OMG, Tranny Failed! Why????!!! 2005 (Oil + Coolant)

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SPICOLI
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Postby SPICOLI » Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:34 pm

I've had the tranny fail and luckily it ONLY cost me $1200 to get it replaced with a brand new one. My dealership was awesome in helping me out. But as soon as the warranty is over, I'm doing a bypass.

My tranny fluid was nice and red, and the only clue to the tranny failure was a vibration noise at around 1200-1500 rpms.

The bypass is worth it.


CPLTECH
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Postby CPLTECH » Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:40 pm

Well, it’s in the shop for a radiator swap for preventative reasons only. You guys have put the “fear” into me, for sure. At 71K miles, I’d rather pay ~$400 now than a possible $7K later… which we can ill afford.
On a side note, a year ago I started looking hard at the Nissan line-up and its ability to tow after I met a distant cousin at a funeral. Both husband & wife worked for Nissan. I thought I did a diligent search of common complaints before purchase, but this coolant/trans oil issue did not surface for some reason. Let’s all blame google.
Then too, we have been conditioned that when they quit, don’t bother to look under the hood, just call AAA, haul it to dealer or other shop, and expect to pay big $$$. Oh, how we long for the days of the Model T… or do we?
Keep in mind that I just came from a 98 Tahoe that to me was a “money pit” for the 8 yrs I had the keys. Taking a quick look at my Quicken home finance computer program, I spent $10-11K to repair and maintain (not fuel) for the 75K miles I put on it. That comes to 13-14¢ per mile for the privilege for it to grace my driveway. I sure hope this PF doesn’t do me in financially. I’m hoping for a slight(?) reprieve.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:46 pm

CPLTECH wrote:Well, it’s in the shop for a radiator swap for preventative reasons only. You guys have put the “fear” into me, for sure. At 71K miles, I’d rather pay ~$400 now than a possible $7K later… which we can ill afford.
what kind of radiator are you having put in?

CPLTECH
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Postby CPLTECH » Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:11 pm

dunno yet

Ride2Live
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Postby Ride2Live » Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:52 am

Well I did the bypass last night and it was very easy to do. Like many have said on here you will spend more time taking the panels off than doing the actual bypass. I did replace all the fasteners as they were rusted pretty bad.

I asked a couple techs at my dealer if they have seen much of this, and they said only a couple armada's and one pathfinder. They said when contamination happens it's very obvious. They said it doesn't take much coolant mixing with the tranny oil to turn color.

Anyway I pulled the plug and did a drain and fill to inspect the fluid. It looked fine. This is definitely worth doing for peace of mind, especially if you are out of your warranty.

Regards

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mtbpath
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Postby mtbpath » Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:02 pm

do I need to be concerned. i have an 05 with under 50,000 miles.
I do not tow. no off road.
its 4x4

I take it to dealer for tune up, etc.
if something was wrong, would they be honest and fix it before it got worst?
I also have extended warranty on it for another 2 years.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:32 pm

mtbpath wrote:do I need to be concerned. i have an 05 with under 50,000 miles.
I do not tow. no off road.
its 4x4

I also have extended warranty on it for another 2 years.
IMO, a better problem to avoid, rather than need to have repaired, even if there is warranty coverage for it.
would you trust a re-built transmission as well as an original factory assembled transmission?
do you know if your extended warranty would even cover the failure, if it were to happen?
check your extended warranty policy carefully :wink:

webmastir

Postby webmastir » Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:49 am

i wish someone would create a DIY with pics for the tranny bypass. i know there's a thread that tells how to do it, but it has a drawing in it that looks like it was made with microsoft paint :?

bkmtnff
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Postby bkmtnff » Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:47 am

While at the dealership to pick up my fuel level sending unit, I asked the service manager about it. They claim to only do 5 a year, on a busy year. Granted, that doesn't count how many are done outside of the dealership. I'm pricing aftermarket radiators today.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:44 pm

webmastir wrote:i wish someone would create a DIY with pics for the tranny bypass. i know there's a thread that tells how to do it, but it has a drawing in it that looks like it was made with microsoft paint :?
i saw what you are looking for in an Xterra forum
but for all intents & purposes, these instructions & diagram were easy to print out & get under the truck with, and once there, it becomes a really straightforward procedure :)

see bottom of page :wink:
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... &start=165
Last edited by eieio on Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:47 pm

CPLTECH wrote:dunno yet
what radiator did you wind up choosing?

markvk
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Postby markvk » Sun Sep 26, 2010 2:18 pm

I had the same issue with the rad fluid in the tranny. the dealer did not really help me that much so I bitched to Nissan about it ( 115,000 KM on it) and they did a goodwill replacement of the rad and flushed the tranny 3 times(or so they said). I saw the total bill and it was over $2K I paid just over $600.00.
I thought I still had an issue so I brought it back to the dealer to check, but they only came up with soft codes on their Diagnostics unit. I have done some long driving since then and have had no issues so I am crossing my fingers the rad swap did the trick.

Just for reference I went to a local tranny repair place and they quoted me $3500 CAD and would add a seperate cooler

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jspitz
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Postby jspitz » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:38 pm

2 part question -

1.) I asked a few months ago, and there was a little banter in another thread here, but is it pretty much the consensus that this issues exists with 06+ as well as the 05s?

2.) Assuming the recent discussions about water cooling trans fluid better than air, has anyone put a new rad in?

I found on a forum somewhere (I don't think here) that Spectra Premuim may be a good option:
http://www.spectrapremium.com/products/radiators.html

If you look in their catalog, the CU2807 seems to be the right unit for the Path. I'm thinking for $150 (rock auto - $300+ at Autozone or Napa) plus maybe a few hours labor (?) this may be the best long-term solution. I'm going to run this past my mechanic friend soon.

Anyone with more knowledge than I have any thoughts? ;)

Thanks for all the previous input and any future ideas - you guys all rock!

CPLTECH
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Postby CPLTECH » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:52 pm

eieio wrote: what radiator did you wind up choosing?
I don’t see any name on it. Invoice says “BKB Radiator”.

As for doing a bypass, all I would like to mention is my first experience in towing my 3K#, 20’ lightweight (?) camper with this PF thru some PA interstate grades this past weekend: Had to use 3rd gear at 40-45 MPH on some long grades and the temp DID rise until crested the hill. I’m sure the torq converter (TC) was unlocked and caused a buildup of heat. Even in 4th (OD Off) the TC was not fully locked on level road. My point is, surely the radiator dissipates some heat from the trans before it continues its travel to the external trans cooler for final cooling. How much of the temp rise is due to the trans? I say the majority. Therefore is the bypass such a good idea? I did use prem fuel in hopes that the TC was more likely to lock up. (Has anyone taken a wrecked Xterra manual trans/computer/etc & mated it to a PF?) MPG was very similar to my 98 Tahoe. PF towed it very well.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:05 pm

i, too would like to upgrade the radiator on both of my by-passed R51s
after many years in the motorcycle industry, i have become quite biased against aftermarket parts, as their quality is generally poorer than OEM
but in the case of the poor quality of the OEM Nissan radiator vs the questionable quality of an aftermarket replacement, it may be better to just leave it at the by-pass :?
or at least until there's a general consensus on a really good alternative
i don't like experimenting or taking chances................(insert "scared" Emoticon here)
:)


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