Just recently bought a 99 altima 5spd and ocassionally it shifts from 1st to second on its own even when im not going fast enough to shift but close to it. There is no noise at all no grinding or nothing it just slides into 2nd and i dont know to much about transmissions. I did recently notice the tranny had a junkyard part number wrote on it and i kind of feel like the car was an automatic and changed to manual im saying that because when its in 2nd 4th and reverse the shifter lays really far back almost laying flat and when its in 1st 3rd and 5th it looks like its in neutral, and im pretty sure this is a tranny issue but the gears are really close together horizontally but far apart vertically or basically close side by side cause i always catch myself going from 2nd to 5th alot and i have been driving manual for over 10 yrs and never had that problem before. I also noticed i can hear the clutch spinning when its not in gear and not engaged and when i shift it kinda sounds like a little bit of a grind but not noticable unless your paying attention. Im hoping its something just wearing out and can be replaced cause i cant afford a new tranny let alone even know how to put one in. Any advice or input would be great and hopefully someone knows the issue i have been searching forums for a couple hours and the only things i found was tranny slipping into neutral and not other gears with a grinding noise and not going into another gear with no noise at all. And before i forget i was under the vehicle before and i noticed fluid leaking a slow slow leak kind of looked like motor oil but when i wiped it with my finger and smelled it i knew for sure it was coming out of the transmission but i cant find where either yet cause its dripping down and sliding down other parts so its kind of hard to pin point where it is leaking. Thank you to everyone with advice and input in advance.

Your shifter has a kink in it by design. If it was installed backwards, it would be leaning towards the rear of the car. So, you'd have to remove it, rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in.

For most of the issues you describe, you need or want to drop the tranny and redo the shoddy work that was done before. A clutch shop can do this and inspect it all for not too much money, plus they'll have replacement parts like a clutch kit in case things are worn out. Even if you can't afford the parts, at least they'll put it back together properly.

Welcome to NICO Club!

Hey thanks for the input i was thinking it may have been installed backwards. Now like i said i pretty much know my way around a vehicle but when it comes to the tranny i dont know to much about. With the shifter can i just uninstall it turn it around reinstall it without messing with or messing up the tranny? Or should i just take it to a mechanic to do? Ive never worked on a one before but heard it can throw things off like the timming and thats my biggest fear cause we need the car and cant be without it.

I'm not sure about the work needed or your abilities. Here is a link to your FSM:
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Altima/1999/

here is a link to the manual transmission chapter:
http://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual? ... ma/1999/mt

Page 13 has the shifter diagram. It looks like you can get to it from the interior. But...

Because it sounds like yours is required transportation (work, school, food) I think you should take it to a clutch shop. Tell them what's up (gears pop out and change) and what you might suspect is up (maybe shifter is installed backwards). Let them rotate the stick (if needed), let them check the bolts and clutch and let them put it back together. You're not buying parts, so it shouldn't cost too much. They should be able to do it in a couple hours or less, depending on their schedule. Some places cost $100/ hour so ask for a quote first and be ready for maybe $100-$200 bucks. I think it should and could easily cost less than this, but everywhere is different. I wouldn't expect it to cost more.

Let me know if that's what you want to do. You could even print out the pictures or transmission chapter for them if they thought it was useful.

Hey sorry for the late response i have been really busy and havent had time to do anything with the vehicle and yes its my ride to work. But i think i will take it to a shop instead really cant afford to miss work if i mess something up rather have someone else that knows what they are doing check it out but i will be sure to post what the issue really was just in case any one else has the same issue and thanks again to everyone who gave advice always good when you have more then just one option.