So recently my transmission has been acting up, nothing too bad, but I have the feeling it's a start to something. It's more "notchy" in 1st, 2nd, and third and every once in a while I'll get a grind going in to 2nd. The notchy may be from the recent cold weather, but I'm not sure. it also seems that my clutch engagement point is a little touchy now, but that may be in my head.

I just talked to Peek Nissan Service and was told that they, quote: "never ever heard of the transmissions going out on the 2003 350z, it's probably a burnt clutch". This is the face I made only more Japanese. So I figure that I could spend a few minutes and a few sheets of paper printing out the TSB and tons of post on here, or take the car somewhere else.

My question is to the people that have had their transmissions replaced, where have you had this service done? I would like to stay in the Lakewood area, but anything would work if it is less of a hassle. Also any other tips would be great.

I'm also having them look at the fuel filling problem. Which by the way, they have never heard of either.

Thanks a lot,
David

 

Although I wont ever let them touch my car again... John Elway nissan replaced my clutch with no complaints, pushback or BS. I also had the printed TSB regarding the tranny in hand in case if they tried that BS.

John Elways managed to get my Z caught on their lift while backing it off resulting in the front end being pulled off and damaged. They ended up not wanting to completely replace the front bumper after their 'sending it to get fixed' still looked like it did before it was sent. They also didn't wanna paint match the car either. That's why I won't ever let them a$$holes touch my car again but they will most likely replace your tranny issue free if it's still under warranty.

The dealer you currently working with sucks. Just make sure you can replicate it prior to taking to another nissan dealer. You might also wanna try Tynan nissan, they did my cam install and were very professional.

 

I'd second that recommendation for Tynan's. As long as your tranny is still within the 3/36 warranty, it's hard to believe that any dealer wouldn't want the warranty work. A simple test drive to confirm the problem was all it took for them to begin ordering up a new unit.

BTW- you might consider paying a little extra and have them put in a lightened flywheel and upgraded clutch while they're in there. This would be the time to do it!

 

Justin: Dave: thanks for the info. I think that I'll start out with Peek and see what they say. I'm going to print out the two TSB and see what they say. If nothing happens I'll go to Titans.

I'll think about the Flywheel and Clutch. I honestly never thought about that. I'll have to do some research. Dave: your set up is nice and looks like the best for the track, but not for me. Since I need the daily driver aspect and I can see myself stalling all the time.

Thanks again.

 

David: Just had my transmission replaced yesterday. Been driving it some today with no complaints so far. I'll keep you posted.

 

Bottom,

Go straight to Tynan's in Aurora. They replaced my tranny with no fuss whatsoever, and installed my JWT flywheel and clutch while they were at it.

Like you, I had never really considered doing the clutch and flywheel as an upgrade, but when the opportunity presented itself to do it without having to deal with the absurd labor charge of dropping the tranny, I decided to go for it. If you're concerned with streetability, there are several options out there that are somewhat less extreme than what Dkmura has (which is an AWESOME setup at the track, but let's be honest...we're not all experienced race drivers like he is with the years of experience at massaging these racing clutches to be able to drive them on the street!)

The JWT is not as impressive as the Tilton that Dkmura has, but it is (IMO) a bit more streetable while still providing a modest acceleration gain over stock, and making upshifting quicker and downshifting easier than the stock setup (it doesn't take as much of a throttle blip to spin up the motor.) The downside is that it revs down more quickly, too (not as much inertia in the rotating mass,) which means that it's easier to lug the engine than with the stock pieces.

You're welcome to take mine for a test drive, if you'd like, to see what you think. Not trying to give you a hard sell or anything, just offering one man's opinion. Take it or leave it.

But for the tranny, don't waste any more of your time. Just call up Ryan or Jay at Tynan's and make an appointment to have Allen take care of your Z.

Good luck, and please keep us posted!

