93 J30 tranny problem

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]I)ongal
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I have a 93 J30, which has about 90k on it. I was driving home two days ago, and the tranny started slipping. It didn't act like a auto trans usually does when it goes, it went immediately to total slippage. The wierd thing is, when you shut the engine off completely, and restart, it will go into gear for a short time, then go out, and will not lock into gear again either from Park or Neutral until the car is shut off and restarted. Is this a computer problem?:confused:


Professor_Mike
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INFINITI's have a tendency to slip completely when they fail. When you restart the motor is the slippage immediate or do you let the engine /trans cool down? How long does it stay in gear after restart? The transmission usually stays in 3rd gear with an ECU failure.

pitaq
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When the tranny on my 93 J30t went at 71,000 miles, it all happened in a matter of minutes. Got on the NYS Thruway all systems normal, started slipping a mile down the road, completely gone by 5 miles down the road.

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Mayhem_J30
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man, you guys always scare me with this stuff. somehow, i've been fortunate enough to make it to 118,000 miles without incident. i do expect it to fail someday and i've already began to save $$ for it, but i've also picked up the maintenance on it in order to prevent the unpreventable.i wish owners could start the maintenance before it happens. as you usually notice people don't come to NICO until something has already happened.

Q45tech
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1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl

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Remember it is not just the mileage [71,000] but the 10 years of age and how many shifts were completed. Plus the lack of flushing every year [in severe hot city driving] or every two-three years with lots of highway [no shift action per mile and mile].A city block could have 4 shifts in 1000 feet or 20 shifts per mile if you hit all the red lights. This might be the equivalent of 250,000 mostly highway miles.

Why it's hard to say what mileage a tranny fails depends on the location and type of driving. I got 7.5 years and 180k [roughly 75% expressway miles] and it still was going strong when changed into another car that has already put 4,000 miles [50/50 miles] on it and it may go 1,000 more or 50,000 more.

]I)ongal
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When it is hot, it will slip after about 100 yards or so, regardless of whether you try to keep the rpms way down. Cold, we managed to baby it about a mile from the dealership to the tranny place they recommended, but the guy is super busy and hasn't broken into it yet.

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Mayhem_J30
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]I)ongal wrote:When it is hot, it will slip after about 100 yards or so, regardless of whether you try to keep the rpms way down. Cold, we managed to baby it about a mile from the dealership to the tranny place they recommended, but the guy is super busy and hasn't broken into it yet.
the dealer doesn't have a shop on site?

Q45tech
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1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl

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I amazed that they sent you to an outside shop? Well the problems of the RE4R01A are well known since it is a Pathfinder/300zx non turbo tranny also.Hopefully they can just flush it , clean the pan, change the filter, clean the in radiator heat exchanger [bypass with aftermarket or replace the radiator] and the problem will go away somewhat except for the damage done by ATF starvation.

Ask your dealer for bulletin IBT94-022.

]I)ongal
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The dealer is one of those conglomerate types (chrysler,etc..), and he doesn't do many trannies, esp. nissan or infiniti. He thought it would take a complete rebuild.

mateo
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Now you guys are scaring me too. I have a 93 J w/175k. Tranny still going strong. It worries me though. One of my mechanics said that the transmission fluid change (not a flush, and not a pan drop/filter change) should be good for several more thousand miles. Had it done 8k miles ago. Is it true that the tranny filter in this car is a $250 metal filter?

Several of you have mentioned slippage. Isn't that from the clutch? At least that is what I'm familiar with from a couple of standard transmissions I've had. How does a flush help slippage? And how is the radiator related to that. (BTW, I had the radiator flushed when the tranny fluid was changed).

I've read a couple of other treads about dropping the pan/filter as DIYer. Sounds a little tricky. Does the J have the magnet that the Q has in it to attrack small particles? Do I need to do anything with that on my J?

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autotech43
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In most cases, what you are describing is the filter drawing debris and starving the transmission for fluid, when you let it sit, the debris will fall back into the pan (gravity) and allow the line pressure to return to normal and you can drive the vehicle. I have seen some Infiniti/Nissan automatics with those symptoms. Another note, I have seen cases where you can flush the trans. after this concern, as Q-45 tech noted, and the vehicle be fine. I have opened up and inspected a trans with this condition, and all the clutch packs, brake band were in good condition.(But where did the debris come from?????). The lock up clutch inside the torque converter has a lining, in rare instances, that material is what will restrict the flow of fluid by getting into the filter. I don't know of any electrical item, whether it be a line pressure or shift solenoid, TCM (trans control module) that will allow a complete no pull condition. In most cases, the vehicle would go into fail-safe(limp home mode), in return will only allow the trans to operate in third gear. I would suggest a complete flushing of the trans, new fluid along with the BG+ additive and take it from there.

