# Transmission Going Bad?



## edlovereze (Feb 22, 2014)

Hello,
I have a 2000 Altima GXE which is a 5 speed. Lately, I have been having trouble getting it to turn on. It has sounded like the starter but I just replaced the starter in February so that seems weird. Last night I started to hear a grinding/rattling noise while idling. I had never heard it before so I wasn't sure what it was. I was driving home from my friends house and 1st and 2nd gear were fine, but then when I tried to shift into 3rd, it just started to grind and would not go into gear. I then tried 4th, same thing. 5th worked perfectly fine tho. I got home but obviously there's an issue there. What should be the first thing I look at or do? The car has 250k miles on it so her days I feel have been coming to an end and I am just curious if she's done. Thanks for any help!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Any internal issue of the trans, i.e. bad synchros, bearings, shift forks, etc., is going to require removal and teardown of the transmission or replacement. An option would be to replace the transmission with a used unit (try: Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market). Of course, make sure there's oil inside the trans before anything! As far as the noise at idle, it's hard to say without hearing it for oneself. Exhaust rattle or timing chain rattle are possibilities. You may want to have an experienced technician give the whole care a look over and see if it's worth putting money into.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

edlovereze said:


> Hello,
> I was driving home from my friends house and 1st and 2nd gear were fine, but then when I tried to shift into 3rd, it just started to grind and would not go into gear. I then tried 4th, same thing. 5th worked perfectly fine tho. I got home but obviously there's an issue there.


It might be worth a shot to check out the clutch pedal free play. Too much free play can cause hard shifting and grinding. Also make sure the master cylinder is full and that the hydraulic system is purged of air.


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## edlovereze (Feb 22, 2014)

I know this is an old thread but I didn't want to make a new one... so i stopped driving the car because of it not shifting into 3rd and 4th gear and today since the weather was nice i went to test it out again and it worked completely fine. Any ideas on why that might be?


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