Maxima transmission no go , dead stick.

[tully]

Hi there this is my first time posting in this forum , it looks like a great resource. I have a 1993 Maxima that I just bought with a dead auto transmission. The fluid looks just fine , and it seems like the pump is working fine . It just will not ingage , the stick is dead , the linkage is fine , there was no sighns of failure before it failed . I also checked the conections and all the fuses in the car and every thing is OK. It just wont go .

Any Ideas??

Regards John.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Glad you found us! I've got a 93 myself and I love it (just look at my signature).

Are you saying the stick won't move, or moving it doesn't do anything?

If it's not moving, try the red shift-lock release button located at the bottom front of the stick.

Is the trans stuck in neutral or park (or any gear?).

[tully]

Thanks , this looks like agreat place . The shifter moves no problem, it just dosent ingage , the the cable works fine and is moving the linkage . Just no geras forward or reverse, someone told me it might be the planetary gear has blown ?

Regards John.

[tully]

Your car looks great!!

Regards

[Jesda]

Did you try allowing the car to warm up to operating temp before engaging?

[MinisterofDOOM]

Hmmm...I'm not really sure what to say without having a look inside.

The clean fluid and working pump do seem like good signs, though. My fluid was full of metal shavings and the transmission and pump were oil starved from sump blockage when mine died. Everything inside was shredded. I ended up having it rebuilt.

Sounds like yours is in better shape than that. You may just need to replace some internals. I'd probably just drop it off at a trusted shop and see what they can determine. I'd also have a transmission cooler installed. Heat is among the biggest killers of these transmissions.

Your car looks great!!

Regards

Thanks!

[tully]

I got a manual , and checked the TCU, it seems to be dead, I can't get into the the diagnostic function. Would that stop it from engaging?

Regards

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yes, that would stop it from engaging.

The gearshift only tells the TCU what gear you'd like to be in. The TCU sorts out the actual shifting.

To test if the TCU is getting power or not:With the ignition switch to "On", TCU pin 4 should be getting power from the positive battery terminal. Pin 15 goes to the negative batt terminal/ground.

[tully]

Thats great maybe, thats the problem, I have a new TCU coming today , and when I plug it in I will get back to you with the results. I will also check for power and ground at the terminals you stated.

Regards John.

[tully]

I tried the new TCM no luck still does not engage wich pin is 4 & 15 , how are they numbered there is nothing written on the plug?

Regards

[MinisterofDOOM]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It was hard to find a diagram of the TCU pinout. Hopefully this helps.



Luckily they're on the "ends" of their rows, so they're easy to pick out.