My 98 is having issues going into reverse. When putting into reverse and stepping on the gas, nothing happens. I have to continue to shift into and out of reverse, park, drive, until it finally goes into reverse gear. Its getting more and more difficult, so I've parked it until I can resolve this. I've been looking at posts and there is apparently a solenoid somewhere that COULD be the issue. I am unable to find posts about where this part is, how to test it or anything. I am hoping someone has a parts diagram showing where this is and how to test if its bad or not. This is 4x4 automatic with 201K.

Also any other ideas what to check for that might be the issue??? Thanks.

Another option is to consider the actual cable / linkage itself. IIRC, there's a bushing on there that fails (under the console) and prevents the shifter from accurately selecting the gear at the transmission linkage.

Line pressure solenoid or position sensor are both internal - they can be easily tested for functionality, but you'll need her up in the air, and you'll need to drain the trans fluid and drop the pan.

I can drop the pain, I sprayed the bolts with penetrating oil last night. I have jack stands and can get it up in the air some. What is the test process? Also to replace, I have to drop the pain and they are visible there?

Had not thought of the linkage. I can look at that as well.

thank You!!

Start by getting your factory service manual here: nissanservicemanual.com

You're looking for this page:

When and how often has the tranny fluid been changed? I have limited experience with Nissans specifically, but A/Ts like the fluid changed. Sometimes if it hasn't been in a while do it every engine oil change for a while. My '03 at least seem to take plain old Dexron fluid, unlike some of the Magic Juice my BMWs have used, so it's an easy change. I've been inside auto boxes with dark, gritty fluid. That obviously isn't going to work as well as nice clean fluid.

Long ago I had an '80 BMW. When cold it would go from 1st to 3rd. After about 3 changes it started acting like it was supposed to, which it continued to do for the next 60K until I sold it.

Not a flush, just pull the plug or whatever, then refill.

At 200k, you're dropping the pan to change the filter, so it makes sense to test the solenoids while you're in there.

The tranny seemed a bit out of my comfort zone so I took to a shop for diagnosis. 2800.00 to rebuild tranny and replace the radiator with 3yr or 100K warranty. Radiator apparently somehow leaks into the tranny and ruins some part, according to the repair shop. I Had not heard that, but he was surprised its the original radiator and that I got 201K out of it like this. I did ask and he said something close to the low reverse clutch was shot, likely due to seals hardening over time.

I am not sure what to think on this. Not sure he went through all the diagnostics or just concluded based on experience. I did find the tranny PDF and looked at it. Going to take me a while to digest it. I think Ill go through it and attempt diagnostics.

What does everyone think about what the shop said to me? Also is the low reverse clutch something that can be done by someone without serious specialty tools? I have done some basic work on this (wheel bearing, brakes, steering component, death sway repair). I'm not afraid to jump in but tranny is new ground. Thanks for any info. I want to keep this vehicle on the road!!

The radiator causing coolant to leak into the tranny fluid is well documented, but I thought it was just 2004 or 2005+. However my understanding is once it does leak the tranny is toast, it damages the clutches. Dropping the pan and changing the filer is the right way to do it at 200K, but for now if there's a drain plug I'd just pull it and replace what comes out for a start. Cheap, easy and should be within your comfort level.

A/Ts aren't always as difficult as they're made out to be, but at the least they are very intimidating.

Forgot to answer a few things. Sadly... tranny fluid has not been kept up. Been a good long time. I tend to agree, after looking into this, I think its 2004/5 + as you think. I think the diagnosis I was given was worth the price I paid - $0.00 … SO back to my original plan. Drop the pan, get out my voltmeter and follow the tranny PDF diagnosis for the solenoids, refill with new fluid, check linkage, and say a prayer. I read one obscure post that said you can sometimes clean the solenoids. I may try that route and see if I can get out of it. Reverse is working at times. Last night on the way to the shop, I only had to move into and out of reverse a few times. To me that seems to feel like something is not totally shot. Once its in gear, seems perfectly fine.

You're on the right path, Dan. Keep us posted, we'll be here.