 

Just took my 350Z into John Elway a couple days ago for the results of an oil cunsumption test. While I was there I told them about how I was getting a grinding going into 5th lately. Got a call this morning, after several tests the engine is fine, but the tranny needs to be replaced. He told me that while they were in there it might be a good idea to do the clutch also. Said it would only cost about $400 for the clutch and about 1/2 hour of labor. So now my question goes out to you with experience, should I do the clutch at 37k? Should I get the stock clutch, or aftermarket? How much would I expect to spend on an aftermarket cluch like Nismo? The only mods I have are pop charger and test pipes, so nothing major. Any help would be much appriciated!

 

Thanks again for the info. So I dropped of my car this morning to Peek Nissan. Hopefully they can fix the Gas tank filling problem and Let me know about the Transmission. Originally I needed to have the Gas tank filling problem checked out because my 36K mile warranty is almost up. The transmission hasn’t been giving me too many issues, but I think that it is showing signs of the common transmission failure. Every once in a while 2nd gear will grind, it’s more notchy that it use to be, and the just the feeling that something’s different (It may just be the cold though). I figure that I would have it checked out while it’s there. If Peek doesn’t do anything on the transmission, it looks like I have the luxury to wait a little while, but I will take it to Allen at Tyan’s as soon as I can. The transmission falls into the 5 year/60000 mile drivetrain warranty doesn’t it? I’m thinking that I need to give them a call if Peek doen’t work out.

Gary: Thanks for the offer to check out the JWT flywheel and clutch. I think that I will have to take you up on that offer sometime. How did that process at Tyan’s work for you? Were you getting the gear grind consistently, took it in, ordered the JWT stuff, and that them install it at no cost? So basically all that I need to do and pay for are the aftermarket Flywheel and clutch and Nissan will install them while they are doing the new transmission? Did you consider the Nismo clutch or even the Tilton Flywheel?

Dave: If you’re still planning on going to Dave and Buster’s 350z,Evo,STI Meet this Saturday the 3rd, I would like to talk to you about this upgrade, if that’s okay.

Thanks again everyone,
David

 

IMHO there's NO question on this: do the clutch while they're in there! You're also asking the right question about what type of clutch should I get? With the mods you have, I'm not sure you'd notice any difference (or see any benefits) out of using a aftermarket clutch. If it were me, I'd go out there and comparison price a OEM and a Nismo clutch on the open market!

Keep in mind that your OEM flywheel may need to be resurfaced for whatever type of clutch you end up selecting. That could add a small amount ($25-35)to the total cost.

Side note to Bottom- always glad to talk with you about Z stuff! See you Saturday, or feel free to give me a call at home- (303) 752-9777.

 

You should definitely do the clutch at the same time, and you should really consider going aftermarket. Most performance clutches start around $350 - $400, which is right in the same range as the stock you were quoted. And if you're going to spend that much on a clutch (and have the opportunity to do this without spending much on maintenance,) it makes sense to consider spending another $300 - $350 or so on a lightweight flywheel, as that's where you're REALLY going to notice the performance gain, given the mods you've got.

 

David,

I believe that the tranny does fall in the 5/60,000 warranty, but you'll probably get less grief for getting it done now than later.

As for my experience with Tynan's, I was getting a fairly consistent (though not all the time) grind when shifting into third. I took it into them and left it as I was having them do some other work and didn't have time to wait, and I got a call later in the day that they had sent in the warranty paperwork to Nissan for a new transmission. So that got the wheels turning, and I asked about having them put in a new clutch & flywheel at the same time, to which they said "Sure, this would be a good time to do that. Just bring in whatever you want put in, and we'll give you a deal on the incremental labor beyond that required for the tranny." So after much research, I bought the JWT stuff and brought it in to Tynan's, and all I can say is that they gave me a VERY good deal on the install (although it's only fair to mention that I had been bringing my car to them for routine maintenance and upgrades for several months, and thus had already established a relationship there, so your mileage may vary.)

