J30 Transmission. What Are The Odds??

[papadops]

1993 J30T= 117,000 miles. Help, need advice or a REAL mechanic. I was travelling and 3 hrs. from home and transmission went out on the HWY. It shifted down, no speed and grinding heard under the gear shift. I had it towed to a local mechanic and he said he could put a used(rebuilt?) transmission in it for $1600. After a couple of days I picked car up and it started driving bad on the HWY almost immediately. I drove it right back to them. Mechanic test drove it and it ran O.K., he thinks a sticky valve. Next day I attempt to drive back home to Houston, and after 35 miles it konked out again grinding etc. They tow me back and he says it must be a bad transmission and will put another one in(warranty) no charge. I pick it up again and it seems to drive O.K. and it makes it back to Houston fine. I decide to check fluid level. Fluid looks like coffee with slight maroon color and it smells really (chemical) funny. Maybe a miracle additive. I take it to a lube shop and I have fluid flushed (absolutely no pressure coming from transmission for flushing) and pan drop and filter changed. And it isn't driving right, overruns shifting with an extra RPM boost before settling down, sometimes no power, slight shock when letting off gas from higher speed, hard acceleration is a little louder than it used to be and slight scrape sound heard. I take it back to lube shop and drop pan. Fluid is still pink, but metal in pan and on magnet. Day before it was squeaky clean after the service. The "warrantied" mechanic is 3 hrs. away and hasn't called me back yet. I called earlier today. What to do or say to the "F******* mechanic". It sucks because my transmission had been running great before all of this, perfectly clean synthetic fluid and serviced. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Jesda]

It was running great before this you say, but it failed?

[papadops]

Yes, it just failed. I've had the car for 2 years now. A year ago I had the transmission flushed so I could put Mobil synthetic in it, although the original fluid still looked good. Then about 3 months ago I had the pan drop and filter changed and Mobil synthetic put in. Again the pan and original fluid looked clean. I just wanted some "peace of mind" by putting synthetic in it and seeing what was in the pan and condition of filter. Now DEAD! Go figure.

[Q45tech]

117k [AND 11 years] [5 years and 47k beyond warranty] is pretty good service. The longest transmission life I have ever hear of is maybe 150k [on a J] . [maybe 185k [on a 90-93Q]

You don't get a rebuilt transmission for $1600 installed, you might get a junk yard take out for that amount.

[Metroyed]

My J's approaching 150K, transmission runnin strong. Gettin nervous

[VimyJ]

Condolences.

Keeping my fingers crossed. 124k.

[papadops]

Q45Tech, I'm beginning to think you are right. junkyard trannies! mechanic still hasn't called back, so I'm calling him today!

[VimyJ]

It certainly looks as if geographic locale has an effect on transmission longevity. Heat is the killer.

Keep us informed on how your situation progresses. Good luck.

[Q45tech]

I am right 95% of the time that why I here and part of my job to be right.I would be pretty useless if I expound wrong solutions to members.

Many don't like my solutions because they cost money or debunk popular myths and dealer pronouncements.

Factory employees/engineers/exceutives regularly view this and other sites I am associated with.......I get lots of private email from factory people...........never have been accused of major errors..........omissions yes, but most have enough trouble with the levels of discussions here.........after all few are automotive engineers..........technical toning down is the hardest part of a vehicle forum.

[juiceman]

hope you paid for this via CC

if so then give the mechanics til monday then call the cc company and tell them what is going on

They will most likely give you the money back right away

Look into it

No sense taking it back to the same winner who will just screw you over to not lose as much money as he should

[papadops]

Hi everyone and thanks for all the replies. I finally got through to the mechanic on his cellphone. He says he has to talk to the BOSS, but will make it right by whatever option? He sounds sincere, but I'll wait and see what solution he offers on monday. And yes, he now says that the 2 trannies he put in were used YUNKYARD trannies. I asked him why he didn't inform me or to give the option of a new or rebuilt one. He said, I don't have a regular "transmission guy" that I get them from. Oy! I plan on keeping my 93 J30T for quite awhile and definitely want a strong running trannie in it. Cost be damned.

