1998 Pathfinder Transmission

[santacruz9]

Hey guys, I have a serious transmission issue and I was wondering if anyone with any experience could tell me if this transmission is worth fixing or just look for a good used one. Transmission was working totally fine and all of a sudden when I proceeded from a red light the transmission was slipping really bad and then began changing gears at random. The transmission will not hold a gear when driving forward and when it decides to drop or shift up a gear there is often a severe grinding noise. The shifts are also really heavy and do not occur anywhere near when they should. Also, I have no reverse anymore. I have pulled the codes using an OBDII reader and no codes are shown.

If anyone has any advice it is much appreciated,

thanks guys

[Towncivilian]

What's the condition and level of the transmission fluid?

1. Drive around for 10 minutes in the city after the transmission is at operating temperature. (if you would rather not do this due to the grinding, skip this step; just have the engine idling instead)
2. Park on a level surface and apply the parking brake.
3. With P selected, shift through every gear and return to P.
4. Pull the transmission dipstick with the engine idling, wipe it clean, reinsert it completely, and read the level. It must be within the notched area labeled "HOT" (or "COLD" if you're checking without warming up the transmission as mentioned above). Check for fluid contamination after wiping on a paper towel.



The fluid should be red, and not smell burnt.

Welcome to NICO.

[santacruz9]

I did all of that when the transmission originally started to fail and the fluid level was right where it was supposed to be and did not have a burning smell and was not contaminated in any way. The colour looked like it was fresh out of the bottle.

thanks

[Towncivilian]

The lack of reverse indicates a problem with line pressure, as reverse requires the highest pressure and thus goes first. I think you should have a transmission shop check things out at this point, given that the fluid looks alright.

[santacruz9]

Okay, well thanks for your input!

[santacruz9]

Had some spare time this weekend and began to take another look at my pathy. I started it up and ran it through all the gears and noticed its not engaging in almost every gear now. Even in Nuetral the truck will not move (even if pushed) as though it is in park. Does this change anything? Any advice helps

thanks

[Towncivilian]

Remove the center console trim around the shifter and ensure the shifter linkage is moving properly as you move the shift knob.

[santacruz9]

Shift linkage looks fine. It is moving consistently throughout the range of gears.