I took my Maxima down to AAMCO to get an estimate to have a "refurbished" transmission installed. The guy said that he would have to pull my tranny to give me an estimate...i was like, UM NO. He didn't want to give me an estimate for the R&R, rather he wanted to have AAMCO rebuild the transmission i have. In my opinion he wanted it his was just so the mechanics could make more money. i would much rather have a NEW/REBUILT transmission installed b/c i'm at 159k.

after talking for a while, i told him how i've been trying to eliminate the shimmy problem with the driver side axle. He explained to me that it's most likely just the AXLE STABILIZER BEARING that the axle input shaft is splined into. I was glad that he said that b/c he most likely just told me the exact problem with the tranny....so now i would be able to see how hard the fix would be if i were to do it myself and save a GRIP of cash.

my questions are:

how hard is it to drop the tranny, and open the casing?

is it possible for a do-it-yourselfer to do this job?

is there a website that could help show me how to drop the tranny?

where do i find the Tag ID for the tranny?

I did a search on NICO and MAXIMA.ORG, but came up with nothing for dropping the tranny out.

ALSO...can i get some recommendations for a transmission rebuilding company so i can look into purchasing and installing my own AUTO tranny?thanks
Modified by lightsout at 4:19 PM 11/21/2008

i've never heard of a axle stabilizer bearing...i think he's trying to see how much you know and if he can milk you - but maybe there is such a thing.

now for the tranny. dropping one isn't easy without having the car up on a lift and using a tranny jack to lower it. it's doable in the driveway/garage but you'll need an extra set of hands. idk are you AT or MT? if mt then it's pretty simple to pull gears out of the bell housing once you have the tranny out. if you're at it's even easier - usually the problems are limited to the vb area and can be fixed without tranny removal, unless something is wrong with the bearings and gears themselves.

it's been a few years since i swapped an at to mt and on a different car so maybe someone with a more recent experience can chime in.

i totally agree with the guy at AAMCO because the driver side axle input shaft moves around a lot(A WHOLE LOT)...and it wouldn't make sense for it to be a vb problem, so it must be the bearings.

he said it would be cheaper for me to rebuild the tranny i have with new bearings, rather than just R&R it...does that seem logical with the current cost of labor. he is goingo to charge me $500 in labor to just drop the tranny...HOLY SHIZ...i could do that, and then drive it down to AAMCO in my truck. that probably means another $500 labor to install it. that's already $1000 without the cost of parts.

i've found a few transmisssions online for $1500-$1800...that seems like a better deal to me maybe :-/ IDK

i'm thinking you could probably do it yourself it it's just the bearings on the inside of the tranny. i bet chilton or haynes would have a step by step rebuild instructions.

there was one webiste that had step by step instructions on how to pull your tranny and rebuild it. It was created by some guy who also has a max and he did this all on his own. The site is down right now but when its up I will e-mail you the link. unless im allowed to post the link right on this thread. but I dont think were allowed to do that...

since it's not the org link it'll be fine. tatanko's site?

I dont know who he is but this is the link.

http://www.motorvate.ca

Its an awesome site and showed me how to swap out my clutch.

oooooooooo...i didn't even think to check motorvate. thanks for the reminder!!

oh hey...is it possible to find the tranny code on the car or in the VIN, or should i call the dealer and have them run my VIN?

it's either a RE4F04A, RE4F04AV, or RE4F04B right?

i found a rebuild kit online for less then $500 or $765 with a new torque converter!

http://www.drivetrain.com/niss...F04AV


Modified by lightsout at 9:33 PM 11/27/2008

It's one of those 3, yes. A and B are open diff, V is LSD. But the specific one your car has from factory should be shown on the firewall plate that also shows engine type and chassis code.

thanks so much Minister!!

i took a look, and i've got a B.

i'm not quite sure if i should open the tranny first and get the few parts i need, or purchase the entire rebuild kit, and install everything in the kit. I know i just need the passenger axle bearing right now, but who knows what i may need later.

Axle Stabilizer bearing? Are you referring to the bracket that bolts to the engine to hold the passenger axle up? If so, I have two sitting spare in the garage. Cover actual shipping costs and I'll send it to you.Donald

no, but thanks, i'm talking about the axle bearings on the inside of the tranny.

i dont want to do a complete rebuild on the tranny, so i'm just going to replace the bearings. i'm going to Mossy Nissan i guess, b/c i cant find anyone else who sells them.