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Trouble shifting and overheating
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SamB
New User
May 12, 2011, 1:34 PM
Post #1 of 1
(1448 views)
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Trouble shifting and overheating
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I own a 1986 Nissan 300ZX, 3.0L engine, automatic, current millage is 204k.
Normally I do all my own repairs but I'm afraid that this one is a little out of my league and I need some help.
About two months ago I was having some shifting problems. The day before this started I had driven the car around almost all day long with no problems, but the next morning when I left for work she refused to shift out of low gear. At first I wasn't too concerned because sometimes there was a very slight delay in shifting, but once the vehicle warmed up more then it was perfectly fine the rest of the ride. But this time it wouldn't shift at all. I pulled over and parked it at the back of a parking lot and called my boyfriend for a ride to work. After work we picked her up and drove her back to his house. He followed me in his car with his hazards on since we couldn't go very fast.
I took the car to AAMCO a few days later and about 1/4 mile from the shop she finally shifted. The gentleman told me it wasn't pulling any codes from their machine, but in order for them to take it apart and just look at it would cost me $750. I wasn't able to do anything at the moment because I didn't have the money so the gentleman told me if I absolutely had to drive her then I should shift through the gears manually so I don't burn any up. I tried it on the way home and it was fine.
The car sat outside the house for about 2 weeks before I was forced to have to drive it again. I started out shifting manually, like I was told, but after stopping at a few traffic lights I was able to keep it in drive and she shifted well on her own the rest of the way to and from work (which is, on average, a 20-30 minute drive, one way).
About a week or so later I had to drive her to work again. After running for about 10 minutes she started overheating. Quickly. I pulled over and checked the coolant level and it was sitting between the "Max" and "Low" marks, closer to "Max". I checked the transmission fluid and it was at the "Full" mark on the dipstick. The oil level was about a half quart low, but my car being so old thats pretty normal. I again had to leave her in the parking lot all day. I picked her up after work and drove her back home and she started overheating again, but still shifting kind of ok.
I've been looking through my repair manual ever since and also trying to get suggestions from friends (I work at Jiffy Lube so I have a few car-savey friends) but everyone I talk to has a different idea or just doesn't know. Normally I'd just go with each idea and try them all (with the milage she's at it'll all have to be replaced eventually anyway) but seeing as it's a transmisson problem it can be rather costly, especially at 204k miles.
The only service I've ever performed on my transmission since I baught it was a pan drop and replaced the gasket, filter, and fluid. That was about a month before all this started happening.
A few of the poeple that I've talked to just laugh at me when I tell them the milage, and they tell me to just give up on trying to fix it, that the whole thing is shot. But my car is my baby. I've tried my hardest to keep her running as well as she has been and I don't feel like I should give up so easily, especially when it could be a simple problem.
If anyone has any ideas then please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time!
--Sam
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