Ok, I apologize for the long post, but the details may help you now that some of our X's are reaching "maturity"...

For over a month now, my X has been having lockup problems. ONLY WHEN COLD, the torque converter would lock up, but NOT unlock after coming to a complete stop (IE, stop light). I'm still on the surface streets every morning, so I never have a chance to exceed 35-40mph. When at the light, the X would sometimes stall and/or have a very SLOOWWW start (in a 5-speed, imagine getting started in 3rd gear). When the tranny was warm, all worked normal. After combing this forum and checking out as much as possible myself, I decided to call into AAMCO for an appt.

Weekend before Jan 31, 2005 (day of appt), the transmission was shifting very poorly. Slow to shift between gears (similar to riding the clutch and taking over 6 seconds between shifts in a 5 speed) overdrive would engage & disengage on the highway (yes, drivetrain was already warm).

After taking into AAMCO, they claim they were unable to recreate the problem during a test drive. I asked them to keep the X overnight and let everything cool down. SF only reaches lower 50s upper 40s overnight this time of year.

Tuesday, AAMCO calls and is suprised the transmission was even drive-able. All of the valves were stuck or very difficult to budge with a screwdriver. Although the "Check Engine" light has never come on during these problems, their diag computers lit up like a christmas tree. I visited the shop and saw physical evidence of the wear. I gave them the "OK to GO".

$3100 ($1500 Labor + Parts + Tax) and 4 days later, they replaced the Torque Converter with a rebuilt one, and the transmission itself was rebuilt. The lockup solenoid was replaced along with some of the directly related electronics.

Friday, Feb 4, I asked if it would be okay to continue with my road trip to SoCal. "Sure, it should be just fine".

So I'm driving 70mph down the interstate, headed up & over hills. I usually turn O/D off, and noticed a good 3-4second delay before it kicks in. No biggie I thought, I'll talk to the shop when Monday rolls around. However, when coasting down a hill, I generally use O/D for engine braking...in the case of my so-called "rebuilt" transmission, my engine would go idle & drop to 1000rpm. Again, I'll have to wait until Monday to call AAMCO.

Drove all weekend, nothing harsh, no towing, just the usual (about 400lbs of cargo & work related tools and equipment)

Monday morning, my trip to Big Bear was thwarted by transmission problems. 450mi after my newly rebuilt transmission the X wouldn't shift into 4th. Funny burning smell, I was sure the Transmission overheated. I pulled over on the freeway (using hazard lights at slow speeds), looked underneath, and saw tons of tranny fluid leaking and the exhaust was creating a bunch of smoke from the splatter.

Found the nearest AAMCO (luckily 5mi away) in Corona, CA. Called my SF AAMCO to let them know. Both AAMCOs were very proactive and took the X in. Looks like they need to completely rebuild the tranny again.

So here I am, in a Rental (Ford *SS-Scape, ugh). My X is in SoCal. I live here in SF. I hope to get it back in a week. I'll most likely fly down, get the X and drive it back.

PS. The 170K mi are about 96% pavement driving. Puchased in Nov 2000. Being a fellow Service / Field Tech, I completely respect that all mechanical parts will eventually wear and fail. I've taken care of the X with regularly scheduled maintenance. I also respect that even when repaired, there's a chance for immediate failure.

Geez.
Thanks for your time. From a post just a few months back, my X is the 2nd occurance on this forum for high-mileage transmission failure (please correct me if I'm wrong)

At least it lasted that long!I think 170k is pretty good isn't it?
My POS Dodge tranny is already doing weird crap at 51k miles. The Dodge before this one crapped out at 64k.

The automatic transmission in our X had to be replaced at 30K miles in January '04. Since then, so far so good!

I'd say 170K is pretty good!

Yeah but I dont think ANYONE wants to pay $3000 every 170k just to keep a car running.

i'm sure you could buy a junk yard tranny for a lot cheaper than $3k

Bummer about the tranny and road trip.

170k seems reasonable out of OEM Torque converter, the one in my pathy only lasted 120k. Had it replaced for a couple of hundred and put in new seals at the same time, been trouble free since.

Don’t know if you could have saved the tranny if you had done maintenance right away but I would have had it checked out especially the converter. The Nissan ones are deceit I guess although I’ve had two other makers auto tranny last past 250k but I did put in after marker aux coolers and run synthetic’s on those as well as both my X’s. Heat seems to contribute to tranny wear/tear a lot from what I’ve seen.

I realized a junked tranny might have cost about $1700 + labor for a used tranny. I hoped having a rebuilt transmission would be better. Of course, that depends on the the craftsmanship & skill of the tech who rebuilt it.

I had the same thoughts as you just mentioned. I don't know of any reputable service places avail on weekend here in SF.

My old '87 Hardbody tranny lasted up to 250k and had the engine rebuilt @ 200k....the good ol' VG30. Since you're in SoCal, do you know of any good shops that might want to rebuild a VG33E?

I'll be moving down to Long Beach by the end of the summer. By then, my X will be paid off & an engine transplant/rebuild will be in consideration...i know there are plenty of shops in Torrance who rebuild nissan motors, but they are mainly for performance (SR20DET) and racing. I rely on the X heavily for work & carrying lots of equipment so reliability is a plus (oh yeah, a few extra horses wouldn't hurt either)

i have a 94 mazda b2300 pickup manufactured by ford(same as a ranger) 348,000 and ive never changed the tranny fluid so i would say 170,000 sucks for a new tranny

Well, I read your story, and I think you may need to lay off that little Overdrive switch. auto trannys are not good engine brakes. Manuals are not good ones either. Proof that brakes are cheaper than transmissions. Last i checked the Xterra's braking ability is awesome, even with the drums in the rear, 4 people and all their crap.
the only vehicles needing engine brakes are big rigs aka 18+ wheelers, one of my good friends blew his tranny 2 months after he discovered that switch. :rolleyes:

brakes = cheap fix
tranny = expensive fix

I drive a 5spd with 130k, and I'll burn my brakes before i down shift

on the other hand you got 170,000 miles out of a moderately abused transmission, go nissan.

I'm rather seceptical about the auto tranny blowing if you use the over drive switch quite often, however I do have to say that about 6 months after I started using it on the Maxima that I had, the tranny fucked up as well. It was a 2000 Maxima with 65,000 on her at the time.

Replaced the tranny, never used the switch and it still drives with more than 100,000 on her. Who knows?

I don't think any auto company would get many complaints if their auto trannies lasted 170K before toasting... I have been driving since dirt was invented and I always use the O/D lock out to go up and down hills (not at 80mph). With our small engines and almost 4,000 lbs of weight you need to let the engine rev and breathe, lugging kills small engines. The # 1 trannie failure in fords is the O/D bands burning out because of drivers not locking it out in city driving. (The fords are geared higher, but at lower speeds the same principal applies.) My buddy has a 4WD drive train shop and I have watched them change a lot of them. JMHO.. Mojave

I didn't think the engine braking would be that harmful since engine was revving@3500rpm. Then again, $60 in pads is definitely cheaper than a speeding ticket or busted tranny. it's a good 15mi down mountain range.

I leave my OD off when driving in city traffic and mountainous areas to prevent the extra wear caused by constantly shifting back and forth between 3rd and 4th.