Street Visionz, Inc.

iTrader: (68)

Alright I'll start off by saying I drive my car hard as hell and hopefully my driving style has not backfired onto me. It seems like now everytime I power brake (torque brake) to launch my car, a lot of loud clicking and snapping noises seem to be coming from the brakes, in particular the rear ones. Also, now my car has started to act up whenever going over speed bumps, the front suspension is starting to "creak" everytime my front wheels go over a speed bump. And lastly I don't know if its just me or not but the car itself seems to be making a muffled noise sometimes, as if my intake was a short-ram intake or something. I checked it and tightened all clamps and bolts then the problem seemed to disappear and later come back again. Any ideas as to what could be causing any of my problems?

Thanks in advance.

-Andrew

Aggro_Al

I would take it to the dealership and have it checked out. Here are some of my guesses of what might be causing some of your problems. I hate to tell you but your driving style may have backfired on you.

When brake torquing you might be going way over the stall speed of the torque converter. If you go over the stall speed of the torque converter the brakes on the drive wheels have to work extra hard to keep the wheels from spinning. Above the stall speed you now have to deal with fluid coupling. The torque converter will no longer act like a clutch and allow you to slip but will try to turn the driveshaft instead. It would be like getting in a manual car and reving the engine with the clutch engaged and using the brakes to hold the car back. It stressful on the whole drivetrain and brakes. Do it enough times and something gets broken or stressed.

On a manual car when the clutch is engaged both the engine and the driveshaft have to move. If you use the brakes to prevent or slow that movement, the torque has to go somewhere. In a manual car you get effects like the engine twisting in its mounts, slipping and burning clutches, warped driveshafts, etc. etc. Bottom line, it's not good to run a manual while reving the engine with the clutch and brakes engaged. When you brake torque a torque converter for a prolonged time over its stall speed you get the same effect because the torque converter no longer acts like a clutch.

If you have been really rough on the torque converter you may have burned or evaporated some of the transmission fluid. When a torque converter is run over it's stall speed for a prolonged time and the turbine doesn't turn, part of the torque is converted to heat and it is possible to boil the transmission fluid. If you burn away enough of the fluid part of your torque converter may no longer be in the fluid but spinning in air. That may be your muffled intake sound.

I don't know if you already have these mods but, if you are going to do a lot of brake torquing you might want to change your current torque converter to one with a higher stall speed, modify your valvebody, add a tranny cooler, a big brake kit and get an ECU upgrade. To do the driving you like doing you'll need to do some mods to the drivetrain and maintain it more often.

Good luck.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

great info.

i'd hold off on any TC mods. i just got mine done along with a tranny cooler. i also break torque, but only when im at the track. i can spin the tires without break torquing specially with the TC upgrade.

long story short, im having delayed engaging problems. it only happens when im shifting from park to drive or park to reverse. and it only happens on warm starts, i guess thats when the AT fluid has warmed and thinned a little. theres a clunk without any activation (sounds like metal to metal contact) and the car starts to creep forward once that sound is gone. that car will not engage into gears untill the sound has stopped. it only lasts for about half a second, but its more then enough to get me worried.

im taking it in next week. it could be air in the AT fluid since i had someone else install the tranny cooler, but it could also be something much worse. ill keep u updated on what i find out.

axxizzer

brake torquing is bad for brakes, period, man.

Thats just a fact of life!

FairladyZ

sounds like your break pads are toast. Check your flid and see if it is low.

KShep

iTrader: (4)

Good post Al....

KPierson

iTrader: (1)

If anyone is interested I have a 5at for sale... It came out of an 03 G35 sedan with 7500 miles on it. I had to buy it when I bought my spare engine, the guy wouldn' seperate them. I have a 6MT so I have no use for it.

PM me if interested.

Kevin Pierson
www.KPtechnologies.net

Aggro_Al

Did the person who installed your tranny cooler replace the lost transmission fluid with Nissan's propreitory ATF? How did the person add more fluid? The ATF is fill-for-life and has to be maintained by a qualified Nissan tech.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

they said they did add, but i have no proof. they probably just added it threw the spout under the hood. is that not the way to do it?

Aggro_Al

MySunset350Z

I would take your car right away to get the ATF checked out. If it wasn't done correctly you can be damaging you transmission right now.

On the 5AT, you can't just use off the shelf ATF from your local Autozone. Nissan has a propreitory ATF just for the 350Z and G35C trannies. You have to use the Nissan ATF in your vehicle. Also, on the 2003, you will not find a spout for pouring or adding more ATF because Nissan says under normal conditions it is fill-for-life and should require no maintenance. Even the dipstick for checking the ATF level is bolted in place. I'm not sure how you would check or fill the ATF without taking it to a qualified Nissan tech.

While your at it, have them check the fluid levels in the valvebody and clutch. The solenoids and hydraulic fluid in the valvebody directly affects the shifting and clutch activation.

This is from Courtesy Nissan's web site:

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

ok i looked into this some more today. those guys did add ATF fluid and it was Matic-J that they got for a nissan dealership. they added it threw the bolted dipstick you mentioned (later model z's do come with a dipstick that will tell you ur fluid level). the problem with that is the dipstick might show full even though its not if there's air mixed in with the fluid.

i hope its nothing too serious. either way, i have an appoinment with a dealership later on this week. ill be sure to ask them about everything u just mentioned.

thanks for the info.