1995 Q45 A/T no 3rd or 4th gear

[myv8z]

Hello, This is my first post in this forum. Our 1995 Q45 has 130k.miles. Well maintained. Transmission service every 30k.miles. (filter, fluid and gasket) Today wife left the house and called to say the car won't shift past 2nd gear. I verified it. Shifting manually you have firm 1-2 or auto 1-2. No 3rd or 4th. No slipping in 1-2. I haven't scanned it since it's Sunday and I'm not at work. It sounds like an internal pressure loss to the 3-4 drum. Perhaps some of you can share some information or similar problems experienced. This car has been good to us up until today. If the output shaft speed sensor is working for 1st and 2nd, I can't imagine it being the problem. I will update with any faults found tomorrow along with removing the pan and checking for metal.
Thank You in advance.
Frank

[maxnix]

Don't forget to tell us about the appearance, smell and condition of the ATF.

Maintenance history is always helpful also.

[OwnerCS]

Welcome to NICO. Where are you located? We may have members who can recommend shops in your area.

[myv8z]

I forgot to mention. I am an ASE Certified Master Tech. and shop owner. Shops name is Auto Doctors Ltd. autodoctorsltd.com. What ever this is and I feel it's terminal for the transmission, comes at a a really bad time for us. I'll let you folks know my findings.

[Rex]

If you have a strong 1st - 2nd and working reverse, it could be the TCU or something.

Maybe I'm just being hopeful??

[myv8z]

Well gang, it's not good. Found fault #1=revolution sensor circuit. checked Rev sensor and it's resistance is perfect. Live data shows the shift solenoids coming on and going off and the TCU is looking for the right gear at the required road speed. I believe 3-4 drum is leaking past it's seal rings. A real bummer. We love this car. Fluid is clean and is not burned. Given the cars age the only reasonable repair would be a good used trans. If there is such a thing. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. BTW, I had the mileage all wrong. Car has 160k.miles on it.
Thank You All,
Frank D'Amico
Auto Doctors Ltd.
Somers Point, NJ

[OwnerCS]

I would call Pat at LevelTen and ask him about repair. LevelTen is about 3 hours north of you there in NJ. They are open on Saturday it seems. I think they do repair as well as sell complete rebuilds. Talk to Pat and tell him Craig from AR with the L10 from Dr Rex's Q45 sent you.

www.levelten.com

[BadQ45t]

Given that you said the car is good shape, you have to make a decision here. The fact that your a mechanic this is probably the only repair you cannot do youself. If you've not already done the KS and coil packs, those are in your future. But the parts are expensive but not a back-breaker, so if you are up to doing those figure another 1k in parts in the near future. Level 10 seems to be the go-to shop for repairs on these trannys....if you fix it then your in for the full ride...if not then time to call the charity of your choice and donate the car.

The 95' was a pretty reliable car for the 1st gens, but I don't have to tell you a car of that age is of course going to have some issues along the way that have to be dealth with. But man, your a mechanic!!!!!!!!! Fix it!!!

[myv8z]

Yea I have silly money and time in this car. New valve cover gaskets, knock sensors, o2 sensors, suspension arms and bushings, pads and rotors, tires, and much more than I can remember. The trouble with me is it must be perfect. I guess thats not really trouble. This is how I work on cars. We are a dying breed. I've rebuilt Mercedes, VW/Audi transmissions. I've never done a Nissan/Infiniti unit. I'm still thinking about what direction I want to go. We do love this car. She's been a good girl. Infiniti sells a reman for 1800. That's not terrible. I'm going to call level 10 and talk with them. I found a 95 trans out of a car with 60k.miles on it for about $600. Thats not bad. Lots to think about.

[GSUjinih]

Really surprised that you had issues with such great maintenance at such low miles? What kind of fluid were you using? How often were you changing out the inline filter?