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  #1  
Old 09-02-2006, 05:05 PM
Cho Cho is offline
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Transmission Problem on Sentra

Ok, I have a 1991 Nissan Sentra XE 4-speed Automatic.

The problem: The car drives fine and shifts through all the gears like a new car for about 10 mins. Then after the transmission warms up it wont shift past gear 2. Which is very odd.

At that point I can only drive up to 55mph while almost redlining the car. I have checked all the fluid levels on my car and it was at the right level. The transmission fluid was changed about 1000 miles ago, along with the Engine Oil.

I figure its because the transmission fluid filter may be clogged and just needs to be replaced but could it be anything else by any chance or do u guys think this will probably go away if I installed a tranny cooler?

So, do any of you Subaru junkies know anything about this car by any chance and can help me?
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  #2  
Old 09-02-2006, 05:18 PM
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are you sure it's shifting through all the gears for the first 10 minutes? How many miles do you have on the trans? I have a '96 Sentra with 190k miles and have never had any issues with the automatic.
-Bill
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  #3  
Old 09-02-2006, 05:37 PM
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Yea it shifts through all the gears for the first 10 mins or so. I can drive it up to a 100mph if I wanted while its still cool, but the second that trans heats up it just wont go pass 2 and it just annoys me because i feel like im going to break something. When its cool its alright, but when it gets hot it only goes from 1 to 2.
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  #4  
Old 09-02-2006, 09:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cho
Yea it shifts through all the gears for the first 10 mins or so. I can drive it up to a 100mph if I wanted while its still cool, but the second that trans heats up it just wont go pass 2 and it just annoys me because i feel like im going to break something. When its cool its alright, but when it gets hot it only goes from 1 to 2.
Check the flow of ATF through the radiator. I'm wondering if you didn't get some "gunk" dislodged when the fluid was changed and now the fluid isn't flowing like it should. This would mean that you'd be okay until things started heating up in the trans - with restricted flow the ATF can't get rid of enough heat and the trans suffers. Have you checked how the fluid smells (i.e., does it smell like new ATF or does it smell burnt?).
-Bill
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'92 Fully caged, 5 speed, waiting for its fully built EG33
'92 "Test Mule", 4:44 Auto, JDM 4:44 Rear Diff with Mech LSD, Tuned headers, Full one-off suspension
'92(?) Laguna, 6 spd and other stuff (still at OT's place)
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  #5  
Old 09-03-2006, 01:39 PM
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I will go ahead and take a look at the Radiator to see if its ok. The trans fluid smells like new. It probably has been clogged because the person who owned it before me didn't really seem to take care of it much. I figure this was a very odd problem because the car only has 64,000 miles on it. It should not happen this early untill its at least 90k. Considering the small amount of hp it has.

When I bought the car last spring, It was kinda low on radiator fluid. So this could be what caused the problem. I'll look into it and repost once im done looking at it.
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  #6  
Old 09-03-2006, 02:53 PM
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Cho,
The radiator being low on fluid really shouldn't be related. What you want to check on is to see if the ATF is flowing through the trans cooler part of the radiator. You'll need to get under the car and trace the ATF lines from the trans to the radiator. Once you've done that, prepare to lose a bit of ATF, as you're going to want to check to make sure you've got any flow through the lines in the first place. As I'm not sure which line is the supply and which one is the return, you can either find out by asking a Nissan mechanic or you can do it the "messy" way. The messy way is to remove one of the lines from the radiator and have someone else start the car up (make sure to keep a rag near the end of the line). If fluid immediately comes out of the line, you've got your supply line. If it isn't the supply line, you should have ATF coming out of the fitting on the radiator where you took the line off (i.e., the supply line should be "pushing" ATF through the cooler in the radiator). If nothing happens, then you've got a blockage inside the trans, and you'll have to drop the pan.
Hope this helps.
-Bill
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'92 Fully caged, 5 speed, waiting for its fully built EG33
'92 "Test Mule", 4:44 Auto, JDM 4:44 Rear Diff with Mech LSD, Tuned headers, Full one-off suspension
'92(?) Laguna, 6 spd and other stuff (still at OT's place)
My Locker
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  #7  
Old 09-03-2006, 04:10 PM
Cho Cho is offline
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Thanks a lot. I'll do what you said.

If it is a blockage, how would I come about cleaning out the blockage so it wont stop the flow? Any ideas?
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  #8  
Old 09-03-2006, 04:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cho
Thanks a lot. I'll do what you said.

If it is a blockage, how would I come about cleaning out the blockage so it wont stop the flow? Any ideas?

If the blockage is in the radiator, compressed air should do the trick. If it's in the trans, I'd hope the blockage is in the internal screen, which you can just replace with the screen that comes with a trans filter kit.
-Bill
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Retired NASA Rocket Scientist

Most famous NASA "Child" - OSIRIS-REx delivered samples from asteroid BENNU to Earth in Sept. 2023

Center Network Member #989

'92 Fully caged, 5 speed, waiting for its fully built EG33
'92 "Test Mule", 4:44 Auto, JDM 4:44 Rear Diff with Mech LSD, Tuned headers, Full one-off suspension
'92(?) Laguna, 6 spd and other stuff (still at OT's place)
My Locker
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  #9  
Old 09-04-2006, 04:25 AM
Cho Cho is offline
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Because of the lack of power tools, it took me 3 hours to check the problem.

I found my supply line from the trans and when I turned on the car it came out pretty strong.

Checked the Radiator part to cool the trans fluid and there was no blockage. But blew it out with compressed air anyways.

Then I opened the pan to check the trans filter and it was fine. Wasn't blocked at all. Still I replaced the ATF filter anyways.
Since I was doing this I went ahead and put in brand new Trans Fluid in.

Afterwards, I drove the car for about 15 mins and the same problem started again.

Could it possibly be something electrical related or should I just drop in a trans cooler or 2?

Really dont feel like rebuilding it.
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1995 SVX L - Emerald Green
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Mods: Slotted Front and Rear Rotors, K&N Stock filter, Blue LED Interior Lights, and New Paint.
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  #10  
Old 09-06-2006, 05:03 PM
Cho Cho is offline
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Never mind, I solved the problem myself. Installed a 5" by 12 3/4" by 1" trans cooler and the problem has gone away. Drove the car for 2 hours and it shifted fine into all gears properly. I'm guessing im going to drop one into my SVX as well.
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Mods: Slotted Front and Rear Rotors, K&N Stock filter, Blue LED Interior Lights, and New Paint.
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