Help! transmission problems!

[92Q45guy]

So today my transmission started being stupid! I came to a stop sign and the transmission slipped! It slipped in all gears after that. Then I came to another stop and the damm thing did not want to move. It's like the thing is in neutral. So I had to get it towed. I have all of the service records and the transmission was flushed every 30,000 miles! The fluid is at the correct level. My guess is the transmission pump is blown, resulting in not enough pressure. Could the new transmission cooler I installed 500 miles ago be the result of all of this? I'm going to drop the pan and see whats going on in there.

[maxnix]

Timing the fluid replacement with the BG machine will give you an idea how well the transmission pump is working.

How about the color of the fluid?

Hope you had it flatbedded!


Modified by maxnix at 5:57 AM 3/30/2007

[92Q45guy]

the fluid is mint. like 12,000 miles on it. I had in flatbeded.

[Q45tech]

Waiting until now to install a external cooler is not effective in fixing earlier damage.

We never exchange a transmission without installing a new external cooler.Been following this process for 10 years and hundreds of transmissions.

Even the worst external heat exchanger will have less resistance than the oem in rad spiral tube.

Is this the as built unit that came with the 92Q............15 years might be a worlds record.......................the best I ever got was 9 years life but that is 200,000 miles.

[DrewQ45]

It's like the thing is in neutral. So I had to get it towed. I have all of the service records and the transmission was flushed every 30,000 miles! The fluid is at the correct level. My guess is the transmission pump is blown, resulting in not enough pressure

Your problem does sound like a low pressure issue. My guess is that your transmission filter is clogged. I'd flush the filter using my procedure below. All this should cost you is a gallon of gas and some time.

zerothread?id=234307

[92Q45guy]

Waiting until now to install a external cooler is not effective in fixing earlier damage.

We never exchange a transmission without installing a new external cooler.Been following this process for 10 years and hundreds of transmissions.

Even the worst external heat exchanger will have less resistance than the oem in rad spiral tube.

Is this the as built unit that came with the 92Q............15 years might be a worlds record.......................the best I ever got was 9 years life but that is 200,000 miles.

I understand that, But the car drove amazing till today. I 'm draining the fluid now. I did'nt know that they came stock with a drain plug. Makes things easy. I'll take the pan off and report back

[DrewQ45]

I did'nt know that they came stock with a drain plug.

Therein lies the proof. All the flushing in the world means nothing without a pan drop and filter change/clean. The car will drive fine till a lump of sludge (usually friction material) comes along and catches on the filter screen blocking fluid flow.

Just my theory though... lets see what you find.

[92Q45guy]

Just checked the drain pan, and it looks like there was only five quarts of fluid in it. Every time I check my fluid, it shows OK. I guess not. I'm going to drop the pan anyway and check filter. Thanks for your help.

[Rex]

Just checked the drain pan, and it looks like there was only five quarts of fluid in it. Every time I check my fluid, it shows OK. I guess not. I'm going to drop the pan anyway and check filter. Thanks for your help.

Simply removing the drasin plug and letting the fluid drain will not get your the full 14 qts of fluid. You'd be lucky to get much more than 4 qts that way.

[maxnix]

Simply removing the drasin plug and letting the fluid drain will not get your the full 14 qts of fluid. You'd be lucky to get much more than 4 qts that way.

So true. That is what most dealers do, drain and refill leaving contaminated fluid in the transmissioin. Forget fliter replacement and pan inspections.

Are you sure the transmission had true mechanical fluid exchanges?

[92Q45guy]

I know, But should'nt there be a little more then 4 quarts in my drain pan?

[maxnix]

No, most is still in the TC and planetary gears.

Why drain and refills are so cheap and so ineffective.

Read some posts by Q45tech on transmission flushes.

[DrewQ45]

I know, But should'nt there be a little more then 4 quarts in my drain pan?

You'll get a bit more if you jack up only the passenger side when draining, but not that much more. A little over a gallon.

[Q45tech]

We use gallon water jugs and mark the drain level for refilling.............on both Lexus and Nissan.

The transmission only holds 10-11 quarts.

The purpose of the BG Quick Clean [for 15 minutes in all gears jacked up and spinning tires] is to dissolve the loose and clumps of friction material and clear the easy varnish into atf solution so the sesequant exchange clears 95% of it out.

Always good to have that $3,000 reserve for transmission and $2,000 for AC and etc, etc, etc.

Again gasoline is up to the amount per mile where it equals maintenance expense so it is easy to calculate what you should be saving for the Q.

A dollar for the gas tank and an equal dollar for the other things.

Jatco reman transmission #3 already has 78,000 miles + 26,000 in the previous donor car ~~104k................time to start looking for its replacement.I alway like to have a ready spare in the garage.

[92Q45guy]

Here's what I got. The magnet seemed to be O.K. I've seen worse. The filter on the other hand was bad. Notice the chunks of crap that fell out when I was holding it over the pan. Would Drew's cleaning method be key right now. Or is my transmission junk? A lot more fluid came out when I took the pan off and filter, so I know the fluid level was correct. I really need to resolve this today because the Q is my daily driver.

