Hello all. I want some insight on this so any info will do.

I have a manual '05 350Z with about 57k miles.

I have not changed the clutch yet, did tranny service at 1,000 miles, 29,500 miles, and 57,000 miles.

I've never had the problem before and always used nissan oil (took it to the nissan dealership all the time). But after this recent service on my tranny (fresh oil from drain and fill), it was EXTREMELY hard to get into 2nd gear. I went back to the dealership right when I left telling them about the problem. They said they used the correct tranny oil. What they did is they drained it and re-filled it with a thicker tranny oil (unfortunately they didn't tell me the viscosity). I drove off the lot fine.

Second day, early morning when I was going to work, I put into 1st gear, drove off my driveway, and all of the sudden I couldn't get into 2nd gear again. This time it wasn't as hard BUT when I do force it in, I grind. So instead, I started to skip 2nd gear because I don't want to damage my gears. After about 5 minutes of driving, I can shift into 2nd gear with no problems. I also hear a humming/whining noise when I drive faster (around 30-40 mph). The sound doesn't really disappear but it gets softer when I drive more. I told the dealership of my problem and they told me that my clutch was going bad and my throw-out bearing was also bad.

My question is: I want to know if this is normal or did the dealership mess up on my service? For some reason, I feel like they didn't put enough "oil" in my tranny since the problem gets solved after driving it for awhile.

Any input would be great. Thanks!

 

Find out: A. What is the right viscosity for your car. B. What they put in on the previous changes. C. What they put in there this last change.

Thicker gear oil takes longer to warm up and shift smooth, so that would be my guess.

 

From personal experience I can say transmission whining is most likely a bad thing. My 88 Accord's tranny blew up because of incorrect fluid. Your clutch going won't cause it to whine so...tell the dealership to shove it and do it right this time imo. /shrug

 

Agree: 1. Forget oil. Oil will NOT break of fix a transmission.

2. Clutch problems are related to ALL gears. Not just one or two gears.

3. Sounds like a transmission problem to me.

 

Thanks guys for all the input!

I will check out the viscosity when I get back home.

What I find it strange though was before I actually did the service, my tranny shifted fine in all gears (including 2nd) and there was no whine. I am going to call the dealership again during lunch time and see what they have to say from this new knowledge I gained... lol

 

So I found it strange... On my work order, it never listed the gear oil used when they changed out my tranny and differential fluid. Is that right? I thought they were required to list the oil used in my car if they changed it out?

 

was your car there long enough for some bonehead tech to take it out for a joyride and really bang up 2nd gear? if you miss a gear bad enough with an already somewhat worn out synchro or slightly worn out engagement teeth on the coupler you could go from something that is basically a non issue to an annoying problem in a missed-shift or two. it would take a severe beating to manifest the problem so abruptly, but it could be done.