I did consider the Nismo clutch, but decided against it as nobody had it in stock, and nobody could tell me when they'd have one in. But several vendors had the JWT clutch in stock, it's not much heavier than the Nismo (and the JWT flywheel is MUCH lighter than Nismo, but I believe that you can mix and match on those units...though not the Tilton,) and it was cheaper, so I went with the JWT setup.

I briefly considered the Tilton, but the drive-ability aspect put me a bit off of that one. But I can tell you from having driven a car with the Tilton setup that it is FUN for performance driving!

Just shoot me a PM if/when you'd like to take the JWT clutch/flywheel for a spin, and we'll set it up.

Gary

 

Well I got the call from Peek Nissan and they are ordering parts for a new fuel sending unit for my Fuel filling problem. They couldn’t find anything wrong with the transmission. Miles in at service 35700, miles out at service 35700, miles tested: zero. From speaking with the Service rep. and him saying that he’s never heard of the problem, I wasn’t holding my breath that I would get my transmission replaced, but I was hoping they would at least check it out.

Thanks to everyone for the information. I want to talk to Dave on Saturday at the meet for some more information on the transmission in general and an upgraded flywheel and clutch when that time comes along. I think that I would need someone too to confirm that my issues I am having are caused by a faulty transmission, not faulty driver. Not if, but when my transmissions goes out I’ll take the advice and head to Tyan’s. I would like to also take Gary up on his kind offer to check out the JWT system not right now, but sometime.

Not bashing the Peek Service department, I think that I was favoring them because I bought my z there and their location in relation to my place. I should be favoring a dealership’s service department based on their experience, knowledge, and of course general service. This will be the third time I’ve had my car there for a problem that seems to be pretty routine with the information on this site and the TSBs. Every time when I gave them a problem, it was new to them. They have fixed all the problems (sans transmission) that I brought the car into and have been very courteous and attentive. Their general service and business is good, I just question the lack of education on all the TSBs and small problems that are pretty common with the 350z.

Thanks again,
David

 

Wow, I'm pretty amazed that they don't want to admit anything about such a well-known issue. I had mine replaced when it was a "big craze" and everyone seemed to be doing it. Peer Pressure I guess. Nissan had just released the TSB and press release to the mags that year and when I went into the dealer, it didn't grind, but was really loud at idle like the throw out bearing was going. I wasn't expecting a swap, just some service on the tranny. They didn't even blink and just said, "yeah, well, even if it isn't grinding now, we'll still want to replace it. We have several trannies in stock, so can you pick it up tomorrow?" I wonder if now that so many have been replaced, and the hoopla about it has died off, that dealers are back to the old deny-its-broke-till-it-explodes-out-of-warranty mindset. I guess you could always drain the gear oil and then the gears will really grind
Will

 

Cool thanks Will, it's a good idea. I was maybe thinking that I may have caused some damage to the Transmission when we were at La Junta for that first time. I was having trouble with the Heel Toe shifting Gary was trying to explain to me and I could have sworn that by the end of the day, you guys would have seen parts of transmission on corner three. When I worked at Optima Batteries, one of my projects was a big Lead sheet uncoiling machine that had a gear box. The techs there had to replace the gear box one day, but he forgot to put any oil in it. It only took a few minutes for the bronze gear to totally fry and get widdeled down to pretty much a disc. We made fun of that Technician for weeks.

I was actually hoping for the same situation that you were just describing. Take it in with no real major grinding, have the Service department say, yeah there is a major problem with most of the '03 350z, and get a new tranny. I was also hoping to kill two birds with one stone since I was taking the z in for the Fuel filling problem anyway. I'll wait until I have a pretty consistent grinding problem to take it in again. Not that I'm super busy or my time is that precious, but I figure that I won't have to waste my time as well as Tyan's Service department's time looking for a common problem that may or may not exist in my z.

Will: are you still planning on meeting up this Saturday at Dave and Busters? It not, hope everything is going well with you, Becky, and the future Track Monkey.

David

 

Thanks for the kind words. We are doing well, and Becckie's being a great trooper with the pregnancy. I don't think Becckie will be there tomorrow, but I will be. See you there, right?
Will