95 Q45 Hard shifting into 2nd

[Gingermanbread]

Alright, I'm new to Nico! I followed the 'read before posting' guide, and I tried several different combos of search terms, and had no luck locating this, so I'll go ahead and ask.

I'm fairly new to working with cars, but I'm learning pretty quickly!
I have an automatic 1995 Infiniti Q45, and I bought it knowing of a few problems with it- water pump needed replacing, new serpentine belts, and there was a power steering leak that may require replacement of the rack & pinion within the next few months. I'm okay with all of that, and I'm working on it one piece at a time- I'm going to pop in the new belts and water pump tomorrow, actually, along with some new spark plugs. (Coincidentally, I saw a post during my search saying that Infinitis don't like Bosch spark plugs, is there any truth to that? I bought Bosch. )

However, when I drive it around lately, I've noticed that if I give it much gas after I take off, when it shifts into 2nd it shifts pretty hard. It's almost always noticeable, but it's worse sometimes than it is others.

I've discovered that I can replicate it by shifting it down to Neutral when stopped, Drive when I get ready to go, and then it'll do it again. When I don't give it much gas, it shifts more gently, and it didn't do this when I first got it.

It only does it when it shifts up the first time, but the lurch has been getting more violent lately, so I'm a little bit concerned. I had heard that it might just be the transmission mount, so I'm going to take a look at that, but I wanted to get a few more ideas from the community so that when I get under it, that won't be the only thing I look at.

If you need any more info to help me out on this, I'd be glad to oblige you! I definitely appreciate any insight you might be able to provide me with.. Thanks!

[Q451990]

to NICO!

Do you have any maintenence history on the transmission? I would start with a pan drop, new filter and o-ring, and then a flush. The 1-2 shift tends to be the most harsh on the Q, but it shouldn't be that noticeable.

Return those Bosch plugs... you don't want to take a change having electrodes falling off into your engine, and it's too much work to replace the plugs twice if you don't have to.

Heath

[Gingermanbread]

No, the guy who sold it to me, a good friend of my mom's... (As much as it's joked about around here) was a doctor. He gave me all of the papers of his work history on it, and there was nothing in there about the transmission, unfortunately.

How much would all of that cost to have it done? I'm a high school student still, working a (unfortunately) minimum wage job, so paying someone to do everything isn't, sadly, my best option.

Or, rather, how much work would it be to do it myself? My dad works on cars and he could help, but I do want to learn as I go so that way I can someday be as much help to folks as I've seen on these forums!

[goody90q45]

The filter, o-ring and gasket are going to run about $35 and a transmission flush at a shop will be $100 or more. In your garage you can hook up to supply and return lines at the radiator but by the time you pump gallons of fluid through the system you might as well pay at a shop. Having fresh fluid and eliminating any varnish coating the internal transmission components are what keeps it running properly.

I'd also recommend ohm testing the external transmission sensors to make sure they're still functioning. Connectors for the revolution sensor, turbine revolution sensor and inhibitor switch are in a bundle at the aft end of the transmission and are simple to test. Late shifting from 1-2 could be a bad turbine rev sensor which was the case on my 94Q. Read through the AT section of the FSM (AT-75?) for details on ohm testing the sensors.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Q45/1995_Q4 ... Q45/at.pdf

If $$ is tight you can do 5 or 6 drain and fills of the transmission fluid ($10/gallon at Walmart) on successive days and the fluid will eventually clean up. With the first drain and fill add a bottle of Lubeguard Red to melt away any varnish and towards the end of the flushes add a quart of Lucas Transmission treatment. I do a drain and fill (3.5 qts) with every oil change. It keeps the fluid clean and deep red in color. I've had good luck with both of these additives on my Q's but starting with clean fluid is a must.