93 240sx ce vert autoxmission

[wifesbaby]

My wife's beloved 240 has had auto transmission go out, When in gear buzzing noise and barley goes forward or back. Park does hold car, levels are OK, no sign of burning etc in at fluids.

Have seen all kinds of ads for rebuilt trans, all kinds of prices, etc. Sooooo
is there a common fault with these transmissions that a shop can fix easily?
How hard (expensive is "repairs" of transmission, a guess
Is it more practical to get another transmission (rebuilt)?
HOW difficult is R&R of transmission, any special tools etc? Would be "car port" type "shop" if I did it at home. Am used to working on cars so do know one end of wrench from another. Noted that price ranges on xmissions runs from 1700 down to 300 from junk yards with 500 for ones with warranty.
Lastly any ideas or comments much appreciated, my car is 78 280Z, but wife prefers to get her 240 back. Thanks, just found the site.

[moso]

its no different than any other rear wheel drive transmission really. doing it in a drive is possible. I suggest rebuilt rather than used as many 240's get a good workout on a regular basis. I know its the wife's car but have you thought about 5spd swapping?

[krash]

I remember the day that happened to me. I was in the middle of the road in traffic, I hit the accelerator to speed up, saw the rmps rise, and I wasn't going anywhere. I realized my automatic trans was shot, and I was so happy I couldn't help but smile.

You can rebuild it, but its probably not worth it for two reasons:

1) You can get another auto trans for dirt cheap since they become 200lb paper weights for us after we do the 5 speed swap

2) The 5 speed swap is much more enjoyable.

See if you can convince the wife to start driving stick shift. It reduces weight, totally transforms the feel of the car, and its more economical if you drive it properly. Swapping over to stick shift on an s13 isn't really a hard task (given you know your way around a car). All the info you'd need to swap to 5 speed can be found on this site. Also, you can head over to the convertible forums to get your top working after you swap, if you decide to go that way.

[wifesbaby]

its no different than any other rear wheel drive transmission really. doing it in a drive is possible. I suggest rebuilt rather than used as many 240's get a good workout on a regular basis. I know its the wife's car but have you thought about 5spd swapping?

Have enough 5 spd in 280Z, so will leave the auto in place. What is good price for auto transmission with some sort of warranty, rebuild or what. This is very babied car and will only need a bit of work to be very clean original, rear window in top needs new, bit of interior clean. We are on fixed incomes so costs are consideration, but wife loves her 240 and yes we are over 65.

[biggie]

A rebiuld is just too much money to me. Probably looking at a few hundred and up to and maybe over $1k.

Search craiglist, on this site in classifieds, ebay, or local junkyards (http://car-part.com). Should be able to find a used AT for $100 or less. I gave mine away a few months ago.

The convertibles do have a little more issue with the AT because of the extra weight. Find a AT from a 91-94, but would recommend looking for one from a Coupe or Hatchback, less likely to have issues of the Vert ones.

[wifesbaby]

Krash, my wife is checked out in various "Stick shifts" we have owned over time, some, but not all, AKA Porsche 911 Turbo, had a Jag v12, and a cobra replica (427) as well as 65 mustang fastback with "modified" V8 and a lovely 63 vett. Suspect she could teach you a thing about "stick shift", shift points,torque/gear relationships and so forth. We also are very big into keeping original as possible, let others play with theirs and not street type hot rodder's. Note wife was also SCCA local licensed, well qualified in a lotus seven as well as older "antique racrer's". So be careful what you imply as she could probably leave you in the rear view if she wished. Simply her 240 is her baby and we want to get it back on road, as stock. You might turn down the gain on your macho a wee bit as sounds like teenage car owner. We were amused at "acceleration" of your 240, more so when we discussed our old 427 at about half the weight.

We just want to bring it back to original, anyone know what the failure might be, as makes buzzing sound, moves slightly?

I remember the day that happened to me. I was in the middle of the road in traffic, I hit the accelerator to speed up, saw the rmps rise, and I wasn't going anywhere. I realized my automatic trans was shot, and I was so happy I couldn't help but smile.

You can rebuild it, but its probably not worth it for two reasons:

1) You can get another auto trans for dirt cheap since they become 200lb paper weights for us after we do the 5 speed swap

2) The 5 speed swap is much more enjoyable.

See if you can convince the wife to start driving stick shift. It reduces weight, totally transforms the feel of the car, and its more economical if you drive it properly. Swapping over to stick shift on an s13 isn't really a hard task (given you know your way around a car). All the info you'd need to swap to 5 speed can be found on this site. Also, you can head over to the convertible forums to get your top working after you swap, if you decide to go that way.

[moso]

awesome list of cars, sounds like "dream garage". if your looking to fix that transmission you should try the nissan mechanic's subforum for answers on whats wrong with the transmission. I personally dont think its worth putting money into seeing as they tend to be fairly cheep. I threw 2 of them away (recycled) last year!! check out the classified section on the forum here and see if anyone is selling one (or three!!) if not post up in the want to buy (WTB) forum, your sure to turn up a transmission or 12 over there.

[biggie]

Krash, my wife is checked out in various "Stick shifts" we have owned over time, some, but not all, AKA Porsche 911 Turbo, had a Jag v12, and a cobra replica (427) as well as 65 mustang fastback with "modified" V8 and a lovely 63 vett. Suspect she could teach you a thing about "stick shift", shift points,torque/gear relationships and so forth. We also are very big into keeping original as possible, let others play with theirs and not street type hot rodder's. Note wife was also SCCA local licensed, well qualified in a lotus seven as well as older "antique racrer's". So be careful what you imply as she could probably leave you in the rear view if she wished. Simply her 240 is her baby and we want to get it back on road, as stock. You might turn down the gain on your macho a wee bit as sounds like teenage car owner. We were amused at "acceleration" of your 240, more so when we discussed our old 427 at about half the weight.

Not sure where you read what you read into krash's post, but that reply was rather inappropriate.

Again, your transmission is dead, buy a used AT, rebuild your AT, or 5spd swap. Those are the options. If wanting to keep AT, as you apparently are a used one will make more sense than spending the large amount on a rebuild. But apparently you have extra income so you may not be concerned about that.

[wifesbaby]

awesome list of cars, sounds like "dream garage". if your looking to fix that transmission you should try the nissan mechanic's subforum for answers on whats wrong with the transmission. I personally dont think its worth putting money into seeing as they tend to be fairly cheep. I threw 2 of them away (recycled) last year!! check out the classified section on the forum here and see if anyone is selling one (or three!!) if not post up in the want to buy (WTB) forum, your sure to turn up a transmission or 12 over there.

We owned them at different times and wife always drove all the cars, not "mine/hers" in this family and she still loves the old MG TD's and 1500's as well as lotus sevens. Never judge folks by "automatic" as that is about 1950's thing. when at one time drivers license had auto only on it if you did not test with stick.