hia guys, new to owning a 300 (I used to work in a nissan garage years ago but not on these supercars) I've had it about a couple of months, sorted a couple of problems( cruse control and horn) by replacing fuses in the drivers footwell.

I have driven about 1500 miles and couple of days ago while accelerating up a hill she dropped out of third gear and i have not been able to get 3rd or 4th since. :headvswal

i have been reading around this site for quite a while now and thought id better ask your help ...... What damage could have been done if there was far too much oil in the auto gearbox ( about an inch above max)

shes a 1992 uk tt auto

i've done the gearbox diagnostics and i get the long flash followed by 10 short flashes saying a ok. have disconnected the battery for 3 hours to reset with no joy.

Only found the oil was overfilled today.the oil mark lines up lovely if you slide dipstick in so that the metal crimped part is hitting the tube, but is way above the marks if you fully insert dipstick.

the oil is not black and there's no burnt smell

Engine runs sweet no problems 1st 2nd and reverse gears works fine and smooth.

i will be removing the excess oil someone has generously given me tonight but i'm worried that it will not solve my prob.

any suggestions on what else i can check (before the big spend/hours of work) would be greatfully recieved.

Kev in cornwall

Did you check the oil with the engine running ? or off. I know the book says to start engine, get hot and put into gear with footbrake on, run for a couple of minutes, switch off and check the oil. Its better to leave the engine running if possible and check the oil, as it will drain from the torque converter as soon as it is switch off and show a high level reading. (There is a pump lobe on the main gearbox shaft which keeps the torque converter pressurised with oil) If the box is gone, convert to a manual, its cheaper, better, and puts pounds on the value of the car.

Thank you old zed.

I checked it with the engine off, so i just checked it after driving home from work and the oil mark is within the correct range. so im the dipstick!! nice one for solving that issue. now i just need to sort the 3rd and 4th gear.

any more advice?

Kev

What happens exactly, do you loose 3rd gear or does the change take place then you loose 3rd gear. I have a manual for the box in front of me and there are a load of checks that can be carried out. Have u got the manual??If not look in Zedworld (http://www.zcentre.co.uk/). Maybee its a wise investment if you are gonna be tinkering with the car. I would e-mail it to you but its too big for outlook express.

 

Maybee some of the experts can say yes or no to this, but is it possible to power up each gear with the ecu disconnected via the ecu plug with a bit of wire.?

 

HTH Cheers John Crisp

hi john

if i'm in 'drive' at half throttle she will accelerate. 1st changes to 2nd properly then revs will go up and up accellerating upto about 70mph will not change to 3rd. if i let off the throttle revs drop to tick over and i will be free wheeling at 70, i can rev away happily without acceleration until the speed drops down to meet the revs or i bring the revs up to meet the road speed. i bought the cd factory service manual from ebay. i have contacted local gearbox company £1200 + fitting + vat for a recon box. found a transmission company that can supply the 3rd gear clutch plates (and probably everything else i will need for the rebuild). i have spoken to friendly garage and can borrow a ramp so looks like i can remove and repair if need be. not sure whats wrong but would like to repair my box as was very smooth changing gear and if i change any worn parts i will know whats been changed (rather than a second hand box that could be worse than mine or a recon box that lasts 13 months) im presuming it must be mechanical ( worn out plates or brake) as the diagnostics came up clear.

hope that all makes some sort of sense.

hope you all can help me .

it would be great to try to sellect the 3rd gear manually to check that its had it before stripping. it didnt seem to slip before failure but it didnt stay in 3rd long before changing up to 4th

hi john

if i'm in 'drive' at half throttle she will accelerate. 1st changes to 2nd properly then revs will go up and up accellerating upto about 70mph will not change to 3rd. if i let off the throttle revs drop to tick over and i will be free wheeling at 70, i can rev away happily without acceleration until the speed drops down to meet the revs or i bring the revs up to meet the road speed. i bought the cd factory service manual from ebay. i have contacted local gearbox company £1200 + fitting + vat for a recon box. found a transmission company that can supply the 3rd gear clutch plates (and probably everything else i will need for the rebuild). i have spoken to friendly garage and can borrow a ramp so looks like i can remove and repair if need be. not sure whats wrong but would like to repair my box as was very smooth changing gear and if i change any worn parts i will know whats been changed (rather than a second hand box that could be worse than mine or a recon box that lasts 13 months) im presuming it must be mechanical ( worn out plates or brake) as the diagnostics came up clear.

hope that all makes some sort of sense.

hope you all can help me .

it would be great to try to sellect the 3rd gear manually to check that its had it before stripping. it didnt seem to slip before failure but it didnt stay in 3rd long before changing up to 4th

 

z-tech offer a rebuilt autobox with much stronger components and will last alot longer than the stock one,if its an import make sure you have an aftermarket oil cooler as the stock j-spec one isent up to the job

 

have a look in the trader section under z-tech if you wanted any further advice,good luck anyhow

 

greg

Sounds like it is terminal, I work on ZF Auto boxes in commercials and we can power up either clutches or gears with a length of wire, then bring in the lock up clutch that should be in from 2nd to 4th or 5th gear depending on box spec, it should almost instantly staul the engine, if you go through all the gears, a clutch/solenoid can be pinpointed. Also you say you have no faults showing with a diagnostic check, a solenoid may be fine electrically, but mechanically fooked, i had a fault with no reverse gear ona box that had been overhauled/on a test rig, it was a faulty solenoid, it had the correct resistance/current draw.

These cars are a nightmare when it comes to diagnostics, i'd just hate to see someone rip you off by overhauling the box when its maybee only a solenoid.

 

HTH Cheers John Crisp

Thank you guys for your hints and tips. looks like im gonna strip it out next week, been looking at the manual and it can't be that hard can it. lol lol

push come shove i'll have to fit a recon box!

thanks again Kev

If you have one with a drain plug you can drain and drop the sump. Then look at the oil pick up strainer - if its full of bits then your clutches etc are breaking up. The oil would be brown, cloudy smelly as well rather than bright clear red.