Reverse won't work... everything else (1,2,3,D,P,N) does..

[J30_Kid]

So been searching around on here and looking at the FSM which i love that it's there, I wanna thank who ever put that up, your awesome! ANYWAYS I've had this 95 j30 for half a year, was working good but now it won't reverse, it started having problems going in reverse and then i would have to let it coast into reverse for it to catch or creep forward and shift into R for it to catch but now it just revs in reverse, according to what I've researched i feel it's the clutch disk slipping due to it not meeting the stall requirements in the FSM, No CEL's have popped on with the trans or anything so it still being in the car i'm guessing the solenoids are working. I've never rebuilt a auto trans before but have enough knowledge on engine building and wanna rebuild this thing myself, i'm just seeing if anyone thinks it's not the clutch disk slipping. Or if any other knowledge can be thrown at me. I wanna think that sense only reverse is not working it's slippage but let me know.... THANKS!!!!

OK UPDATE: just went out and tried it again after sitting for two days (last time it wouldn't work at all i remind ya), and this time first shot it went into reverse and stall test was correct and everything, i put it in drive and then back to reverse and problem is back..... so this can't be the clutch disk slipping can it?

Second question, Anyone done a Swap to a manual trans on a J30 with stock engine? and yes i searched with even the most basic search term swap and nothing came up for it
Modified by J30_Kid at 9:50 PM 1/19/2010

[driverdriver]

Has work been done on the J30 transmission?

There is a clip on the transmission gear change mechanism, if its broken or slipped, it'll prevent the car from going in reverse.

Years ago when I had the rev sensor replaced, the Infiniti tech forgot to clip it into place. I drove home and parked, the next morning I couldn't reverse the car out. The Infiniti dealer sent a tow truck pronto.

[J30_Kid]

EDIT ***I have owned the car 5 months and haven't had any work done to it as of yet. From the records i don't see any doc's showing work on it either.******

I checked all exterior connections on the trans today, as far as i can see there seems to be nothing broking or UN-clipped and i saw that part you were talking about. i sprayed it with electrical cleaner and undid all harness connections in back of trans and sprayed them to. I left the primary connection for the trans undone just to see if my A/T CEL would trip on and it did, so it has communication. ( I feel that if a solenoid wasn't working or pressure was low it would trip that to the computer and light up the A/T CEL) am i wrong?

** Note after completing all this and hooking the harness connectors back up it seemed to have a better idle and actually shifted into reverse 3 times in a row but after i took it around the block and came back the problem persisted.****

I've asked a friend and he recommends a flush on the trans first though i hate to spend money and not fix the problem.

The trans fluid was a color similar to fresh clean engine oil, some one told me it might be synthetic in there, or is all ATF's red in color? Any advice?
Modified by J30_Kid at 8:28 PM 1/21/2010

[j30mann]

I am not a mechanic but I have been dealing with this problem for three years. My 1995 J30 started having intermittent reverse problems several years ago. Sometimes the reverse would engage and sometimes it would not. When it would stick I would give it some gas and eventually it would engage. Even when it worked it felt weak. Then one day it stopped going in reverse altogether.

I drove the car for several months without reverse. I drove home one night during a snow storm and got stuck on an street that was not plowed. It took me a half an hour to get the car into my driveway. The wheels were spinning and the abs and transmission lights came. The next morning the reverse engaged without any problems and was strong. I drove the car for over a year without any reverse problems. I did not drain the transmission because I was afraid to lose the reverse again

About six months ago I parked the car slightly downhill. When I tried putting it in reverse it would not go. I had to push it out. It has not gone in reverse since.

Every mechanic I go to hooks the car up to a computer tells me there are no error codes and say I need to rebuild or replace the transmission. No one opens up the pan, checks the connections, or tries to do any troubleshooting.

I looked for a solution on the Internet but have been unsuccessful. When I saw your post I thought you may be interested in the experience I had with this problem.
Modified by j30mann at 12:25 PM 1/29/2010

[swimshark]

i keep on seeing posts about the rev sensor. currently working on getting my hands on one asap because my car will not shift into 3rd or 4th now. its been having some issues starting last week trying to decide which gear to be in and would shift back and forth. now 1st and 2nd work fine but as soon as it wants to get to 3rd it unlocks torque converter and free revs.

[yodawill2000]

Not a transmission expert but that sounds more like a stuck Solenoid ??Rev sensor would effect all functions me thinks.

[swimshark]

well its either rev sensor or inhibitor switch. im wondering if ive hit some bumps that may have jarred it. i dont have a free giving suspension anymore. its stiff.

putting it up on my friends lift and going to try to adjust the neutral safety switch like it says in the FSM.

[J30_Kid]

well i took it by a shop and it showed it had codes of solenoids and line pressure and over run clutch and something else i can't recall on the paper work i can't read. But i never had the A/T light come on till the morning i drove it to the shop. and the night before i had sprayed out all the connectors under there and i think it didn't dry fast enough and bridge connections and threw codes cause it had a rough shift right after wards and went away after a short drive, but that probably threw codes that day i took it in go figure... Anyways regardless i just dropped the transmission today and gonna be taking it in to get looked at, or i may just break it down myself and check it out. I hope it ain't just a solenoid after all that work i just did lol.

I'll update once i know whats going on.

[J30_Kid]

Ok so i've been dropping the ball on getting it done but finally took it to a shop for a free look at, they told me 2 grand to fix it, Lotta bad crap from the pump to the bands and supposedly broking parts in it which i didn't see when i took it apart just to look at but i'm not knowledgeable in auto transmissions n such so ya.. I know i can buy a reman one on ebay for 1k though so screw 2 k, i might even get a used one but heres a question, what years can i get for my 95 i'm thinking 92 to 95 is the same but can i put a 96 up in it as well or will i have harness hook up problems and such?

Thanks!

[KuroDensetsu]

I was just reading on some pathfinder forums somewhere, and from what I was reading, this is a common problem with RE4R01A Transmissions. I will have to track that site down in my history and see what they were saying there.