2001 GU Series II Auto Trans Problems

[Flippa74]

G'day all,

This is my first post so take it easy on me...

OK, I have a 2001 (November) GU series II with an auto transmission.

For a while now occasionally it will noticeably "clunk" down into first gear when coming to a halt, particularly when cold. My wife drives the Patrol more than me in recent years as I drive 1/2 an hour to work and take the little car and she has rang me a couple of time to complain that it is making a strange noise, like a stone stuck in one of the break callipers. But I never seem to get this same noise. I've had a close look at it and can not find anything obvious. I've taken it to my local mechanic and he thinks it may be the auto trany on the way out. It has just a tick over 200K on the clock now, so would it be reasonable for the auto to be about to fail?

Also which auto is in this model? The RE4R03A?

I would hate to exchange the transmission before it is necessary.

How can I tell if the transmission is buggered? It seems to select all gears properly (except for the intermittent clunk into first). It doesn't seem to be slipping excessively. I get it serviced according to the manual.

Can you think of anything else that could cause these symptoms, I have read here on other threads that some auto issues can be caused by the ECU or the MAF sensor and that it is worth purchasing ECUTalk to help diagnose what is going on? Is the ECUTalk system worth buying?

Any advice would be welcome.

Regards

Flip

[NissanGQ4.2]

Hi Flip

Although it is not mandatory, if you head over to the introduction section and introduce yourself to the forum you may find more members willing to help out with a question

Cheers

Todd

[NissanGQ4.2]

Without knowing what motor you have I believe if its a 4 speed gearbox it will be the RE4R03A and if its a 5 speed gearbox it will be the RE5R05A

Cheers

Toddie

[Flippa74]

Hi Toddie,

Thanks for the reply.

I have the 3L turbo diesel engine, ZD30DDTi, I think.

Flip

[NissanGQ4.2]

Flip,

PM me your VIN number, it will tell me straight away what you gearbox is, don't know why I didn't think of that earlier!

Cheers

Toddie

[NissanGQ4.2]

Flip, going by your VIN# you have the 4 speed gearbox so it would be the RE4R03A

The only way to confirm this is by looking on the plate on the gearbox itself but I'm 99% sure it is

Sorry, not sure what the clunk would be without hearing it for myself

And yes the ECU system is worth buying in my view, there are a few guys on here that run various diagnostic hardware / software, ECUtalk is one of them.

You can find some info on diagnostics here: http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/forumdisplay.php?116-On-Board-Diagnostics

Cheers

Toddie

[Flippa74]

Hi Todd,

Thanks for the reply.

It is a 4 speed and my thoughts were that it was the RE4R03A.

Interestingly when accelerating smoothly I can observe 5 stages where the tacho drops as if shifting to a higher gear. Is the fifth tacho drop when the stall converter locks in top gear? I'm not all that familiar with the mechanics of an auto.

What is in the VIN number that tells you that it's a 4 speed?

I have never experienced the grinding noise that my wife has told me about just the very occasional harshish clunk down into 1st.

I ordered the ECUTalk USB cable on Tuesday. Hopefully it will be here this arvo so I can give it a run over the weekend.

My mechanic has put a bottle of auto trany flushing fluid in to run for 500km before draining and changing the fluid. I drove it last night and the trany was as smooth as silk???

What diagnostic tests can you do to assess the condition of your auto?

Thanks

Flip

[Flippa74]

Hi Todd,

Just got a call from the missus.

ECUTalk has arrived!

Can't wait to hook it up and give it a try.

Flip

[NissanGQ4.2]

What is in the VIN number that tells you that it's a 4 speed?

Sorry for such a late reply Flip,

Was not the VIN as such, but if you enter your VIN number into a software program called Nissan Fast it will give you your Model, from the Model number you can tell what speed gearbox is in it

This is your Model Number: TWSSREAY61UMAEB-DA

Below is the chart I used to work out if it was a 4 speed or 5 speed

28733

As you can see Postition 7 is A

Which is: Automatic 4 Speed


Cheers

Toddie

[Flippa74]

Thanks Todd,

I ran ECUTalk over the weekend and there were no fault codes active and both the ECU and transmission controller appeared to be functioning properly. From memory the MAF was about 2V when at idle, which sounds about right according to other discussions on this forum. I'll continue to run ECUTalk and monitor the results.

Flip

[NissanGQ4.2]

Flip, did you work out what the clunk was?????

[Flippa74]

Hi Todd,

I haven't worked it out yet. I haven't experienced the clunk for a while now.

Flip