# Tranny problems



## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

hey everyone im new to the nissan forum however im not new to cars,

my little sister has a 89 nissan maxima and the other day it made a bang and rolled to a stop. tries to engage gears but just revs... took a look at the manual and it says the tranny and motor have to come out together due to clearence with tconverter and shaft. 

my problem is removing the passenger side halfshaft. i removed the ypipe, and the three bolts in the carrier bearing but how do you getr it out? the manual says you remove it with the mount but i do not see how you could seperate the mount from the engine....

help please thank you in advance! :banhump: :cheers: :wtf:


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

Yo the tranny can be taken out without the engine, I've done it no problems, the half shaft will come out after you jerk on it or take a prybar, never had problem with that either, good luck. You dont need the mount off to take out the halfshaft


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## GRNMAXDMON (Jan 18, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> hey everyone im new to the nissan forum however im not new to cars,
> 
> my little sister has a 89 nissan maxima and the other day it made a bang and rolled to a stop. tries to engage gears but just revs... took a look at the manual and it says the tranny and motor have to come out together due to clearence with tconverter and shaft.
> 
> ...


use a prybar like what nismosleeper says. this shouldn't give u any problems. the engine does not need to be pulled either. just take off the axles, unbolt the tranny mounts, unbolt torque converter from flexplate and then unbolt tranny from block and then pull until it comes apart from the block of the engine and thats it. :crazy:

btw: i've done this to my '93 about 12 times until i came across a 5-speed tranny and did the conversion myself.


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

*thank you*

you must be referrering to a non abs maxima, sorry i forgot to mention that the vehicle has abs and the passenger shaft is about 2.5 to 3 feet long. there is nowhere to pry without messing a seal up. sorry.


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## rvanders37 (Jan 1, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> you must be referrering to a non abs maxima, sorry i forgot to mention that the vehicle has abs and the passenger shaft is about 2.5 to 3 feet long. there is nowhere to pry without messing a seal up. sorry.


both axels pry out of the transmission with a long screwdriver or pry bar. you first have to remove the hub so you can pull the axel out. i helpe a friedn once and he though he needed a transmissoin too but it was an axel the whole time that was busted. if you are lucky that is all you'll need to. the bang may have been the axel breaking.


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## GRNMAXDMON (Jan 18, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> you must be referrering to a non abs maxima, sorry i forgot to mention that the vehicle has abs and the passenger shaft is about 2.5 to 3 feet long. there is nowhere to pry without messing a seal up. sorry.



that has nothing to do with it. abs or non abs u would still need a prybar or something equivalent to make the axle come out.


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

GRNMAXDMON said:


> that has nothing to do with it. abs or non abs u would still need a prybar or something equivalent to make the axle come out.


Yeah, I have ABS as well and it should pop out with some leverage. Good luck.


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## GRNMAXDMON (Jan 18, 2005)

nismosleeper said:


> Yeah, I have ABS as well and it should pop out with some leverage. Good luck.



me too and on both my '89 and '93.


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## importboy34 (Jul 14, 2005)

i have a 89 maxima can ne 1 tell me how much a conversion to a 5 spd would be if i have it done in a shop or by myself? ty


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

importboy34 said:


> i have a 89 maxima can ne 1 tell me how much a conversion to a 5 spd would be if i have it done in a shop or by myself? ty


You can DIY if you are smart and good with tools. Knowledge is everything young grasshopper. A lot people have done it and have write ups on it, GRNMAXDMON can probably give you some pointers, but basicly get a parts car that is 5 speed, take the parts off that you need and make it happen. It's hard work, but you will like it. Bring it to Tulsa with the parts and I can do it for 350.


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## GRNMAXDMON (Jan 18, 2005)

importboy34 said:


> i have a 89 maxima can ne 1 tell me how much a conversion to a 5 spd would be if i have it done in a shop or by myself? ty


thanks nismosleeper. :cheers: as for u importboy34 i can help u out in anyway that i can. though i will provide u with some helpfull threads and links to this swap. a shop will want practically as much as they charge for an auto tranny rebuild for our cars which will usually run from $1200-$2000. or u can do it urself dependin' on how much u will have to spend to source all the parts. in my case my grand total was only about $240 and i did it in my back yard along with the help of my dad and some food and drinks. now for the links:

good for the rewire <---- go to the bottom and look for my post which is #18 and click on the link so that u'll c what wires u need to mess with to make ur car start and make ur reverse lights come on once ur done with the swap.

go here as well for more links <---- once ur in this thread scroll down to post #6 and there will be more links plus one of them is a link for a complete write-up but for a 4th gen but its basically the same principles and it will help u out alot. 

if by any chance u need more answers to ur questions let me know and i will help u out in anyway that i can. good luck and have fun. i know i did and it was my first time doin' this job now im tacklin' a motor swap on my '93. :thumbup: 

Rick


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

*halfshaft*

i ended up sticking a long screwdriver through tranny and tapping it with a mini sledge. i really dont see where you could pry without damaging seals. great if you are relacing axle however it is not cost effective to not do it right.


