New member with questions and thoughts 96 i30

[eye30Chris]

I am about to purchase a gently used 96 from a friend. He let me test drive it and inspect it all week. I have been searching a lot on here and other Maxima sites for answers and for the most part have found the answers. I want to start a thread to make sure I am on the right track.

1996 I30 245k belts and water pump done about 18 months ago. Car drives very well and is very responsive when pedal is pushed. Shifts are very smooth and TC locks up perfectly.

I am getting a P0325 code for the KS and I also get a P0733 for gear 3 incorrect ratio.
I have tested the KS and my DMM gives me nothing. I am assuming it is dead and needs replacement.
The p0733 is really bugging me because there is no issue with the sifting in the car. The only thing I can notice is that the trans dipstick reads like there is too much fluid. Fluid is a nice pick color and does not smell burnt. I did find a TSB (98013) out there for the the P0733 code and it appears that a bad TPS can cause this? Has anyone else here run into this?

I tested the TPS last night and the readings are close to what spec is(500ohm closed and 4k wide open). The only other thing I can add is that the car will idle down really low sometimes like 5-600 RPMs. I also noticed that after the car is warm and driven for a bit when I come back and put it in park the idle rises to 1500 RPMs. Sometimes when I blip the pedal it goes down to 8-900RPMs.

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I know I have newb status here but I have been on car forums for years and I promise I used the search.

[MTZI30]

One thing is that the car wont smog with CE light on. So you wouldnt be able to register it with your name.

[eye30Chris]

Yeah I got that covered well kinda. DMV will give me 30 day tags plus it being 96 VA doesn't require all monitors to be ready. I have literary cleared codes with a scanner, driven to emissions station, passed and the CEL came on as I drove away in my 97 Volvo. I plan on just replacing the KS since it looks to be pretty old and I can't find a record of it being replaced. The trans code is what really bothers me.

[loystock]

Welcome to NICO. I'm glad you have done preliminary diagnostic/testing.

How committed are you in buying the car? It has a lot of mileage and trouble codes P0325 and P0733. You can make a deal with your friend that you will only buy the car provided the problems can be fixed.

In essence P0733 is saying that the TCU commanded a shift but the transmission failed to do so. It may be due to level and condition of the fluid. or worse, debris in the system (worn out components), Of course, it could be due to TPS, fuel delivery, etc.

First, replace the Knock Sensor. A faulty KS will cause the ECU to retard ignition timing which could affect shift point. Make sure you buy OEM or OEM-quality replacement. You can find the KS replacement procedure from YouTube, courtesy of "boredmder."
Replacing the KS in a 96 I30 is not as difficult as in a 99 I30 with CA configuration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ntaxi7 ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPIMOIwLISc

Next, do a pan drop, clean the pan and magnets and check/replace the filter. If there are so much metal shavings, the transmission is on the way out and there is no point in buying the car. It the metal shavings are negligible, you can try multiple drain and refill. Do not do a flush unless it has been done in the last 85K miles.

The erratic idle may require IACV (Idle Air Control Valve) cleaning. Procedure is in the forum ;sticky - "The most important..."

[eye30Chris]

Well I bought it. I got the car for $600. He threw in OEM- rear pads, valve cover gaskets, intake gasket, and a unopened add on HD radio kit. He also just put tires on the car 4 weeks ago so basically I paid for the parts/tires and got the car for free.(well not until I get the KS replaced.)

@loystock-
Thank you for the great response and links. Members like you are what make a forum great!!! I am familer with doing drop and fills on the trans through the drain since that was all I could really do with the Aisian transmission on my Volvo. There was no pan. How many quarts should I get for the drop and fill? I think I read 4 or 5.

I will keep you all posted on the progress.

[loystock]

It's very important to warm up the engine and ATF level is correct. A pan drop will drain @ 5 quarts while an ordinary drain @ 4 quarts. Always fill up with the exact amount of ATF drained. Recommended fluid is Nissan Matic-D but Dexron III or the latest and better Dexron VI will do the job. Run the engine for @ 100 seconds while switching gears and then drain and refill. 3X drain and refill should be sufficient to change most of the fluid.

[eye30Chris]

Just got back from DMV and no emissions needed. Now to get the KS ordered and replaced. Is the Matic-D preferred or better then Dex-IV?

[loystock]

Nissan Matic-D is recommended by Nissan (their own fluid). AFAIK, the specification for Dexron VI is better than Matic-D/Dexron III and is backward compatible. BTW, Dexron III was obsoleted by GM in 2006.