treimche

Ive searched a little and haven't really been able to find anything specific for breaking in a brand new CD00A transmission. I drained the fluid that was in it from the factory and filled with Redline MT85. So far I have close to 200 miles on it, and wondering if I should change the fluid soon, or wait until more like 500 miles? I have been very easy on the shifts as I'm also running a freshly built block (this is in my S2000 btw). Shifting seems pretty notchy for the most part. 2nd gear feels almost like a very minor grind about half the time. It shifts really poorly when the car is cold, but once it warms up, shifting feels much much better. I will adjust the clutch pedal to make sure it is disengaging all the way too. Hoping this all sounds normal for these transmissions.

Spike100

When taking delivery of a new 350z, there were no special instructions for a transmission "break-in." I replaced my 2003 350z original transmission with a CD009 version, and the dealer did not provide any specific instructions for a "break-in." The CD00A is the latest transmission version for the 350z. I am surprised you find it "notchy" and notice any "grind" noise. You should not notice any grinding or excessive vibration.

treimche

I'm going to have to guess that part of it is due to the shifter assembly that has to be used in my case. CD00A swap into my Honda S2000. It is a GKTech shifter, which IMO is lacking big time. I will play with the clutch adjustment to make sure it is disengaging all the way. I'm running a Clutch Masters 725 twin disk with their hydraulic throwout bearing.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

I would argue this is a bit normal when using Redline MT85. This stuff likes to be fully warmed up before the shifts become smooth. I would have recommended keeping the factory fluid for the first 500~1000 miles.
-Icer

accordfreak

iTrader: (15)

stick with OEM fluids and put the OEM shifter back in.

treimche

The only info I found previously was to drain the fluid that came from the factory in the new CD00A. I read that it wasn't to be driven and that fluid was only for transporting the transmission. Good to know for the next person though.

I wish I could use a factory shifter but that just doesn't fit in my case.

AF_GARCIA

So how did this resolve cause I absolutely HATE this CD00A transmission its notchy as hell... Had it not been part of my restoration, cause the previous trans had the infamous 3rd gear grind and lock out at times I would of stood with it cause it was alot smoother... Figured I just buy a new one rather then rebuild and end up wanting to replace other things while it was open and the trans project costing more then a new lol... But yea brother how'd you make out with yours did it break in or anything... Plus can't imagine they will sell new cars with a transmission like this... Think they really failed this one sadly.

treimche

This might actually be mostly related to the fluid. Once it is warmed up, it shifts beautifully. When cold, the fluid must be too thick or something. My tuner guy says he uses a little bit thinner fluid than what I'm running, and he had no complaints on his CD00A. I will also say that when I am roll racing or on the road course, not being nice to the car, this transmission shifts VERY nicely, even at 8000-8500rpms. I have no complaints on shifting it when I need to shift fast. I did end up ditching the GKtech (Xperformance in my case) shifter in favor of the Serial 9, and to be honest, there is absolutely no reason to use a different shifter than the Serial 9. But I have no experience with the OEM Nissan shifter since my transmission is in an S2000 and the stock shifter doesn't work. My only complaint with this thing is the noise since my trans swap has to use a light weight aluminum flywheel, and not the super heavy dual mass OEM flywheel. Other than that, its been great.

AF_GARCIA

Thanks for the follow up.. So your notchiness as you described and feeling as if second will grind has gone away? All of this was only while cold?

*Also I swapped out oem fluid for new oem fluid and now just jumped to mt-85... while it did help alil it still notchy and hard to get into gears at times... and when car is off, its extremely hard to get into other gears... sometimes even locking out, which then I can kick in the clutch and it will go into gear.

treimche

Yeah on mine, the notchiness only happens when it is cold. Once warmed up, it is very nice.

Have you double checked your clutch pedal adjustment and bled the clutch lines?

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

A thorough bleeding of the clutch hydraulics can make a big difference when shifting. If you have even just a tiny bit of air, you will not get good diaphragm spring release from the clutch disk (If the pressure plate cannot release the disk, you won't be able to shift gears while the engine is running, that or risk grinding real bad , unless you're amazingly skilled and can master rev-matching ). Try pushing clutch pedal to the floor while shifting and see if you get an improvement in the gear shift feel. I had a similar issue at one time after replacing my clutch master cylinder. I thought I done a good job bleeding the lines/cylinders, but there were still some air bubbles trapped that won't become apparent until the fluid settles. I didn't bench bleed the master cylinder since that poses serious risks with dripping brake fluid on painted surfaces, this probably contributed to the air bubble issue I had. I was able to resolve the issue with help from a buddy. We probably pushed 1/3qt of fluid through the system before I had peace of mind and didn't see any more bubbles squirting out the slave bleeder.
Cheers!
-Icer

thekinn

iTrader: (18)

I didn't like the feel when using Redline in my original 2006 transmission either. I also tried to cocktail mix of some varieties of Redline.. still didn't like it. Using OEM only with my new CD00A. Working fine.