I have a 1993 Nissan 240sx convertible, which normally runs pretty well, except for one issue. Sometimes, after a cold start, it will not shift from 1st to 2nd. You can gun the engine, etc, but it will not shift. Then, all of a sudden, it shifts just fine. After it does it once it is usually OK, though rarely it will do it twice.
It actually did this quite frequently two years ago; I took the car to AAMCO, but they must not have tried very hard to figure out the problem. Eventually the transmission broke (wouldn't shift at all) and I got the transmission replaced. That fixed it for a while, but now it looks like the problem is back. Fortunately, it's under warranty for another month.
I have done some searches on the web and have seen a number of other people complaining about this issue with regard to Nissans. People point to two things 1) "Weak transmission," i.e. people say that Nissans from this era have a weak transmission, and in general should be avoided
2) Some people say that the shifting is actually linked to the oil temperature, i.e. the car will not shift unless the oil temp reaches a certain level.
Can anyone authoritatively say if either / neither of these things is actually true? I don't want to go back to AAMCO without some idea of what might be going on, as they couldn't fix the problem given two tries.
Alan, There are a lot of reasons why your transmission is acting up, everything from low fluid, clogged tranny filter, bad solenoid, dying torque converter, etc. If your transmission is still under warranty then take it back to AAMCO. Let them deal with it. However, before you let the technicians at AAMCO go at it with your car & start throwing parts at it that you may need, (or not need), have them explain first what they plan on doing to diagnose your problem. On your 93 Nissan 240SX you can have the technician put your Engine Control Unit, (ECU) into Diagnostic mode & see if the ECU is kicking out any Error Codes which may be tied to your tranny. You can figure out the problem code by going to the
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Car Club site & clicking on the FAQ button:
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the page loads, look to the left & scroll down till you get to ECM, Reading Trouble Code DOHC.If you think giving the technician a copy of the Nissan Factory Service Manual, Transmission section might help him to better diagnose the problem, then download a copy of the Service Manual from here.http://www.zeroyon.com/TheSite/techservice.htmlJust click on the appropriate Service Manual.However, as you previously mentioned they didn't seem to try very hard to figure out the problem, it be best if you took your 240 to a Nissan dealership & have the Nissan dealership use their CONSULT diagnostic computer to troubleshoot the problem & then have the AAMCO dealer fix it while it's still under warranty. It' not a perfect solution but at least hopefully they'll, (AAMCO), get it right this time.Anyhow, I've known several 240SX owners with auto trannys and most are doing fine. Of those few whose transmissions that have died, it's usually because the torque converter's given out. A swap of the converter & the car is back in action. I've even seen people put turbos on their KA24DE motors & abuse their automatic transmission to no end - with the trannys putting up with the abuse. All I can suggest, is try doing a websearch on 240SX clubs and find a local chapter in your neighborhood & talk to those chapter members. They might be able to provide you with the answers you need should you decide to keep the car.One place where you can get valuable information is thru the 240SX Owners Mailing list. It's a free service and all it requires is for you to sign up to the mailing list. You can post all your 240SX related questions there to which someone knowledgeable will reply. These guys know their stuff...
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joining a mailing list is something you're not interested in, then try any of the following site listed on the attached link.http://az240sx.org/links.htmlThis should put you in touch with a group that's more local to you.Anyhow, don't let your tranny problems stop you from enjoying your 240. These cars are a blast & I enjoy them a lot. Hope you are able to get your problem fixed...good luck!!ID
1995 Nissan 240SX SE...manual transmission member...www.SoCal240SX.org
PS: If you want to try a temporary fix to your transmission problems, try changing your transmission fluid & filter. You can use either AMSOIL Automatic Transmission fluid or Redline Automatic Transmission fluid. I've heard several 240SX owners swear by this stuff.
I had a very similar problem with my 99 Altima a few months ago. It would refuse to go into 1st if I had let the clutch out and let the trans spin at all after starting the car. I found that as soon as I shut the engine off, it would shift into gear easily, so it seemed like the clutch was not releasing completely. The clutch was pretty badly worn so I had it replaced and the problem went away... they claimed to have not seen anything abnormal while the clutch was being done, so it's hard to say what the problem was exactly. At the time a few people on this group thought it might be some corrosion on the clutch shaft, which seemed like the most likely cause to me.
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