Goodbye Transmission - it was fun while it lasted

[Q-ZILLA]

973-827-1000

[ericthered]

Personally, the worst transmissions I've driven were always OEM quality (or worse) rebuilds. I stay away from rebuilds.

L10, JDM, or bone yard would be my three starting choices. Choose based on how much you are able to pay, and how much performance and life you want to get out of them.

If my '94Q transmission died with 240K on the car, I'd do an L10 - that would be sweet.
But I wouldn't do that for my '92Q, it is just not as clean.

[elwesso]

5 speed is the way to go...!

[OwnerCS]

Here's a status update. I bought the Level 10 transmission from Wes. He put it on a pallet and shipped it Level 10 in NJ for the refresh project.

Pat at Level 10 sent pictures of the disassembled transmission before they started the project today.

The pictures are listed below..

[Q-ZILLA]

Cool... When do you get it back? Just curious, how much to "refresh" Wes' transmission? I have no doubt you'll enjoy the L10 over OEM. You'll be able to "play" with more confidence. I'm assuming Wes' transmission is a stage 3.?

[OwnerCS]

Howdy John - It should be shipped back next week. Existing Level10 transmission owners should call for pricing when they think a refresh is needed.. I can tell you that the level of customer care I'm seeing is definitely at Level 10. This is the first time I've seen a shop take the time to send pictures of the transmission all torn down to go through the parts.

If you click on the valve body picture you can see a Level10 project number is engraved on it.. So they are intimately familiar with each transmission project based on that number and the person who requested the project. You can tell these transmissions are Pat's children..

I doubt that I'll ever run it hard -- so length of service was my primary goal. Now that I've experienced Level10 personalized service, it will be hard to even think about getting any transmission service work done by any other place.

What kind of fluid are you running in yours?

[Q-ZILLA]

OEM, per Pat's instructions. I just did a filter/fluid change; called and he told me to use OEM. I like how they mark parts, so they know who did the work. Good way to figure out who's on the ball and who's not.

[elwesso]

I'm curious to see what he though of the trans as he took it
Apart

[Q-ZILLA]

Me too Wes, as well as the cost to refresh. I have no doubt I'll need mine worked on eventually.

[OwnerCS]

Well to add to the calamity, on Saturday October 29th, a freak snow storm strikes the north east and knocks out power for several days delaying the overhaul by a week..

So yesterday I stopped by the shop to start up the Q since it had been sitting since September 25th.. It started right up and purrs like a kitten and that made me feel good..

[Q451990]

Wow.. excrement storm city! That's not the update any of us were hoping for.

Heath

[OwnerCS]

Good news for this week as the transmission has shipped. It is scheduled for delivery on Tuesday. With the transmission swap the engine gets a new rear main seal as preventative maintenance.

It will have the following upgrades:

1) TCU - from 94 model
2) Transmission (originally from Wes' 94 Model)
3) Drive Shaft - (from Drew's 94 model)
4) New Turbine Sensor (for a 93-94 model)
5) New Inline OEM ATF filter (for a 94 model)
6) Dual ATF area radiator (for a 94 model) -- already in the car for a couple of months.

The shop will use their BG flush machine to flush the lines and cooling areas of any metal fragments from the torque converter break up. Pat recommends Nissan Matic-S ATF that I want to stay with for the LevelTen warranty..

I got the windshield fixed on Friday..

I think I will pick-up the old transmission and bring it home for my youngest boy to take apart and inspect the damage.

[elwesso]

What did Pat think of the transmission? I'm really curious how it looked after 120k miles or so...

[OwnerCS]

What did Pat think of the transmission? I'm really curious how it looked after 120k miles or so...

He's been out of the shop when I called back. I'll call him next week after the the new one is running to give a final report.

[OwnerCS]

The transmission arrived today.. Pictures are listed below..

[Q-ZILLA]

Kinda like an early X-mas present, huh?

[BCC93QT]

Hell IDK what i would do if my tran went. I swaped my engine because of a pushed in fender and hood. Although.... the way I beat the piss out of my Q for as long as i've had it... meh as long as I keep up with maintenance ill be ok

[Lokim]

The transmission arrived today.. Pictures are listed below..

Oooooooooooooohhhh, preeeeettttttttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

[goody90q45]

Install tomorrow?

[OwnerCS]

Install tomorrow?

I hope so.. Though I think the British and Germans currently have the garage space occupied ..

[qship96]

What was final cost to get trans. refurbished?

[OwnerCS]

What was final cost to get trans. refurbished?

Since the transmission was specifically built for Dr. Rex, and LevelTen was immediately familiar with it when I called, I can't say how much of this job will be applicable for another owner. So I've been requested to refer any pricing inquiries to Pat at LevelTen. Pat Barrett is very cool guy and an absolute pleasure to deal with for these transmissions.

