
I had the input bearing go - but that was a $25 part and the tranny is fine now. It did need to be removed and torn down to replace that bearing, though.
10-10-2003, 12:30 PM
#88
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 118
My input bearing is going too. Making slight noise(but getting louder) when input shaft is spinning in neutral with foot off clutch. I notice more play in drivers side CV axle than pass side too, no leaks though. Have a boneyard 5spd locking trans on order. Probably rebuild the old one for schits and giggles.
10-12-2003, 08:47 PM
#89
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (14)
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,404
My 5-spd was grinding when I entered 3rd gear everytime and sometimes even 4th gear.
I was at the track a couple of months back and I put the usual abuse on the car. On my way back my transmission got stuck in 4th gear. It seems as though the shifter fork might have broken or got stuck... I don't know. I could not slide the shifter into any gear but 3rd... however my car was always stuck in 4th. I even lost Neutral. The only way to go into 'neutral' was to push the clutch in.
I got a brand new 5-spd crate tranny from Nissan and had them install it, along with the ACT stage 1 clutch and Unorthodox Racing light flywheel. I'm lovin' it all ever since then!
I was at the track a couple of months back and I put the usual abuse on the car. On my way back my transmission got stuck in 4th gear. It seems as though the shifter fork might have broken or got stuck... I don't know. I could not slide the shifter into any gear but 3rd... however my car was always stuck in 4th. I even lost Neutral. The only way to go into 'neutral' was to push the clutch in.
I got a brand new 5-spd crate tranny from Nissan and had them install it, along with the ACT stage 1 clutch and Unorthodox Racing light flywheel. I'm lovin' it all ever since then!
10-16-2003, 11:31 AM
#91
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 118
Originally Posted by white95max
I replaced my original clutch at 121,000 miles. Tranny was rebuilt the same week.
Anyone know if the gen 5 trans are any better for input and diff bearing problems? I've got a 2k1 AE locking diff trans from a boneyard w/29k to replace my 98. Obviously, people with newer 5th gen cars don't have the miles on them where the bearing failures occur. But, I was curious if anyone knows whether Nissan made improvements to the trans, since the gen 4's?
03-19-2004, 03:43 PM
#92
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 887
yeah, i think i am experiencing some type of wheel hop. But whats funny is that it only happens when its raining and no other time. I guess i need to change the tranny fluid or something. I bought the car used with 55000 miles back in august and have 64000 miles on it now. Time for that major check up. Anyone else have some ideas of why this is occurring?
03-19-2004, 06:31 PM
#94
Originally Posted by nadir_s
my bearings died at 134k miles... then I dragged it for another 20k miles before rebuilding it. I had to change 3rd, 4th, and a couple bearings.
03-19-2004, 09:26 PM
#95
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 282
Would the tranny whine be noticeable at a certain RPM/Speed? '97 with 100k and ive noticed a real loud whine at 60MPH...but it doesnt matter what gear or clutch in/out...I dont know if thats a tranny prob or not?
03-21-2004, 03:13 PM
#96
Dyno plot says I have the most area under the Administrator curve
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,060
Just crossed 87k on my 99 and no problems yet. Picked it up used/mint at 43k so I can't vouch for how the previous owner treated it, but it's stock. And compared to most folks here I think I drive like a granny (rarely if ever go WOT, hardly ever exceed 5k rpm) 
Really would like the car to last a few more years with no major repair bills due to lots of other bills (big wedding coming up, getting house, pay off school debt for wifey) so I try to treat it nice, and am not planning on cranking any boost through it.
Really would like the car to last a few more years with no major repair bills due to lots of other bills (big wedding coming up, getting house, pay off school debt for wifey) so I try to treat it nice, and am not planning on cranking any boost through it.
03-24-2004, 12:08 PM
#98
Transmission history
I have a poor memory, and anyways saw this post and started digging around in lots of paper work on the chariot. here is what i have found:
Im the only owner, bought the car new in 1997.
** Invoice Date: 03-07-00
** Mileage - 59808 ( wow still in under warranty)
** Customer states that trans is whinning in all gears - verified internal failure of trans axle bearings. Remove transaxle - replace bearings. Cost to fix: $761.89
The Latest
** Date: 03-15-04
** Mileage: 151,750
Noise coming from synchronizer inside transmission. I was told to start making plans to look for a new tranny. The things i notice are : car in neutral, depress clutch hear light whirling noise, let off clutch in neutral dont hear anything.
Now when giving it gas in 1,2,3 i hear another noise sorta like the whirling sound, its sorta hard to hear and can be slighty noticed when accelerating.
Shifter feels notchy with redline MT-90 ?
Im the only owner, bought the car new in 1997.
** Invoice Date: 03-07-00
** Mileage - 59808 ( wow still in under warranty)
** Customer states that trans is whinning in all gears - verified internal failure of trans axle bearings. Remove transaxle - replace bearings. Cost to fix: $761.89
The Latest
** Date: 03-15-04
** Mileage: 151,750
Noise coming from synchronizer inside transmission. I was told to start making plans to look for a new tranny. The things i notice are : car in neutral, depress clutch hear light whirling noise, let off clutch in neutral dont hear anything.
Now when giving it gas in 1,2,3 i hear another noise sorta like the whirling sound, its sorta hard to hear and can be slighty noticed when accelerating.
Shifter feels notchy with redline MT-90 ?
03-24-2004, 05:02 PM
#100
OK, I checked the play in my front axles the other day, without jacking the car up or anything. The driver's side axle moves what feels like 1 or 2 mms and makes an little dinging noise when I do so, but I have no idea how loose is normal (should it not move at ALL?). I have no idea how many millimeters it's actually moving at the end of the axle where it counts. I have noticed absolutely no noises or problems with the transmission other than the major leak I had, which is now fixed (at least for the time being) after replacing both axle seals. Can anyone tell me if it was just the seals, or are my bearings starting to go?