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> i ended up sticking a long screwdriver through tranny and tapping it with a mini sledge. i really dont see where you could pry without damaging seals. great if you are relacing axle however it is not cost effective to not do it right.


You were trying to pry in the wrong spot. Not on the end, where the bracket is attached to the axle; doesn't damage anything.


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## rvanders37 (Jan 1, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> i ended up sticking a long screwdriver through tranny and tapping it with a mini sledge. i really dont see where you could pry without damaging seals. great if you are relacing axle however it is not cost effective to not do it right.


sounds like you should stop. get some help. cause both axels can be off the car in less than an hour. the seals are round and press in the holes where the axels come out of. if this is confusing then you probably shouldn't go any further with this.


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

rvanders37 said:


> sounds like you should stop. get some help. cause both axels can be off the car in less than an hour. the seals are round and press in the holes where the axels come out of. if this is confusing then you probably shouldn't go any further with this.



Apparantly none of you have read the factory service manual, have you?
The only confusion is why you are telling me to "pry" axles out of a transmission. The reason you do not "pry" the axles out of a computer controlled four speed nissan transmission equipped with abs is that the only solid place is the carrier bearing. Not to mention "NISSAN SAYS NO" in my case i have a crossmember in the way of "prying" on the part of the axle i need to. Considering the crossmember is connecting the subframe to the front end and cabin it would not seem like a great idea to remove it to get at the axle, while on jack stands. I am glad none of you have had the pleasure of watching a car flex as you are jacking it up. Or the satisfaction of doing a job the right way the first time. :loser:


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## GRNMAXDMON (Jan 18, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> Apparantly none of you have read the factory service manual, have you?
> The only confusion is why you are telling me to "pry" axles out of a transmission. The reason you do not "pry" the axles out of a computer controlled four speed nissan transmission equipped with abs is that the only solid place is the carrier bearing. Not to mention "NISSAN SAYS NO" in my case i have a crossmember in the way of "prying" on the part of the axle i need to. Considering the crossmember is connecting the subframe to the front end and cabin it would not seem like a great idea to remove it to get at the axle, while on jack stands. I am glad none of you have had the pleasure of watching a car flex as you are jacking it up. Or the satisfaction of doing a job the right way the first time. :loser:



i work at a shop and i know all this but i have pried on the driver side between tranny and axle but on the passenger side i pried from the bracket that holds the halfshaft. and i've seen how a car flexes when put on jack stands. go to my cardomain site and go to my last page and u will c that im not even usin' a lift but instead jacks and bricks so that i can work on both my '89 and '93. done it plenty of times and i know Matt93SE would somewhat agree on this as well. of course u have to be carefull how u do the job and do it correctly. it only takes me not more than a min. to take out each axle when its ready to get pulled out. i read the manuals and everything but sometimes not even that helps.


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## rvanders37 (Jan 1, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> Apparantly none of you have read the factory service manual, have you?
> The only confusion is why you are telling me to "pry" axles out of a transmission. The reason you do not "pry" the axles out of a computer controlled four speed nissan transmission equipped with abs is that the only solid place is the carrier bearing. Not to mention "NISSAN SAYS NO" in my case i have a crossmember in the way of "prying" on the part of the axle i need to. Considering the crossmember is connecting the subframe to the front end and cabin it would not seem like a great idea to remove it to get at the axle, while on jack stands. I am glad none of you have had the pleasure of watching a car flex as you are jacking it up. Or the satisfaction of doing a job the right way the first time. :loser:


so..... how did it turn out?


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

local shop is rebuilding the tranny as a bench unit for 700 total, including a new torqe converter. still waiting for it to be done.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Errrr, the generally accepted method to removing the pass side axle is to stick a long screwdriver through the transmission and pop it out with a hammer- as this guy did.

the way I have always removed them is to pull the three bolts loose from the carrier bearing (hose it down with penetrating oil first), give it a couple whacks with a hammer to break loose any rust, then use some large channel locks to turn the support bearing inside the bracket while I have someone else pulling the axle out from the pass side of the car.. I've never had a problem damaging the axle that way, and it's generally what these guys were referring to when they said to pry the axle out.

the driver's side has a nice place at the bottom where you can get a prybar behind the inner joint and pry it out. the pass side needs some help before you can get a prybar anywhere.


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

thank you, respect to you mr non flamin posting person who knows what he is talking about.


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## oaeyeo121003 (Jul 4, 2005)

Mom always told me "If you don't have anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

so this post was edited by Mom.


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## rvanders37 (Jan 1, 2005)

oaeyeo121003 said:


> local shop is rebuilding the tranny as a bench unit for 700 total, including a new torqe converter. still waiting for it to be done.


wise decision on your part. since you were uncomfortable with removing the axels. everyone can't do everything.


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