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2006 xterra transmission questions

2.6K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  DickyDck  
#1 ·
Hi, I almost pulled the trigger on a diesel jeep liberty, but decided to get and xterra instead. The deciding factors for me personally were the cost of diesel engine parts, the available of those parts, and the liberty being a unibody.

So I picked up a 06 xterra, the door jam stick says the model is TCKZLRN-EUA with trim X. I'm a little confused as to why it would be an S package, but with an X trim label. I bought it in an auction, don't have any info other than the engine runs, sounds fine, shifts into fwd and reverse, and the transmission leaks really bad at the bell housing. 153k miles, no dents or rust, a couple of scratches. Interior is DIRTY, chew and dried spit everywhere, really nasty, but I'll clean that up. aside from that, no cracks or rips. The xfer case shifts from 2wd-4wdhi-4wdlo successfully.

I'm new to nissans, i have a few dodges/jeeps, and understand those quirks and problem areas.

I just did a transmission swap a couple weeks ago on my ram. I'm planning to drop the xterra transmission as I'm guessing the torque converter seal is bad. should I be aware of anything else with this regarding the transmission? I also plan to drop the pan, inspect, replace the filter, and flush the coolant lines.

I have heard of issues with the radiator leaking engine coolant into the transmission side. I don't see any evidence of this right now, but i do see some external corrosion on the radiator around the ports. I am thinking about replacing the radiator. Is there one where they engineeried it to not leak/mix engine and transmission coolants?

After I get this running properly, I will lift it and swap wheels with decent tread when I take it on mountain trails.
 
#2 ·
I haven't any info for you, but congratulations on the find!
 
#8 ·
I would only use OE timing chain parts but I’m a spoiled dealer mechanic.
I’ve replaced a lot of these and if yours doesn’t make any noise then I wouldn’t take it apart just because the radiator is out. In fact, I don’t even usually remove the radiator when servicing the timing chains.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, thanks for the advice. I lookup up on youtube what it takes to install a timing chain kit with water pump. I'm probably going to leave that to next year. I have a transmission leak to address and really just get the vehicle operational first.
 
#12 · (Edited)
So I did some digging on the front of the transmission leaking like a sieve, and I guess clogged filters can cause this, which makes sense.

How I'm understanding this would happen is that when the filter is clogged, the transmission pump will pump out fluid from the selected gear area and dump it into the pan. As the transmission shifts, the fluid for the next gear area will also dump that fluid into the pan. Since the transmission cannot pull returned fluid that is in the pan back through the transmission because the filter is clogged, it will overflow the pan, thus, fluid gushing out of the overflow line located in the bell housing. My guess is that parts of this transmission will be crispy.

I have the truck on ramps, will drop the pan today. I'll post pics. I'll admit, seeing the color and smell of the fluid, I'm a little scared. I'm already preparing to swap it at some point, but will see if this one is salvageable for a while.
 
#14 ·
I dropped the pan, it didn't look that bad. There was thick muck at the bottom of the pan, but no SMOD evidence, pink coloring, or rust areas. The screen was partially gunky. I dropped the cooler lines and filled the transmission with fresh atf after replacing the filter and gasket. It still leaks.

I am now in the process of dropping the transmission. These bolts holding the transmission to the motor are really on there. I'm having issues breaking them loose. I'm applying pb blast, and will do that throughout the week and hopefully i'll be able to make progress this weekend.

While I was under the car, I noticed a few cracks in the bellhousing. I've never seen that.

1. What might have caused this
2. Is it dangerous to drive with these cracks
3. Is this repairable
 
#17 ·
I’ve done a crap load of the gen1 3.3l engines, but haven’t been back behind the front cover of a 4.0 and I was just eyeballing it and wondering…. How the hell you gonna get the tensioner out of this without taking this front cover off???? However this thread is about trans so I’ll not hijack it further, let us tend to the OPs questions moving forward :)