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Can someone please help me? Manual transmission issues

I

ironxman99

Golden Member
First off, I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier King Cab XE.

About 2 weeks ago I took my truck to the shop to get the transmission fluid drained and replaced. Since that day I've had difficulty shifting into 1st and 2nd gear in the mornings (hard shifting and gear grinding). However, after about 10 minutes of driving it goes away for the rest of the day. I took it back to the shop and they initially checked the transmission fluid level, but I'm guessing that they're still using the wrong type because the problem still exists.

Can anyone help me find out the details on the transmission fluid I'm supposed to use? I checked my manual and it only mentioned ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid), but its a universal manual so I don't know if that only applies to automatic versions of my car. I called 3 Nissan dealers.. 2 told me to use Gear Oil 80w90, and 1 told me to use Dmatic/Dexron3 (which I think is ATF), so it seems I'm getting conflicting information? I may be wrong. Please help.

Thanks in advance.
 
Have you checked the fluid level for the clutch? (I'm assuming you have a hydralic clutch like every other modern car) As for which fluid, some use ATF and some use gear oil. It's weird though that the dealer wouldn't know for sure.
 
Is it cold in the mornings where you live? If so, and they used a heavier weight fluid, then it will take a few minutes for the fluid to warm up and flow around the gears better.
Shouldn't hurt anything like that.

Edit: I've always used Castrol 80w90 gear oil whenever I change the fluid in my manual transmission vehicles. The owners manual will almost always call for ATF but I believe gear oil is better suited for MTs.

-Jason
 
Originally posted by: ironxman99
First off, I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier King Cab XE.

About 2 weeks ago I took my car to the shop to get the transmission fluid drained and replaced.
Click to expand...

Not that it matters but I do believe a Nissan Frontier King Cab XE is a truck not a car. 😉 Find out what fluid they used. My 90 Dakota 4x4 originally had Dexron II in the manual trans and now I am using 10w30 oil. If the shop used transmission lube (usually 50w to 90w) it is too thick and will cause the problems you are having.
 
Originally posted by: JasonSix78
Is it cold in the mornings where you live? If so, and they used a heavier weight fluid, then it will take a few minutes for the fluid to warm up and flow around the gears better.
Shouldn't hurt anything like that.

Edit: I've always used Castrol 80w90 gear oil whenever I change the fluid in my manual transmission vehicles. The owners manual will almost always call for ATF but I believe gear oil is better suited for MTs.

-Jason
Click to expand...
LOL.. I'd probably have a tendancy to do something like this too...

....Until I thought about it for more than 0.5 seconds. 😛

ATF is around a 20 weight oil(~8cSt @ 212ºF, ~38cSt @ 104ºF). There's about a mile between 20 and 90. That's going to affect something if it isn't right. 😉

Use what the manual says.
 
OMG, MAKE SURE YOUR TRANSMISSION DOESN'T USE GL-4 GEAR OIL!

This is a huge thing with Nissan Manual Transmissions. I had a 1986.5 Hardbody and I now have a 1999 Altima, both manual transmission, both use GL-4. If you use anything else, especially GL-5, it'll eat away at some of the brass parts inside and will destroy your transmission.

I personally use RedLine MT-90 since it's a synthetic GL-4 oil.

I repeat, GL-4 and GL-5 ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.
 
I did some googling and found a frontier enthusiast site that recommends GL-4

http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread....age=3&pp=15&highlight=transmission+oil

It is imperative that you find out exactly what oil type they put in your truck. GL-5 WILL EAT AWAY AT SOFT METALS AND DESTROY YOUR TRANSMISSION.

If you're not sure yourself, either go buy a Chilton's/Haynes manual for your truck and look it up or go to your local library because they might have a copy too.

I'd hate to see another Nissan bite the dust due to lazy mechanics 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: JasonSix78
Is it cold in the mornings where you live? If so, and they used a heavier weight fluid, then it will take a few minutes for the fluid to warm up and flow around the gears better.
Shouldn't hurt anything like that.

Edit: I've always used Castrol 80w90 gear oil whenever I change the fluid in my manual transmission vehicles. The owners manual will almost always call for ATF but I believe gear oil is better suited for MTs.

-Jason
Click to expand...
LOL.. I'd probably have a tendancy to do something like this too...

....Until I thought about it for more than 0.5 seconds. 😛

ATF is around a 20 weight oil(~8cSt @ 212ºF, ~38cSt @ 104ºF). There's about a mile between 20 and 90. That's going to affect something if it isn't right. 😉

Use what the manual says.
Click to expand...

😛 Had nothing but good results from using gear oil in the place of an ATF in my vehicles. My MX6's gears are a little stiff on cold mornings but it clears up after the first quarter-mile of driving. It is a good idea to stick with what the manual recommends, nothing wrong with that. :beer:

-Jason
 
(I'm assuming you have a hydralic clutch like every other modern car)

Why would a nice, simple, RWD setup be complicated by a hydraulic clutch? 😕
 
It's not unusual at all for a manual transmission to call for ATF. I would go with something like Red Line. It's a synthetic and will be less viscous in colder weather. I remember using it in a car that I simply could not shift during cold weather until the car warmed up some and the Red Line made my car shift like it was the middle of the summer.

Red Line ATF

 
Originally posted by: Ornery
(I'm assuming you have a hydralic clutch like every other modern car)

Why would a nice, simple, RWD setup be complicated by a hydraulic clutch? 😕
Click to expand...

Because cables and z-bars suck?

For the record, dad's 89 Toyota truck has a hydraulic setup.
 
well i live in socal, so its not that cold. maybe 50-60 in the morn.

and thanks for all the advice guys. but if anyone can find out exactly for my specific car i'd really appreciate it. i haven't had any luck.
 
So would you like to go back to cable brakes as well then?

How about a hydraulic clutch has vastly improved driveability compared to the other two? I've yet to meet one person who prefers a Z-bar and/or cable over hydraulic.
 
Manual transmission gear oil - GL-4 *1 Viscosity SAE 75W-90 only
*1: For further details, see ??Recommended SAE gear oil viscosity??.


Right out of the manual. Page 9-3. It was the first link on Google.
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Z-bars suck, how?

What ever happened to KISS? 😕
Click to expand...
From a functional standpoint, it doesn't get much simpler than hydraulics... Add to that the fact that hydraulics never go out of adjustment. As long as you don't have a leak or have air in the system it will give the same range of motion every single time for the life of the vehicle. Cables stretch, and stretch badly in some cases. Z-bars can bind on their pivots.

I've had more cable clutches fail on me than hydraulic clutches.

ZV
 
Have you checked the fluid level for the clutch?

I'd want NOTHING to do with cables, and the previous question would NOT have been asked regarding Z-bars, especially on a 3 year old vehicle.
 
Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Have you checked the fluid level for the clutch? (I'm assuming you have a hydralic clutch like every other modern car) As for which fluid, some use ATF and some use gear oil. It's weird though that the dealer wouldn't know for sure.
Click to expand...
Actually, almost all of them use brake fluid. I've never heard of any hydraulic clutch system using ATF or gear oil. Gear oi would be an absolutely terrible hydraulic fluid. In 99% of modern cars, the clutch shares a single fluid reservoir with the brakes.

ZV
 
Call the dealership parts counter and tell them you are wanting to change the trans oil and what they would reccomend. They should know considering thier shop mechanics have to go to the parts counter to get the gear oil they use 😉

Then see if that is what the shop you took it to did and if not have them do it over again with the correct fluid.
 
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