1. Home
  2. Nissan Autos
  3. 94 Altima - Driveline play?

94 Altima - Driveline play?

Hi all,

I've had my 94 Altima for a couple of years, (175,000 km on it now) and there's always been a bit of what I think of as play in the driveline. You notice it when decelerating in a low gear (it's a manual trans) -- as you approach a stop, the engine braking stops and it's like the car coasts for a second, and then starts slowing down again to a stop. It's like at first the engine is slowing the car down, then it passes through this area of "slackness", and then the engine is actually driving the wheels and thus the slack is taken up. It's is a lot worse when cold, and sometimes it's a bit violent under the right circumstances when cold. There's also a bit of play between coasting and acceleration, which I would assume is due to the same thing.

It seems to have gotten a bit worse gradually, so I'm wondering what would cause this. The only things I can think of are engine or transmission mounts, or CV joints. The mounts are apparently ok according to the dealer, so would worn out CV's cause this? I have no clicking in the turns, and the CV boots are intact, although they are starting to show a few small cracks, but no splits yet.

Thanks for any advice,

Reply to
JM
Loading thread data ...

That sounds more like the fuel management system to me. BTW using the engine to "brake" isn't a good idea. The transmission is a lot more expencive than a set of brake pads. People seem to think it's "racy" to do this, but race car drivers never use the engine/trans to stop a race car.

Reply to
Steve T

If I drive down a long steep hill, I always downshift into 2nd to keep the cars speed reasonable, rather than ride the brakes and overheat them. A car going downhill in low gear is a car that's in control whereas a car racing down the hill while you apply the brakes can easily become a car out of control when your brakes fail.

rtt

Reply to
Richard Tomkins

All emmissions cars have decel control deveices and/or totally cut the fuel at closed throtle until the RPM drops below a certain point, then they turn it back on. If the throtle switch isn't adjusted right they can act real screwy. Try to note if this happens at a certain RPM during decel.

Reply to
Steve T

I can see this on a REALLY long steep hill, like several miles downhill.

I would hope most modern car's brakes wouldn't overheat and fail going down a hill! I can't think of the last time I was on a hill long/steep enough to be concerned about something like that.

Reply to
Steve T

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.