It had about 200 mi on the new clutch before I had the time to check it out. I tried bleeding before adjusting on a hunch and it worked.
My car is a daily driver (about 250+ miles per week). I know how not to abuse a drive train but I also run it hard every day because I can. Tires are the only thing that does not last.

Regards,
Hammer

 

I just thought I would mention that most of the people that I have spoken to, about this problem, started with the problem 2nd to 3rd gear grind, then it typically progresses to 4th to 5th, after that the whole thing takes a dump.

Mine started at 12K, I also have an 03 track, and I put a beating on the thing.

 

03 touring replace trany 8000 miles replace 2 axles at 12000 miles,

 

axles? Any details available on that as to why/what happened there?

 

I am just adding myself to the list.

5000 miles.

Dealer said shifter fork and related mechanism broke/bent/died.

My new tranny shifts great.

My advice to those of you who feel the transmission is FIGHTING you = REPLACE IT !!

I hate to say this, but I have changed my aggressive habit of power-shifting. I have also severly reduced my habit of downshifting.

My opinion:
This car is definately a LADY. You cannot "run the ****" out of it without breaking something. Although it is sporty, it is not built to take very much abuse.

 

"abuse" is a tricky word here. I'd agree about the car being a lady, but that is not where it ends.

Down shifting and power shifting are well within the expected use of the vehicle and done "correctly" it is not abuse.

Wear & tear factor kicks in, but things aren't supposed to break & die as you described with your forks.

The forks are a part of the problem with the trans going out, so it wasn't anything you did.

If you can drive this car, the way you want to drive this car, why bother?

 

I'm convinced that during some "spirited" driving the Z's shifting mechanism was damaged. Afterwards, evertime I shifted, it did not seem as smooth as I felt it should. I put up with this for months. Eventually it totally failed.

There might be some -Z- drivers that currently feel the same (shifting is not as smooth as it should be).

Because my new tranny shifts soooo smooth, I would like to help others by documenting my experience.

Answer: It just doesn't feel the same knowing there is a weak link (pun intended).

 

Of course now I realize I made a typo, intended to write "can
t drive" vs. "can drive".

By all means, when I got my new tranny, it did shift smoother/cleaner than my original.

However I did not letup on driving it, and thus far 8K later, it's doing just as well and just as smooth.

I also happen to have the Nismo clutch and JWT flywheel, which may add to my experience as well.

I also "track/road course" my car, and it's been fine.

It "should" be able to handle it.

 

Just got it from the dealer with the problem of 2nd to 3rd grinding. The dealer stated that my car is not under warranty coz it is a North American and not purchased from them (Nissan Middle East).
So, does anyone know if there's a TSB for that problem that I can claim with? If so, can I get a copy of that?

Thanks

 

Tranny replaced at 9800 miles. The old one had no grinding problems really, but noisy as hell with the clutch out in nuetral. Every track day I would come home and it sounded like I was driving a dump truck. The harder I drove the car, the noisier it became. So, Nissan replaced it, no hassels. But I really miss my old one. It shifted fine, but was noisy. I didn't even mind the noise to be honest, I just brought it in to cover myself by reporting it so in case something really was wrong later I could say I had it checked out. The new one is mutch notchier, and the clutch engages too high. It is quieter though.

 

Clutch can be adjusted.

The new trannys are 'notchier' and quieter.

That has been my experience and what I have seen on other cars with the new trannys.

 

well today i brought my car in for feathering.

my 04 had the rear, yes rear feathering on the inside tires. one side was more severe than the other.

also told them to check my tranny due to occasional 5th gear grind and some notchiness.

they called me today and said they will replace my front wheels since they saw signs of feathering AND replace the whole tranny. im happy with that decision. my old one wasnt too bad but occasionally i got some grinding and it was really rattling in neutral.

so 10400 miles, new tranny for me.

ps they didnt give the go to change the rears even though they are DEFINITELY wearing out very unevenly.

 

my first tranny was just replaced on 10/4 w/35,950 miles

VIN 42XX

 

Put me down on the tranny replacement team. 18500 mi, 2003, September build date.

 

Hey guys my tranny is grinding in 2nd gear and it is really annoying me. The problem I have is that I have a B&M Short Shifter, will they give me a problem with this?

 

just picked up car from dealership tranny replaced at 18900 miles still notchy going into 2nd feels alot better though orr nissan in bossier city LA replaced no questions asked

 

Taking mine in tomorrow morning. Hope it goes as smoothly without them trying to blow me off with some song and dance crap.

 

Got the Z back this afternoon. Service writer said they could not reproduce the rough 1-2 shift and said it functioned as normal. Seemed like BS. She did say that they had replaced some trannies,but apparently mine did not meet the profile to be replaced. May have to return to the dealership and get one of their "techs" to do a ride along. Anyone else here get blown off with a similar excuse about their trannies???? Is a rough 1st -2nd shift acceptable in the design of this tranny???? It occurs at lower rpms 1000-1500.

 

I had an 03 Base redline z i had the tranny replaced and the seat bracket replaced and a few other things. I had such bad orange peel and rock chips the thing looked like my girlfriends 97 pontiac. To say the least i got rid of it and bought an 04 Daytona Blue enthusiest (which i love, no more one wheel peel) the question i have to you all is what is the cut off for the new transmission part number ending (008). I heard it was after production of 03/03 does anyone know this answer?

 

In general it has been my experience, and what I have heard from many others is the dealers are not willing to understand how you think your trans might shift.

They have whatever guidelines to go by and that is that, so you can pretty much give up on trying to get them to comprehend that.

I don't have the problem you are particularly mentioning, however what you think is rough and what me/anyone else thinks is rough could be difficult to pin down.

since my first trans, I thought the whole shifting experience could have been better. Since my 2nd tranny, I believe the whole thing shifts much better, but if you do not clutch 100% within 2% of optimal shift point, it is still notchy.

I suppose this notchiness is common/acceptable for the Z33 trans.