[OwnerCS]

The transmission is in and running. It is so much smoother than before. The car rolls down the road like a new car. The shifts are predictable and smooth now..

When I first got this car and it was starting in 2nd gear, it felt to me almost like I was driving an old Buick Dynaflow that started in 2nd gear -- except those cars only had 2 speed automatics..LOL So next I installed the 94 model TCU and for 1st gear start and it took on the feel of the old Jet-away 4-speed Hydramatic (e.g. 1956 Rocket 88) as the transition from 1st to 2nd was a quick neck snapper.. Then the transition from 2nd to 3rd was extended and sloppy with too much slip for my liking.

The old transmission never felt like it belonged in the car.. I don't know what car it belonged in -- but not that one.. Something told me the transmission's days were numbered. Also, from time to time I could hear strange whining noises coming from the drive train that I tried to ignore.

I don't know what I was expecting with the LevelTen but certainly not the velvety smooth yet direct shifts. The drive shaft was replaced with a 94 model that I purchased from DrewQ45. There is something about that drive shaft that seems to be a small touch smoother than the old one..

I honestly believe the car is getting better "in town" gas mileage than before. I'll need to run some test once the transmission is past the break in period.

[qship96]

Do you plan on running it for a few thousand miles and then swapping out the ATF to remove break in debris?

[OwnerCS]

Do you plan on running it for a few thousand miles and then swapping out the ATF to remove break in debris?

Remembering your suggestion, I specifically talked to LevelTen about that and Pat indicated the special materials used by LevelTen should not shed debris like a conventional transmission after something like 5,000 miles. He said I can open it up after 20,000 miles and it will be squeaky clean.. So he suggested ATF changes at 20,000 mile intervals. The transmission comes with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. He strongly urged me to use only Nissan Matic-S fluid in the transmission. Luckily my local Nissan dealer cut me a good deal on the fluid. To comply with the warranty and LevelTen's recommendation, I will stick with Matic-S.

With the way I like to service everything, I'll be changing the ATF once a year or at 20,000 miles..Having the job happen here at Thanksgiving makes it easy to remember..

[Q-ZILLA]

Sounds like your having fun with that new transmission! Have you been hopping on it at all... Don't be scared... lol

[OwnerCS]

Sounds like your having fun with that new transmission! Have you been hopping on it at all... Don't be scared... lol

Fun yes.. I think I need 500 miles on it for break in?

[Infinitiguy19]

Did you polish the exterior of the A/T like you did with the plenum?

It does suck that the new A/T is still the same (Shift wise) as the old one. Kinda brings down my hopes of rebuilding one.

[OwnerCS]

Did you polish the exterior of the A/T like you did with the plenum?

Nope.. That's how it looked on the pallet from LevelTen.

It does suck that the new A/T is still the same (Shift wise) as the old one. Kinda brings down my hopes of rebuilding one.

The new one from LevelTen shifts so much better than the old one there is hardly a comparison -- other than it has 4 forward gears with a TC lockup. I think the TC lockup makes it feel almost like it has 5 gears..

Wes and John can elaborate more on the differences between a regular 94 and the LevelTen transmission. The only other Q that I've driven was a 96 model that was running in "limp mode" so I don't have any past experience for making a true comparison.

[Q-ZILLA]

My turn... Driving today, doin around 50, no romp stompin in a couple days, going into the left turn to a light, braked slightly, downshifted to third... NO THIRD. braking harder down to second... NO SECOND. Stopping, down to first... NADA. Pushed myself across the road into a parking lot. Checked reverse... NO REVERSE. My day is quickly going to s***! Tow it home...

So I got it in the garage, did the self-diagnostic; came back with B; Line pressure solenoid valve circuit is short circuited or disconnected. Now that was done about 35-45 minutes after being shut off. I started it up , checked the gears, nothing. Then the last time I started it, tried reverse and it actually rolled back a smidge at idle, but nothing else. I did the SD test again and this time it came up OK, nevertheless, I still don't have ANY gears. Even parking gear is gone. If you try to put it in park, you get a gear grind, had to shut down in nuetral, turn off, then shift to park... w/ emergency brake on.

The part that sucks is that I called Pat at Level 10 today to ask about a transbrake. He said they were working on them, multiple requests for them... Go figure. They're testing them, told me to call back mid January. So, while I'm daydreaming about a transbrake for my baby, this s*** happens...


Anyway, I dropped the pan, clean as a whistle. Normal amount of crap on the magnet, not bad at all. I was concerned I lost my input shaft, which I may have for all I know. So the reading has begun. Calling L10 tomorrow. Line pressure solenoid valve circuit measured 1.16 ohms.