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PalmerWMD
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And be sure to do the pan drop filter exhcnage.

ANd they filter is <not> a $250 piece.Joe sells a filter +gaskets for that, at 1-888-216-5328, its an offical Infiniti parts.

I promise, <much> less, than your local source.

Fred..:)

VimyJ
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Filter kit is more like $25 tops.

Q45tech
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Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl

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If Nissan had chosen to install an in cooler line [oil filter type] ATF filter and it was changed every year along with new ATF and the external cooler kept the ATF cool enough.........tranny life would have doubled or tripled............every one could have gotten 12 years or 200,000+ miles.

Unfortunately these things must be done from day one before the wear starts!

tg240sx
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I have been having my tranny flushed by a local mechanic who use a machine that reverse flushes the tranny pulling all of the debris out of the pan and filter. How does this proces compare with dropping the pan and changing the filter.

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PalmerWMD
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tg:Its a good procedure, but it <must> be accompanied by a filter exchange and pan drop, otherwise you will incur a lot of risk.

There are cases known, where w/o a pan drop/clean + filter change, a flush such as this ,pushes gunk thru teh tranny cloggin it up.

I suspect this is the source of the urban myth among many mechanic to not flush a hi mile tranny.

hence its important to clean out the pan with before the flush, so you dont get gunk thru it.

Fred..:)

fxjackso
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tg240-

Check on that flush machine's action. Most flushes use the pump in the trans, with the car running, to pump the fluid out, through the converter, using the cooler input line. Then new fluid goes back into the cooler output line to the trans intake (in Q45, located in rear of the unit).

For the reverse flush idea to work, the dirt would have to come out of the fliter and be pulled by the flush machine through the trans and out the cooler intake line. The new fluid would have to pass through the stationery converter. That seems unlikely to work.

maxnix
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1995 Infiniti Q45t
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fxjackso wrote:tg240-

Check on that flush machine's action. Most flushes use the pump in the trans, with the car running, to pump the fluid out, through the converter, using the cooler input line.
The Snap-On (Sun) unit has its own pump.

mateo
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I've checked with a couple places to have the system flushed. Either I'm not confident in their services or they don't provide the service. Any good hints as where and how to look for a good shop for this?

mateo
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....also, all of this has me pondering how the tranny wears/tears. On an older car like mine (93 J30 w/175.5k miles), why does a tranny fail? Is it due more to metal fatigue, clogged filter, burnt fluid or bigger particles causing greater wear. If anyone has info / a link on where I can read about this, I am very interested.

Thanks,Mateo

mateo
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Okay - never mind. I saw the article entitled "Transmission" on the general Infiniti board. Looks like heat and sludge are the big killers to this tranny. Still looking for a good shop though. I don't usually like dealers, but it sounds like they might have all the right equipment to do the job right.

maxnix
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Burnt (overheated) fluid leading to all the other failures. Do a search on ATF, coolers, transmission and even tranny.

At the BG site, there is a list by zip code of BG service providers. Call teh vendor first, as the list may not be up to date. I corraled a Snap-On jobber to find someone with the Sun machine.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t & 2000 Q45

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WAMP
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Sorry, BG?

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NY94J30
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mateo
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I went to BGPROD online and found a couple shops. The one that says it does tranny service, only does a fluid exchange. He referred me to a local transmission shop for the flush. I guess it was a good place to start my search for a shop. I hope this tranny shop does good work.

mateo
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I'm surprised to find that several tranny shops don't do a flush service. They recommended I visit the dealership.

Nissan service dept in one town (far away) said they would do the flush much cheaper than a local infiniti dealership. However, the local Nissan dealership will not work on infiniti because of warranty issues. Strange that there is so much difference between all these places. I'm leary of going to a jiffy lube - sounds like its not the most reliable place, according to other posts.

azza
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What a co-incidence, I have the same exact problem as ]I)ongal. I still have not taken it to my mechanic as I am weighing whether I should take it to the dealer(who would be more familiar with all the electronics etc of an Infiniti and have all the right equipment) or an independent mechanic. Please keep me posted on what you find and I'll do the same.

Saleem

Clay
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Sometimes I have just enough info to make me dangerous. Please correct me if I am wrong. The 1993 Infiniti J30 has a Nissan 3.0 liter 24 valve V-6. That's what the Maxima has. Why can't you put a Maxima trans, which seems to be a lot cheaper, in an Infiniti J30? If it's the same engine, it should bolt up, right? Instead of spending $3000.00 for a remanufactured Infiniti trans, is it possible to go with a different Nissan trans? Thanks, Clay

VimyJ
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Different engines. RWD vs FWD. Different transmissions


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