07 pathfinder transmission or transfer case bad?

[sonofsoren]

so the vehicle is an 07 pathfinder v6 auto trans 4wd it was starting to slip and shift hard yesterday she barely made it home and today i drained the transfluid and it was really dark didn't smell burnt refilled with new fluid didn't change the screen just drained a gallon of the old fluid out no metal particles in the fluid nor chunks when she parked it last night it wouldn't move on its own new fluid it does the same thing. for s*** and giggles i put it into 4wd hi it went into gear both forward and reverse just fine would move to I put it into 4wd lo it sounds like its slipping motor revs no movement of the vehicle and then I put it back into 4wd hi it wont move in that now just like 2wd and 4wd lo.
it did have a p1764 code I check all the grounds they are good as well as the harness is good as well as the connections.
the vehicle only has 135k miles on it. so I cleared the code and after the new fluid was put in it didn't reappear I haven't driven it as when I switched it to 4wd lo it stopped working in 4wd hi.

bad transfer case?
is the transfer case fluid separate from the transmission?

[sonofsoren]

I know it's probably self-explanatory just looking for confirmation I am going in the right direction I know these have transmission issues haven't heard much about the transfer cases going south so fast.

[mdmellott]

bad transfer case?
is the transfer case fluid separate from the transmission?

What you have described sounds more like issues with the TCM and valve body assembly controls. The transfer case fluid is separate from the transmission. That ATF needs to be changed as well. There may be DTC codes stored during vehicle self diagnostics, related to the transmission, that do not flag a check engine light to come on so you need to be sure you have a scanner that can read the TCM as well as the ECM to be sure you have the whole DTC picture. Clearing the the P1774 code doesn't necessarily mean that issue went away.

Nissan has a technical service bulletin specific to 2003-2010 vehicles with the RE5R05A type transmission that have issues with the P1774 DTC, and others. If you have that transmission, the RE5R05A number will be indicated on the vehicle sticker located on the driver side door jam. If you do have that transmission, the service bulletin indicates replacing the control-valve body assembly once you have ruled out wiring and connectivity faults being the cause of the DTC.

The Nissan TSB NTB10-003A can be found here. >>> https://www.tsbsearch.com/Nissan/NTB10-003A

[PalmerWMD]

yes he does have a RE5R05A in his vehicle. a Pretty good transmission IMHO.

[sonofsoren]

bad transfer case?
is the transfer case fluid separate from the transmission?

What you have described sounds more like issues with the TCM and valve body assembly controls. The transfer case fluid is separate from the transmission. That ATF needs to be changed as well. There may be DTC codes stored during vehicle self diagnostics, related to the transmission, that do not flag a check engine light to come on so you need to be sure you have a scanner that can read the TCM as well as the ECM to be sure you have the whole DTC picture. Clearing the the P1774 code doesn't necessarily mean that issue went away.

Nissan has a technical service bulletin specific to 2003-2010 vehicles with the RE5R05A type transmission that have issues with the P1774 DTC, and others. If you have that transmission, the RE5R05A number will be indicated on the vehicle sticker located on the driver side door jam. If you do have that transmission, the service bulletin indicates replacing the control-valve body assembly once you have ruled out wiring and connectivity faults being the cause of the DTC.

The Nissan TSB NTB10-003A can be found here. >>> https://www.tsbsearch.com/Nissan/NTB10-003A

Thanks for the info, I checked the harness and connections and all are good I even cleaned all the grounds just to be sure. ill be reading that link you provided. I will have to get a better scanner since mine doesn't read BCM or TCM just the ECU. once again thanks for the info.

[sonofsoren]

so yesterday I received the remanufactured valve body and solenoids and tcu I dove into it and it only took a couple of hours. I also did the cooler bypass since it hadn't ruptured yet, best time to solve that problem before it started. anyhow got it all installed and added fluid shifted into each gear immediately all modes of the 4wd system clicked nicely and fast gave it some gas while it was in drive in the garage still and heard a liquid sound all of a sudden shut her down and looked under my bypass hose had come off guess I was a bit tired. so got that all buttoned up and took it for a drive and the thing drives so nice now shifting is perfect.
thanks for the help on that appreciate it greatly.

[sonofsoren]

so the vehicle drove great for about 40 to 50 miles and now its back to not moving just like the last time but this time no codes and it switches between all 4wd modes fine. I did notice that the reman part kinda looked like it was just refurbished. so I am wondering if a reprogram may solve the issue?

I thought i read a post about something similar and the guy got it reprogrammed and it solved it but I can't find that anywhere now. regardless the place i got it from does warranty it.
I may just remove it from the vehicle and have them send the other one they have in stock. the fluid level is good the fluid is not burnt or dirty no groaning all the drive modes work as per you can here it switching and such no codes. from experience that in my opinion would mean there is something else bad but the fact it drove great for the 50 miles makes me question the new part.?

[mdmellott]

I don't know what went wrong but I do know that your LE model, being an All-Mode 4WD Pathfinder, has a different program flashed onto its TCM than the '07 SE model has.

[sonofsoren]

I don't know what went wrong but I do know that your LE model, being an All-Mode 4WD Pathfinder, has a different program flashed onto its TCM than the '07 SE model has.

so if it had an SE TCU would it work for a wile then just stop working? I would think the program wouldn't work right away?

[sonofsoren]

what I am going to do is warranty the valve body and tcu solenoids honesty looks like a refurbished unit and not a reman IE it looks like the OEM numbers are ground off the tops of the solenoids and the valve body doesn't look like it was remanned IE surfaces machined for flatness etc. and on one corner it looked like it had been dropped slightly or hit by something hard as the aluminum was slightly dented wasn't on any mating surface which is why I let it slide and installed it. lesson learned its easy enough to replace it in vehicle. if the second one doesn't solve it I guess its time for a low miles replacement transmission.

[mdmellott]

[/quote] so if it had an SE TCU would it work for a wile then just stop working? I would think the program wouldn't work right away?
[/quote]
Don't know. I imagine the firmware code is very similar for the LE and SE, but with the LE having more bits to automatically control the transfer case as well.

[sonofsoren]

ok, I just double-checked and the part I ordered is correct for the LE. so warranty time it is.

[sonofsoren]

so if it had an SE TCU would it work for a wile then just stop working? I would think the program wouldn't work right away?
[/quote]
Don't know. I imagine the firmware code is very similar for the LE and SE, but with the LE having more bits to automatically control the transfer case as well.
[/quote]
well it is the correct part for the LE so I will warranty it and see if the one they send back will solve it hopefully.

[sonofsoren]

so I got around to getting this apart today and during the oil drain, I noticed how cloudy the new oil was it also had small very small metallic particles in it at least visually. I am no expert on transmission but oil that was new less than 100 miles and went cloudy in that short of time Is a very clear indication that something major broke. or the remanufactured err I mean refurbished it was sold as reman but obviously wasn't was full of dirt. so anyway anyone have a used low-miles transmission in the Oregon area I don't mind a couple of hr drive I looked online and a used one with around 100k ish miles is going for $1200 with a 6-month warranty even.
Ill be dropping the pan tomorrow to see what is on the magnets.
on a side note I had the lady who owns the vehicle make a pan gasket for it and she knocked it out of the park. didn't leak the gasket material she had to use silicone to seal the areas that the gasket met and she has no formal training or knowledge she just wanted to learn some stuff about cars. she even made the holes for the bolts slightly smaller than the bolts so they all stuck threw it and held it in place made for an easy pan install.