It does seem like most of the people with problems are those with '96s and '97s. How many 99's out there have had bearing problems or any other major MT problems? If someone could confirm whether the 1999 Maxima MT is absolutely identical to the earlier 4th gens' MT, that would be another good thing to know. It could be that the earlier 4th gens had some bad internal parts that Nissan fixed.
It does seem like most of the people with problems are those with '96s and '97s. How many 99's out there have had bearing problems or any other major MT problems? If someone could confirm whether the 1999 Maxima MT is absolutely identical to the earlier 4th gens' MT, that would be another good thing to know. It could be that the earlier 4th gens had some bad internal parts that Nissan fixed.
03-29-2004, 04:18 PM
#101
If you are talking 1-2mm play in each direction and not total, I think your differential bearings are on there way out. There should be next to no free play at all. My driver's axle has 2-2.5mm play in each direction and when pushed, you can actually see oil leaking past the seal. I think there is only the driver's side involved because the passenger side axle is somewhat held in place by the bearing in the support bracket attachment.
I feel all 4th gen's and potentially 2000-2001 are all in the same boat. It's just 99-2001 are newer and won't report the problems until later. Nissan really can't correct a problem if they don't acknowledge that one exists. There is no TSB or nothing. I think they just cut costs and did not shim correctly for measured preload. I don't hear 3rd gens complaining about this. Starting with MY1995, Nissan tried cutting costs whereever they could to get out of the red.
I feel all 4th gen's and potentially 2000-2001 are all in the same boat. It's just 99-2001 are newer and won't report the problems until later. Nissan really can't correct a problem if they don't acknowledge that one exists. There is no TSB or nothing. I think they just cut costs and did not shim correctly for measured preload. I don't hear 3rd gens complaining about this. Starting with MY1995, Nissan tried cutting costs whereever they could to get out of the red.
03-29-2004, 04:49 PM
#102
Yeah, damn Nissan's financial troubles in the mid- and late-90s... By 1999, of course, they even decided to go with crap-a$$ ignition coils to cut costs.
Thanks for the info. I'll watch and wait and pray my bearings don't go bad too fast.
Thanks for the info. I'll watch and wait and pray my bearings don't go bad too fast.
10-06-2004, 08:56 PM
#108
Well after about around 200,000 miles the large pin or pins that go thru the diff started working there way out like a string on a weed eater and started ripping and cutting my tranny to pieces. And now i have a 01 tranny in there so lets see how this one goes .
10-10-2004, 07:04 PM
#112
Thanks for nothing ***. If the trans is fine and only makes that one noise why would I go out and spend $800 on something I might not need for another year or two? Why don't you drive a Camry again?
10-11-2004, 04:29 AM
#113
well i did have a leaky position switch, i got it fixed, and it came back.... i can't afford to pay to fix it again so hopefully dealership will honor the 'bad' work they did 6 wks ago and fix it again
10-11-2004, 05:31 AM
#114
Originally Posted by DAVE Sz
Thanks for nothing ***. If the trans is fine and only makes that one noise why would I go out and spend $800 on something I might not need for another year or two? Why don't you drive a Camry again?
First of all, i wasn't necessarily responding to you in particular. I was responding to those that either, A. kept replacing their broken tranny with a 4th gen 5-speed, or B. kept having their same tranny worked on over and over again. And as for the Camry, it just seemed like it would be a better match for him. It was just an observation. Either way, you shouldn't let such small things get to you so easily. Have a nice day. No really... 
10-11-2004, 11:25 PM
#115
DAVE Sz has quite a history of angry, childish, knee-jerk reactions on Org threads. The guy just needs to chill out.
I'm sure this post will elicit an indignant reponse from him, confirming the above.
I'm sure this post will elicit an indignant reponse from him, confirming the above.
10-12-2004, 07:42 PM
#116
Originally Posted by VQuick
DAVE Sz has quite a history of angry, childish, knee-jerk reactions on Org threads. The guy just needs to chill out.
I'm sure this post will elicit an indignant reponse from him, confirming the above.
I'm sure this post will elicit an indignant reponse from him, confirming the above.
It's not like I flame in every single post I make. I mostly do that when something stupid is asked, yes there are stupid questions, or when someone else flames someone for speaking their mind.
10-12-2004, 09:45 PM
#117
Originally Posted by slammed95
Well, after a short 1st-3rd gear race against a bike today
Maxima vs a Bike is like trying to race a go-kart vs a Mustang, please correct me if I'm wrong...
10-13-2004, 06:39 AM
#119
Originally Posted by DAVE Sz
Yes it will, thank you.
It's not like I flame in every single post I make. I mostly do that when something stupid is asked, yes there are stupid questions, or when someone else flames someone for speaking their mind.
It's not like I flame in every single post I make. I mostly do that when something stupid is asked, yes there are stupid questions, or when someone else flames someone for speaking their mind.
I just don't think when people post "that's a stupid question" it's helping anything. If it's so stupid, don't waste your time on that post and move on. Chill out a bit and you'll avoid the childish displays that no one wants to read.
10-13-2004, 07:01 AM
#120
Yeah I got the dreaded tranny beraing problem. First gear synchro is shot, needs rebuild or new tranny. Found a 97 tranny for $850 but not for sure if they had the same problems as the 95's did. Really never dogged the car. Haven't raced or her anything, the bearing just sort of started going bad on me. Looking for a 5th Gen tranny vice the 97.