Good Evening gents.. (happy new years)..

I need help from you guys and I need it ASAP..
I have a 03 Enthusiast with 61k original miles. Pretty low mileage for an old vehicle. I've purchased this vehicle used (an older gentleman used to own this).

I've never had any issues with the transmission EXCEPT there are times when I would grind shifting into 5th. The grind felt very minor, and it only happened very rarely and only when I'd go on a spirited driving. No grinds on downshifting. Only shifting to 5th.

Last night, around 3A.M, i was on a ramp going onto the freeway. No hard shifting or anything, just a casual, smooth shifting through each gear (at around 2.5k RPM). Then when I shifted onto 5th gear, I heard & felt a gnarly grind. I put the gear into neutral and let the vehicle glide. Then I've rev matched into 5th (no grind, smooth shifting), and gave a little bit of gas, but only my RPM would rise.

I was surely in 5th gear, but the vehicle didn't respond. It felt like I was in neutral. I shifted into 6th (abnormally smooth), and still felt as if I was in neutral. Then I downshifted to 4th, and the gear *caught. I drove through the freeway in 4th gear the entire way...

I got off the freeway, and my gears from 1st to 4th worked just fine. Except when I shifted onto 5th gear, the vehicle acted as if I was in neutral. When I got in front of my house (with vehicle still on and clutch fully engaged) I played with my gears a little bit. I was scared and confused why my 5th and 6th gears wouldn't catch.. and when I put the gear onto 5th, I felt a firm, snug feeling on the tranny. Unfortunately, the gear successfully went into 5th, but it won't disengage.. I turned my vehicle off and tried to pop it out, but it's literally stuck on 5th gear.. I've tried fully engaging the clutch, but no luck.

Now I have to start my vehicle in 5th, and drive in 5th... (I've only driven from the parking lot into my garage).

I've been searching through my350z forums for solutions.. I've seen "toasted tranny," "bad synchro," "shifter linkage," etc..

I'll probably take the vehicle to a shop 1st thing tomorrow.. But if any of you 350z masters out there could give me any clues.. I'd really appreciate it.. Thank you guys..

P.S: I'm going to attach a photo of the shifter stuck in gear..It may not look like it's stuck on 5th, but it is.. It's literally impossible to pop it out.

 

Do you have your stock gear shift lever? You might try to re-install that. I can't tell if you have a lot of grease on the ball or if something is broken.

 

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by stock shifter lever.. Do you mean the shifter itself? If that's what you are referring to, yes it is stock.. Everything on my vehicle is stock on Engine & tranny.

 

***UPDATE***

i took my Z to a local shop.. I honestly don't agree with them.. (especially because they haven't even lifted the car, or took a closer look at my tranny)

one of the shop mechs i've spoken with jumped into conclusion and gave me two choices:

option 1 - find a used tranny and swap it in $800 + labor

option 2 - rebuild tranny. $1200-1500 including labor

I personally think either of them are my last of the last resort.. As I've mentioned, gears 1-4 worked perfectly fine. yes, unfortunately i'm currently stuck on 5th gear, but I think there may be a way to salvage my current tranny (please correct me if I'm having a false hope).

The fishiest part was that he concluded to those 2 options without even looking at the tranny. I personally want to take a look inside my tranny.. but ugh.. Any professional advice would be appreciated. Thank you..

PS: KornerCarver, it's the grease on the ball.

 

Unfortunately, you may have a serious internal problem with your tranny. Fifth and sixth gear are on a separate shift rail than the rest of the gears. The only way to know for sure is to lift the car, pull the tranny and disassemble it. So you may get your wish after all! The first question is: are you equipped (garage, tools, skills) to do this? The second question is: would you know what you're looking at once the box is apart? The final question is: do you have the time to spare while the tranny is being rebuilt?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO, than you're left with hiring a qualified technician to replace/rebuild.

 

DKMURA:

Thank you for your reply. The answers to your questions are all NO...
I just wanted to describe my current situation.. Honestly I'm still pretty shocked with this whole ordeal..

If I were to have my tranny rebuilt, approximately how much am i looking at? I'm sure it'll all depend on the mech/shop/parts etc., but if any of you have any idea of how much i should be expecting.. i'd appreciate it.

Also, i'm in OC, SoCal... If any of you Z owners happen to know a good, trustworthy shop I can take my Z to, please let me know.. Thank you

 

Your problem could be as simple as a misaligned shifter plate. Check these threads:

https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...to-adjust.html

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...alignment.html

Just a guess of course, but hoping you find a simple (and inexpensive) solution.

 

Dude- if you think of a little tranny problem as an "ordeal", there's WAY more to be chocked about in the sportscar world. The problem with any "approximate" estimate is cost vary widely from region-to-region. In your case, SoCal is pretty expensive, so $1200 would not be out of range. And while I live in Colorado, if I were to guess, go to a vendor like Motorsport Auto (who've specialized in different models of Zs) or get a recommendation from the local Z car club.

 

I would buy a new CD009 and call it a day.

 

I agree, if in fact bbongR discovers his current transmission is the problem, and it needs replacement (but, maybe it's only problem is a simple adjustment).

