Transmission Solenoid Question

[whitediamond642]

Firstly, the vehicle's information:
2003 Infiniti I35 w/ ~200,000 miles on the odo.
transmission fluid changed in the last 10,000 miles without any issues until now.

The Problem:
Driving on the highway and went to pass. Car downshifted and there was an audible "clunk", but no other sounds. Stopped the car to find the issue and found that Reverse and 1st gear do not engage.
Reverse seems to have something keeping the wheels from rotating (i.e., In Reverse w/ engine off, car rolls down my driveway; w/ engine on in Reverse, it stays on the hill). 1st does not engage in either D or manually in 1st. All other gears do not seem to have any issues and the car drives fine once up to speeds where 2nd would normally be engaged.

What I have done so far:
Checked fluid and it was in good condition (not burned and still pink translucent) and level was good.
Attempted to do the Diagnostic test in the FSM, but could not get the AT Check light to blink after going through the steps. (If anyone can give me some tips on this one, I would certainly appreciate it)
Drained transmission and dropped the pan. No debris other than typical "gunk" around the magnets. Fluid was fine.
Took out the valve body and took off the solenoid pack. All solenoids had the proper resistance across them.
All solenoids activated when 12v was run across them, though Solenoid A and the Overrun Clutch Solenoid did not have an audible "disengagement" click as the other solenoids did.

Question:
Where should I go from here? I will probably go to a pick n pull to see if I can get another solenoid pack to see if they test the same way as mine do, but otherwise, I'm out of ideas and about ready to just pick up a used transmission and call it a day.

Does anyone have any info on the Transmission Diagnostic steps, testing the solenoids or anything else?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help and sorry this is so long.

[whitediamond642]

Last night, while the valve body was out, I manually shifted the transmission into each gear and rotated the wheels. There was no binding and the parking pin only activated when it was in park and I turned the wheel. No gear had anymore noticeable resistance than any of the others and nothing appeared damaged (from what I was limited to view from the bottom of the transmission).

This makes me think even more that it's a solenoid or valve body issue. I'm going today to pick up a couple sets of solenoids from a junkyard, so hopefully I will get at least one good set.

Does anyone have any advice or procedures to get the car into diagnostic mode for the transmission or how Solenoid A and Overrun Clutch Solenoid should react when voltage is put to them?

Thanks again.

[louiesi]

Whitediamond642, I now have the same problem with my 2002 I-35, i.e., reverse and first gear won't engage. No codes were found so the transmission specialist says that its a mechanical problem which will require opening up the transmission to find out what's wrong.

He's telling me it will cost $320 Canadian to take it apart and $320 to put it back together, but can't tell me what the problem is until the transmission is inspected.

As another option, he found a transmission from the wreckers for $450, with 110,000 km which he will give me at cost if I pay cash for it. It has a 60 day guarantee.

How did you solve this problem???

[whitediamond642]

I believe it ended up being the brake band, since that is the common link between first and reverse. I never confirmed this, but the solenoids and cleaning the valve body did not fix my issue. I ended up replacing the transmission with one I found in a junkyard with 13k on it for $450. It was a great deal and I needed to remove the engine anyway to fix the timng chain tensioners.

If your transmission has more than 200k miles (? km), I would just replace it since it has to be removed in either case. See if you can keep the old transmission in case the new one ever acts up. That way if it does, you can have the old one fixed and do another swap.

Good luck. Anything dealing with trannys sucks.

[louiesi]

My transmission has 175,000 km (109,000 miles).
The shop told me I need an over haul to replace the break band, high clutch friction, high clutch steels and the solinoid group.
Here's the qoute:
Labour to remove/replace transaxle - $648
Parts - Rebuilt RE4F04B - $1,550
Parts - Rebuilt Torque Converter - $360
ATF - $76
Environmental Fee - $7
Total= $2641 then add 13% in applicable taxes = $2,984

I found from another wrecker the same transmission with 110,000 km (68,000 miles) and will give a one year guarantee for the part plus $50/hr off the Labour should it be defective for $450.
The quote for this job is as follows:
Labour to remove/replace transaxle - $648
Part - used transmission - $450
Service and prep of transmission - $190
Environmental fee - $7
Total= $1,295 then 13% taxes = $1,463

Does any of the items in either option look out of line to you?

I'm favouring the second option, and I understand that I will be assuming more risk with this as opposed to an over haul.

Also, with everything off the transmission shop is recommending that I replace the following:
1 Right Front Axle Assembly
2 Front Lower Control Arms
2 Front Stabl, Link Kits.
They said it's cheaper to do now because everyting is off, i.e., "you have already paid for the Labour". However, from the qoute given he attached $323 in Labour associated with the 2 Front Lower Control Arms. The hourly Labour rate for this transmission shop is $90.
The thing is, I had my wheels rotated about two months ago and I always ask my mechanic if there was any play to these parts. My mechanic said that all was okay. And when I drove to this transmission guy, I didn't feel any problems in this area.
Nevertheless, I understand that when everying this off you get a better picture of what is to come and it is his job to let me know that. However my question is because he has put $323 in Labour cost in the qoute, am I really saving money in having it done now, rather than having this other work done separately down the road when my own mechanic tells me to? I guess what I'm trying ask is how many hours of Labour does it really take to remove and replace the parts recommended related to steering/suspension, as it appears he has included an additional 2.5 hours of Labour?

[whitediamond642]

Man, 109k isn't very many miles for the transmission to go bad. Did you change the fluid regularly? Was it burned or anything?

Regardless, i would do the second option. In my experience, a rebuilt transmission is on borrowed time before it goes bad again. Rebuilds seem to last right around 2 years which is just after the typical warranty. Just make sure that your mechanic changes out the transmission filter when putting the transmission in as well as flushing the transmission lines going to and from it. Also, he needs to completely change out all the fluid, not just a drain and refill. I can't remember how much it is, but it's A LOT of fluid.

As far as the other stuff, it is easier to fix with everything off, but 109k on the suspension is nothing. I wouldn't change anything. If the rubber bushings are out on the end links (Stable link kit in your post), you can get new polyurethane bushings from autozone for around $10 and never have to change them again (and they're red, so it adds around 6 HP ).

The right front axle can be diagnosed visually. Are either of the boots bad thus flinging grease all over the place? Does the axle make a "clicking" noise when cornering? If neither of these things are true, don't worry about it, though, that one is a HUGE pain to get off.

Personally, I would go for the transmission and call it a day unless the axle really does need to be changed out.

Good luck, man

[louiesi]

Thanks, really appreciate the advice. I think I will go with the transmission from the wreckers.
I bought the car about three years ago and had it fully inspected by a APA garage at the time and was given the green light, and I change the transmission oil with Nissan's brand.
Just bad luck I guess.
With respect to the other stuff, I'm gonna hold off as everthing seemed normal and my own mechanic didn't notice anything.