I have a 2004 350ZR. I just had the Manual Transmission Fluid changed at Grease monkey and right away noticed that first and second gear felt more notchie than usual.

Sometimes it was almost impossible to get it to go into second gear while it was still cold.

I brought it in to have them check everything and they reserviced it for free just to be safe. It still does it, but maybe not as bad.

The real concern is when it is cold and I hit about 3000 - 4000 RPM I get a really wierd sound in second or third gear. Sounds like a howling or squeeling wind noise. I am wondering what that could be. Only does it briefly and then it won't do it again unless the car has been sitting a long time and it's below 50 degrees.

Could they have put the wrong fluid in the first time and jacked up my system?

 

Bueller?.....Bueller?

 

sounds difficult/impossible to diagnose over the internet.

could they have used the wrong fluid? I suppose so.

as for the sound, there's no guarantee that the sound wasn't there all along, you could just be noticing it now.

Why don't you find out what kind of fluid they used.

the notchyness of the transmission is a very common complaint. Perhaps you should try a different transmission fluid. But many fluids, even synthetics, cannot eliminate the notchy feel when cold.

 

The squeel is definitely new. The first time I heard it I thought a tornado was passing my right side. At first I just thought it was howling wind hitting the soft top just right, but then realized it wasn't the wind causing it. It doesn't sound like a belt squeeling, but maybe a bearing starting to howl?

They said they put synthetic 75/90 in it, but I will have to check at home to see if it was the GL-5 or GL-4 spec. If GL-5 I will change it to GL-4.

The notchiness is a known issue and I have noticed it some in the past, but never to the point where I couldn't get it into first when completely stopped or had to try 3 or 4 times to get it into second. So something definitely changed.

But that noise, I can't imagine how I will find out what caused that, since it's only when I first go out in the morning, or it sits all day when it's cold.

 

What kind of trans fluid did they put in?

When I switched to Royal Purple, my trans was noticibly "notchier" when cold. A lot worse than it was when stock. On the upside, I gained 2-3 MPG after the trans and diff. fluid change.

 

I checked my service slip and it just shows the Synthetic 75/90W transmission fluid. I called a guy and he said they have both the GL-4 and GL-5 available and put in the one the manufacturer recommends. I'm guessing it's mobile 1 for the brand.

I may just go to Nissan and have them reservice it with their stuff to be safe and hopefully to get rid of the more than usually tough shifting.

 

I just switched from the OEM fluid to the Motul Syn 300 fluid. I get the loud transmission noise and the car hates to go into 1st or 2nd in the cold. When it's warm out, or the car is warmed up, no issues.

I'm pretty disapointed about the cold performance after the Motul fluid was so hyped by Sharif (who I bought it from)
I haven't put the fluid in my diff yet, wondering if I will.

 

I read a hundred posts by people who switched to Royal Purple and only a few thought it was worse than the stock fluids. I never figured I'd be one of them but that's the way it worked out. Differences in internal tolerances probably have a lot to do with how the trans feels with different fluids.

Would I switch back? No. It's not cold for long so it only a few shifts that are hard. Once it warms up, the problem goes away.

 

I feel the exact way. Although the cold performance is poor, and the noise is kind of alarming at first, when it's warm, it's awesome.

 

Ok so you are hearing the same noise at first too? That makes me feel better, but do you think it could be doing any damage?