I have a 2003 Performance Model with a transmission grinding when shifting from 6th to 5th gear. Nissan kindly replaced my 2003's OEM transmission with a CD009 version. What a difference! Shifting was smoother and much better. The “notchy” feel of the 2003 OEM transmission was gone, replaced by a very smooth-shifting transmission.

The CD009 transmission is MUCH better.

 

spike100,

Oh yes, I surely hope it's just a minor adjustment issue. I'd be very thankful. But if that's not the case then yes.. either rebuild or get a new tranny.

I've read many DE owners had their tranny replaced by Nissan to CD009. But all of them had it replaced under warranty for free. I've purchased this vehicle as a used from a 3rd party dealer. if there is a way for me to go through Nissan directly without charge (or even at a discounted price), I'd go through that route without question haha..

Also, thank you so much for the links you've provided earlier. I've been lurking around the two links the moment I had this issue. It's just I haven't been able to get to the part where I take out the shifter due to lack of tools. I'll probably try it first thing tomorrow, if not Monday.
But the question is, would removing the shifter allow my gear to pop out from 5th? If i can... then I can jump right into the shifter re-alignment portion and hopefully fix the issue! lol

Regardless of the result.. thank you so much for your input sir! Your advice & help is allowing me to narrow the issue down!

 

As soon as I read this ---> "An older gentleman used to own this"

I thought, yeah, that guy thrashed it. For what it's worth, older guys tend to race their cars and/or tear through the gears. What you should have looked for was a low-mileage car that a little old LADY used to own - you're near Pasadena, right?

I hope the tranny swap goes okay.

 

Oh man I hope you find a solution to this. Same thing happened to my 3rd gear while driving normally! If you do find the problem please PM me.

 

**UPDATE**

Okay, so it's been about a week since I towed my car to a shop. They took the tranny out and sent it to a tranny specialists. Turns out my 5th & 6th fork were jammed then broken. I am truly sad.

So they gave me 2 options:

1) rebuild tranny - $1500 labor included
or
2) replace tranny - $400 labor + used tranny

Thankfully I was lucky.. VERY LUCKY to find a 32010-CD00A tranny for a good price. So instead of paying $1500, I'll be paying a little less to place it with a stronger tranny.


Question here: Do I need to make any adjustments, or replace some bearings? I remember reading something about needing a thicker bearing because CD00A is bulkier than CD001 or something.. Just can't find the freaking link!!!

Also, I called nissan dealer today and they said i'll need a CLUTCH DISC?

http://www.nissanpartsdiscounts.com/...tr=30100-CD019

Apparently these came with the new CD009 trannys and they are highly recommended when swapping with the older ones? Do I absolutely need this? Any comments on that would be appreciated.

 

^^ Nissan kindly replaced my 2003 transmission with the CD009vupgraded version, and that included a Clutch Disc. Nissan paid all of the cost (labor and parts) under the drive train warranty; I doubt Nissan would have included the Clutch Disc if it was not a needed (necessary?) piece/part. --Spike

 

So this clutch disc.. my question was: is it something that i need to purchase SEPARATELY from the clutch kit? I actually purchased a new clutch kit (just the clutch kit, no flywheel) and it obviously comes with pressure plate and the clutch disc.. so are the the same thing or do i need this "nissan clutch disc" in ADDITION to what I purchased?

 

**UPDATE**

SO, i did confirm with Nissan once again thru VIN that the tranny model that i have is 32010-CD00A which actually supercedes CD009. Woah I'm excited!! as far as the clutch disc goes, i was informed by Nissan that I won't need a separate clutch disc because I actually purchased a new clutch for my car.. (fx stage 4 clutch - let the bashing begin)

Oh and yes.. because I purchased a CD00A and I HAVE CD001, the shifter bracket does NOT fit. I did read the CD001 shifter bracket being tad bit wide and longer. I wasn't able to take pictures of the holes don't matching, but I did take a few pix of the shifter bracket... (I contacted the guy I purchased the tranny from.. he said he actually MIGHT having it laying around somewhere. I'm hoping he finds it!!)
- So for future references, or anyone who reads this thread, remember, when you are UPGRADING your transmission from CDxxx to CD009 or CD00A, YOU WILL NEED SHIFTER BRACKET THAT ACCOMODATES CD009 AND CD00A.

Here are some pictures..

 

**update**

Just ordered a new shifter bracket that fits CD00A.. Got it from a 3rd party parts dealer (selling oem). Total came out to be about $130 with shipping. Because of its scarcity, I was told that the part will arrive to their warehouse in about 3-4 days and THEN it'll be shipped to me. So I'm expecting this item to be in my possession within a week or so.. Pretty excited!

 

***UPDATE***

So I've finally received the shifter bracket! It took a while.. but not cheaper than buying from Nissan! (It's still OEM part). I'm excited to drop it off tomorrow morning.. and have it installed!!!!! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MY BABY AGAIN!!

*A few days back I dropped by at the shop and took a few pix of my baby.. T.T

Soon I will be able to post pix of my baby running!!!!!!!!!! EXCITED!!!



i feel empty..








top: old shifter bracket from Cd001<br/><br/>bottom: new shifter bracket for Cd00A (tad bit lighter)





Shifter swapped! took about 2 min to do so. VERY VERY excited to have it mounted!





My baby needs a wash... and more miles on her 61k motor!!!!