[StarPD]

Waiting until now to install a external cooler is not effective in fixing earlier damage.

We never exchange a transmission without installing a new external cooler.Been following this process for 10 years and hundreds of transmissions.

Even the worst external heat exchanger will have less resistance than the oem in rad spiral tube.

Is this the as built unit that came with the 92Q............15 years might be a worlds record.......................the best I ever got was 9 years life but that is 200,000 miles.

My '94 Q 45t was 13 years old when I traded it this January, and the transmission was fine.It did have only 105k on it, but was only flushed twice in it's life. I got it in '96 with 28k on it, previous owner did no trans flushes, at least not at an Infiniti daler.

Guess I just got lucky.

[Q45tech]

WOW! I've never seen one that yucky*.................I thought you said you had a chemical transmission flush previously where did all that goo come from.

To make you feel better I found this site where BMW trannies are failing just after warranty ~~51k-100k and 6-7 years repair cost $5,000-$5,800.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com....html

* But then we rarely drop the pan on full failures.

[92Q45guy]

WOW! I've never seen one that yucky*.................I thought you said you had a chemical transmission flush previously where did all that goo come from.

To make you feel better I found this site where BMW trannies are failing just after warranty ~~51k-100k and 6-7 years repair cost $5,000-$5,800.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com....html

* But then we rarely drop the pan on full failures.

So Q45TECH do you think it would restrict the flow that much? Is my transmission done for? Will a new filter fix my problem? The service records show that it was done every 30,000 miles. I dont think they dropped the pan

[92Q45guy]

Look what else I found. I know the O-ring being damaged like that will effect pressure. Also, Is that a stock filter?

[Q45tech]

STEP #1:Clean the pan change the filter, refill with ATF. Is it functional to drive?

If functional get an immediate BG Machine flush done properly and correctly*...........with great care by the trained technican............read the back pressure on machine gauges and report beginning flow pressure 20-35 psi.............time the exchange process ...............ideal 2.5-3 minutes.......every minute beyond 3 tells you the depth of the pump's agony.

* sample ATF on white paper towel and repeat flush if it doesn't come out perfect as brand new ATF in color.

Tiage should be in steps to avoid wasting money on a dead pony.

[maxnix]

The service records show that it was done every 30,000 miles. I dont think they dropped the pan

The question is what constituted "it"?

Try this.

Get filter, gasket, crush washer and one time use bolts from Joe

http://www.infinitipartsusa.com

Then

http://www.bgfindashop.com

Ask if they will accomodate your requirements (chemical flush, pan drop and wipe clean, filter change, then reassemble with new parts) before they perform the mechanical fluid exchange.

[92Q45guy]

is the filter in the picture stock?

[DrewQ45]

WOW! I've never seen one that yucky*.................I thought you said you had a chemical transmission flush previously where did all that goo come from.

All that goo came from the pan not being dropped. Red fluid on paper towel is nice but says absolutely nothing of the friction material left behind. That brown stuff is called the clutch probably sprinkled with metal filings.

Flushing should be really called fluid exchange as that's all it does. With chemical flush, it gets a bit better, but flushing through a clogged filter is not really flushing at all... Might actually be why some shops are scared to flush old trannies, because they won't drop the pan clean the filter! That gunk that they're so scared to dislodge is actually mostly in the filter.

New idea... Clean filter BEFORE and AFTER flushing if it's been a long time since a pan drop.

The best course of action? Buy TWO filters or do the following. Get an O-ring from auto parts store. Wash the filter as described then take the car to get a CHEMICAL flush. This will further dislodge the remaining gunk you have will surely have still remaining in your transmission. Drive 1-2 days, drain and drop the pan again and flush the filter once more. I guarantee you will find considerable gunk still left.

Alas, you have fluid starved your transmission and done some degree of damage but will probably have some more miles yet left on it. Lucky you caught it before summer weather hit.


Modified by DrewQ45 at 1:48 PM 3/29/2007

[maxnix]

is the filter in the picture stock?

Can't tell because you don't show the whole thing. Not really relevant since it needs to be replaced.

Time to add the ATF cooler too. Lots of hills in NH.

[92Q45guy]

I will flush the filter and report back. thanks everyone!

[92Q45guy]

holy crap! thats a lot of crap! I'm still flushing I'll get some pics up when I'm done.

[DrewQ45]

Yes it looks like a stock filter. Judging by the gunk, it's a 92' vintage.

[DrewQ45]

holy crap! thats a lot of crap! I'm still flushing I'll get some pics up when I'm done.

Flush using the exact sequence I described in my link. Flushing from the intake side of the filter first would be a mistake.

[maxnix]

Well, the problem is you need a new O ring and the one time use bolts are shot and may not seal. You don't want to strip the reciever threads in the block.

So call Joe now and order your parts. He can overnight.

[92Q45guy]

I flushed the filter using drew's method. look at all of that crap! 2 bins of chewing tobacco! I flushed from the outlet down so I wouldn't get any of that crap stuck. Tommorrow I will get some ATF and see if my car is O.K. Thanks everyone, Drew you the man!