Pulled the pan and got it all clean. Fluid looked awful. I’m ready to get the voltmeter on but not certain on a few things. Specifically, page at-149. Bottom of page, image sat6571. I have not removed the control valve upper body as it looks like I do not need to. There is a harness just under the pressure solenoid that must be what is referred to in the image on the manual? BelOw image I took and it’s what I think is referred to on the manuals image. ? I’m thinking disconnect, voltmeter lead to farthest right terminal in the attached image, other lead to any ground since I can’t really reach the solenoid terminal. The manual image shows lead going back to another point on the solenoid for ground. Is it needed to put lead on the solenoid terminal as shown in the manual image? If so I likely need to pull the upper body. Rather not... anyone know for sure?

Second thing a few images show wire color as GY. Grey?

Well.. looks like I’m unable to post an image here. Hopefully someone can answer the ground and gy questions.. my voltmeter I had since about 98 finally gave up so I have a few days until replacement arrives.

Oh last thing . Very disturbing. It appears I had no pan gasket. What the... how can this be? Zero trace of a gasket can be found. I thought it was stuck up on the vehicle but I see nothing there and the pan was clean where the gasket should have sat.

Many references on nicoclub on testing ohms AND voltage tests with a strong 9V battery listening for click action - ref FSM on ohms reading . The pan may have a weird kind of "phenolic" hard gasket factory "glued" to it, whatever you do DON'T scrape/ clean that pan - it's VERY hard to see , and yes purchasing a pan gasket is wise , can go in conjunction with that stuck -on one . Best to get rubber composite than a cork one sometimes coming with a filter "kit" . Good luck.

What bad news. I attempted to unclip the harness and it snapped like a dead twig. It’s not my first rodeo and I literally put a very small amount of pressure to release. It was not even bent enough to release when it broke. There is a small plastic holder for the wires it broke when I moved the wires out of it. The plastic in there is brittle as hell and the more finger poking I do I’m going to continue to see things snap. I was able to stick a jumper wire direct from the battery to what I think is terminal 6. A faint click can be heard. It’s not loud but audible. Is the click supposed to be strong? Or as long as something is heard that is ok?

My main concern right now is broken wire harness. How the hell am I going to deal with this.. the harness connects fine, but there is nothing holding it in place now. Running a new wire from wherever it plugs into is not going to be a simple job. I’m thinking cut it and splice in a new end connector piece, if I can find an exact one. I’ll shrink wrap all Wire splices, marine style. This method keeps salt water out of connections and is what I know. I worry the act of splicing the wire will disturb the signal the wire is carrying. Should this be a concern? Comments ? Help? New car donation fund? Better ideas?

Ugh.

Let's back up. The fact that the fluid was nasty tells me there was a lack of maintenance by the PO. That, coupled with likely overheating, kills the harness clips and fasteners (and sometimes the wires themselves).

Faint click indicates a functional solenoid.

I'm not sure how voltage-sensitive each wire is - I'd suspect not very, in '98. Your marine-style splices should be sufficient. Mechanically, 200k is about the limit for most automatic trans lifespans - It's a shame that yours might be done in by the actual harness or something electrical.

I am thinking instead of cutting and trying to splice something in, maybe bonding the two harness pieces together with something like high temp Permatex. I think the harness is made from Polybutylene and in which case the Permatex high temp should work. My thought it to coat the two sides of the harness with something, press together and let setup overnight. Comments and feedback are most welcomed...

To finish the story, I called a few shops for pricing and advice. Found one to be knowledgeable and with a 3 year warranty who said zip tie the harness. I found some high temp zip ties exist. I was unable to source one locally so used a heavy duty one I had around, figuring it would get done correctly at the shop after my 5.6 mile drive to it. I buttoned it back up and had a b**** of a time with one screw. I had the pan half on and frigged with this one bolt until I gave up and took the pan back off. The thing wouldn’t thread for the longest time even with the pan off. I had to keep working the bolt until it lined up perfect and grabbed. I tightened it all the way hoping it was not cutting new threads. I don’t have metric taps or I would’ve run one down the hole to clean up the threads. I got it back on cleanly in the end but what a pain. I test drove and all was well! Multiple trips reverse was normal. Then.. it came back after third test drive. Not sure the zip tie melted but more likely the initial issue returned. I find it odd all was wel at first. I would have throught broken is broken in the transmission world. But.. now it’s at the shop waiting for surgery.