# No 5th gear, long travel still ok?



## alien3827 (Sep 21, 2007)

I have a 1991 Sentra Se with the 1.6l engine and a 5 speed transmission. I have the 5th gear popout problem so no 5th gear for me  I need to go from Harrison Arkansas to Steger Illinois and back, a trip of roughly 1100miles total. My parents say my car should be fine in 4th on the highway as long as I don't go over 5,000rpm. I have a redline of 7,000 out of 8,000 shown on the tach. What do you guys think? I can crusie at 70mph with the tach reading 4,000rpm even. Thanks

Steve


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

your car will be fine traveling in 4th gear, it will just burn a little more gas. you may have a redline of 7k but your fuel cut is 6800. also you need to change your gear oil.


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## alien3827 (Sep 21, 2007)

So I can make the trip in 4th with no dmg to my engine or trans? I don'tmind the gas, I just don't want my car to blow up  and why do I need to change my gear oil?


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## greenbean699 (Jan 18, 2004)

your car will be fine. nissan came out with 4 speeds, the gearing is the same as a 5 speed.
most reasons you have 5th gear pop out is because the gear oil was not changed every 30,000 miles.


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## E46 Addict (Nov 2, 2007)

My 94 Sentra has this same issue, however it has gotton so bad that I can't even put it into 5th gear anymore. My question is ... will the entire tranny go bad eventually? Is this just a 5th gear issue? I ask this because this is kindof a "commuter" car for me and if the tranny doesn't get any worse it really isn't a big deal. Thanks for the info!


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## RallyBob (Nov 29, 2005)

My '91 1.6 Sentra lost 5th gear about about 175,000 miles. I drove it until 235,000 miles this way, when the factory pressure plate decided to break in two pieces and locked everything up (pieces of debris between the bellhousing and the flywheel ring gear). Other than that, it was fine. A little bit after I lost 5th gear I changed the gear oil to make sure there was no debris floating around.

Sure, without 5th gear it's harder on the engine, one trip of mine was from central CT to the Maine Forest Rally, about 5 hours @ 75 mph. But it still lives.

Bob


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## joeli16 (Nov 19, 2004)

I think they have a kit to fix the 5th gear pop-out.But money wise I would just get another used tranny...


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## rguard (Aug 24, 2006)

*Same 5th gear pop-out problem*

I also have a 1991 Sentra GXE with the 1.6L engine and a 5 speed manual transmission. 
I guess I'm lucky that the 5th gear popout problem didn't appear until 231,400 miles!
It is my commuter car, so it isn't a problem unless I go on a trip on the highway.
It pops out of 5th above 60 mph.
Workaround: hold the stick shift in place, but that gets old after a while.

I just had the transmission fluid changed this week, but it has not helped. It is probably too late. I'm interested to hear if there is an inexpensive fix.

Rich


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## amje417 (Sep 4, 2007)

lost 5th around 180,000 still going 197,000 no promblems yet


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## rguard (Aug 24, 2006)

*5th gear popout update*

After I posted about my 5th gear popout, I noticed when I cleaned the grease off the tranny that it had a bead of orange RTV sealant around the tranny case, so I'm guessing the previous owner may have had the tranny rebuilt before.
I think I've got the same problem as RallyBob where my pressure plate broke or the clutch went. It happened suddenly at 232K miles, and I can't drive it anymore.
As far as the 5th gear popout, it happened only on acceleration, or when climbing a grade. 
Workaround: I took a hook from a rubber tarp strap and fastened it to the extended cup holder on the right side. When in 5th gear, I just clipped the hook around the stick shift and it was held tightly in gear.
With the age and mileage on this '91 Sentra, I may have to retire it.
I bought it for $600 almost two years ago at a garage sale! 

amje417, I would recommend not changing the tranny oil at this point.
A transmission shop changed mine for free, and that seemed to change the dynamics of things after that. It got harder to shift in other gears, and seemed to get worse. 
Rich


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## rguard (Aug 24, 2006)

*Fine in 4th gear*

Well, I'm back with another update, and am still driving my '91 Sentra with over 236K miles on it now!
I bought a new clutch from Advanced Auto for $100 with lifetime warranty.
I paid a mechanic $400 labor to install it and it is back on the road.
That would have been the time to have the 5th gear components replaced, but I didn't spend the $. After the clutch was replaced, the 5th gear pop-out problem got worse, and hooking it in gear no longer works - it just grinds out of gear. So, I just drive it on the highway in 4th gear now and it has been fine. I don't like to drive it much over 75mph in 4th, but it still gets 30 mpg, so I'm happy.

For reference, check out this excellent forum link with info on the 5th gear pop-out kit: http://www.nissanforums.com/b13-91-94-chassis/72374-rs5f31a-tranny-help.html

Also, here is another related 5th gear pop-out forum link:
http://www.nissanforums.com/e-ca-se...8-replaced-clutch-causes-5th-gear-popout.html

This remains a great commuter car for me.

Take care,
Rich


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