[Q451990]

I had it towed to a local mechanic and he said he could put a used(rebuilt?) transmission in it for $1600.

Did he ever say "rebuilt" or just "used." I'm not sure where else you would get a "used" transmission besides a junkyard.

I'd push for them to install an Infiniti reman and aftermarket aux. cooler for you. Joe at Infiniti of Scottsdale can ship one directly to the shop. You might offer to pay the difference between the used one and the reman. and ask for free labor (if they're paying for the reman from Joe). They're showing $2437.10 on the site at http://www.everythingnissan.com. They'll probably go for that deal if they're going to have to do a swap anyway.

Have them change the rear main seal at the same time, (maybe $50 more?) and be sure to have the cooler put in! There's a possibility that the factory cooler is clogged or has enough debris in it to damage your new transmission.

I know this is more expensive than the $1600, but there really aren't any shortcuts on transmissions for a long-term solution.

Heath

[papadops]

Heath, thanks for the info. I could've sworn the mechanic used both words to descibe transmission, used rebuilt. One odd thing that I DO remember is the receipt states 12 months or 12,000 mile warranty on parts & labor but he said the place he got the transmission from has a Lifetime warranty on transmission. Junkyard transmission with a lifetime warranty??? What are the odds?

[Q45tech]

We buy junk yard used and Japanese takeouts via their junkyard/exporters for the same price roughly $500-$600.

Off brand partial remans are $1200 plus exchange plus freight.Factory remans are $1600-$1700. plus freight and exchange.

To make a profit and reserve something to warranty the labor, we usually mark them [factory] up to $2100 plus swap labor.

[Altiman94]

the rebuild on my 94 altima's transmission was 1500. It came with a 2 year/24k mile warranty. It was much stronger after the rebuild than it was before. I ran 16.7 after, and my best before the transmission went out was 17.4

[quixoticmind]

I'm a new '93 J30t owner ... purchased it last month through Ebay. It had almost 89K miles and I've put about 2500 on it. I've enjoyed driving it thus far.

Last week I had my mechanic drop the pan, change the filter and put in Mobil1 ATF. He said there was a little bit of metal in the pan.

Now, I figured I was probably going to have to replace the transmission within a couple years, but this is too soon. It crapped out on me last night. My mechanic looked at it today and says it's history.

BTW, it was sudden failure. I'd had no problems since the work was done last week and no problems last night until that horrid "clunk"!

Are there any Infiniti dealers on the east coast that can come close to the Scottsdale Infiniti's price for a factory reman transmission?

For now, a sad J30t owner ...

Ken

[PalmerWMD]

Ken,

I am so sorry to hear of your bad luck..I wish the previous owner would have taken better care or this wouldnt have happened.What is your exact location?

Fred...

[maxnix]

Joe will ship anywhere. Just ask another dealer if they will match Joe's price.

[quixoticmind]

I live in southwest Virginia. The nearest Infiniti dealer is 125 miles away in Winston-Salem, NC.

[papadops]

Ken, sorry to hear about your J30T transmission going out also. Heath, good call on the transmission cooler. I took my car to a REAL transmission shop and they gave me the rundown. The cooler is clogged and there wasn't any flow! No wonder they kept going out. The other !@%&*! mechanics didn't catch this and also didn't seem to notice that the torque converter was a deep purple color from having the fluid literally baked on it. So to avoid playing musical trannies and shipping trannies all over the place and dealing with other mechanics, this place is rebuilding this one, another torque converter, odds & ends, and adding an aux. cooler also. Total bill $2600- $1100 that i'm getting back from other mechanic for (junkyard transmission). I was so fed up that I just took the quickest(no shipping) and semi- cost effective route so I can be back on road before this weekend. National Transmissions, 24month or 24,000 mile warranty standard. Hopefully I will have one last POSITIVE post to add to this thread. Thanks for all the help.

P.S. for Ken. My Infiniti dealer quoted me $4300 to put "new" transmission on my car. They said they do not put remanufactured ones on and would not accept transmission shipped from Joe. Also, Joe's price is $2654 shipped without core exchange or $2254 with exchange. GOOD LUCK.