I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why I
bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.

How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost? Spares
seem to be reasonably available.

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On 20/11/2022 7:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why I
> bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.

You don't know? :)

If it's an auto then it will be a 4 speed. There were two types
available. The JR400E and the RE4R01A. Both are made by Jatco, a
Japanese transmission company who have been in the business for 50+
years and who are majority owned by Nissan.

Your transmission will most likely be an RE4R01A, which can be found in
a number of vehicles including Infiniti's, Mazda RX7's, Nissan Skylines,
etc, etc. Two and 4 wheel drive vehicles use the same transmission with
a different extension housing and drive on the rear.

> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost? Spares
> seem to be reasonably available.

This question was posted over 2 hours ago, and none of the resident
"real mechanics" have come forth with advice. Make of that what you will :)

A reasonably accurate answer your question is "How long is a piece of
string?"

It's impossible to tell you how much it would cost to rebuild without
knowing exactly what's wrong with it, and it may not even need
rebuilding. Without knowing last time it was serviced I'd recommend a
fluid and filter change to see if that brings some life back to it, and
ask your mechanic to look what brand of fluid would be most suitable.
All transmissions have a fluid spec, but some brands meet that spec a
hell of a lot better than others. I've always had excellent results with
Penrite fluids, but your guy may have his own ideas.

If none of that does any good and the trans looks like needing to be
rebuilt then I would seriously consider off-loading the car. As you say
it's 21 years old with it's best years *long* behind it, and it's
entirely possible that a full transmission rebuild could exceed the
market value.

--
--
--
Regards,
Noddy.

On 20/11/2022 7:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why I
> bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.

4 or 5 speeds available on those. I assume it's an M35 and it will be an
*E-AT* and, depending on how late your Stagea is, it likely is a 4
speed. They are a Jatco and I'm not a fan of those.

Anyway, those are, IIRC, sealed trans with no fluid changes required. I
don't flow with those principles and change fluid around 80-100k
kilometres. It might be worth considering that first. Best to go to an
auto specialist. Note too that E-ATs are very dependent on sensors
giving 100% correct data. For instance, for gearchange timing they rely
heavily on MAF and MAP sensors to get *correct* engine load data so they
can get the shift timing correct. Unfortunately MAF sensors and the like
tend to clag up over time and give the E-AT the wrong engine load
info. A while back I had to clean the throttle body and MAF sensor on a
Toyota 4 speed because low load shifts became harsh and 3-4 shifts
flared. That fixed the issue in that case so should give you something
to think about.
>
> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost? Spares
> seem to be reasonably available.
>

Start at about $3k and go up from there. They are a common trans so it
really depends on what is found to be amiss. You could easily be up for
more than the initial buy price of the Stagea.

--
Xeno

Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On 20/11/2022 4:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why I
> bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.
>
> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost? Spares
> seem to be reasonably available.
>
>

Sorry I didn't answer a few hours ago. I have a life and NoddyLiar was
clogging up Google anyway.

The most important questions are before you jump to any conclusions (and
real mechanics ask lots of questions):
When was the trans last serviced?
What fluid was put in it?

--
keith on the 7 Oct 2021 wrote;
"He asserts that the claim is true, so, if
it is unproven, he is lying."

On 20/11/2022 7:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why I
> bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.
>
> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost? Spares
> seem to be reasonably available.
>
>
As Noddy said it would be worth doing a full service before thinking it
needs a rebuild, auto's can be very sensitive to old fluid.
How many kms has it done and does the service history show any previous
trans servicing?
Many transmissions are supposedly "sealed for life" and they aren't
meant to be serviced but many car companies have changed their minds
about not servicing transmissions so its possible yours may have never
been serviced in its 21yrs.
I recently serviced a 2015 Hilux trans and according to Toyota they
aren't meant to be serviced, we couldn't even buy a filter from Toyota
so we just changed the oil and that fixed the poor shifting that the
owner was complaining about.

--
Daryl

On 20/11/2022 11:05 pm, Clocky wrote:
> On 20/11/2022 4:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
>> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why
>> I bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
>> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
>> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
>> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
>> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
>> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
>> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
>> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.
>>
>> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost?
>> Spares seem to be reasonably available.
>>
>>
>
> Sorry I didn't answer a few hours ago. I have a life and NoddyLiar was
> clogging up Google anyway.
>
> The most important questions are before you jump to any conclusions (and
> real mechanics ask lots of questions):
> When was the trans last serviced?
> What fluid was put in it?
>
The likely answer to that was never. They are often sealed units with
lifetime fluid, AFAIAA. That said, I don't believe in lifetime fluids as
the additives degrade over time and you really need those additives. Not
much else on them to service anyway.

I suppose it would be prudent of Trevor to take a squizz underneath to
see if it's leaking ATF. Don't know if his Stagea has a means of
checking ATF levels but if it does, that's something he should consider
doing. Low fluid levels give the symptoms he describes above. Driving it
whilst it's slipping will not end well.

--
Xeno

Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On 20/11/2022 10:22 pm, Xeno wrote:
> On 20/11/2022 7:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
>> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why
>> I bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car to
>> drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It handles
>> anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is 21 years
>> old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way more
>> comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges are
>> getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to 'slip'.
>> Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed auto, but I'm
>> pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.
>
> 4 or 5 speeds available on those. I assume it's an M35 and it will be an
> *E-AT* and, depending on how late your Stagea is, it likely is a 4
> speed. They are a Jatco and I'm not a fan of those.
>
> Anyway, those are, IIRC, sealed trans with no fluid changes required. I
> don't flow with those principles and change fluid around 80-100k
> kilometres. It might be worth considering that first. Best to go to an
> auto specialist. Note too that E-ATs are very dependent on sensors
> giving 100% correct data. For instance, for gearchange timing they rely
> heavily on MAF and MAP sensors to get *correct* engine load data so they
> can get the shift timing correct. Unfortunately MAF sensors and the like
>  tend to clag up over time and give the E-AT the wrong engine load
> info. A while back I had to clean the throttle body and MAF sensor on a
> Toyota 4 speed because low load shifts became harsh and 3-4 shifts
> flared. That fixed the issue in that case so should give you something
> to think about.
>>
>> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost?
>> Spares seem to be reasonably available.
>>
>
> Start at about $3k and go up from there. They are a common trans so it
> really depends on what is found to be amiss. You could easily be up for
> more than the initial buy price of the Stagea.
>
>

**Good advice. Thanks.

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On 21/11/2022 4:35 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> On 20/11/2022 10:22 pm, Xeno wrote:
>> On 20/11/2022 7:06 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
>>> I took the Stagea through the Royal yesterday and was reminded of why
>>> I bought the car in the first place. It is an utterly brilliant car
>>> to drive on a twisty bit of road (or any other bit of road). It
>>> handles anything that I can throw at it with aplomb. Fucking thing is
>>> 21 years old! Not quite as good handling as the Levorg, but it is way
>>> more comfortable. The car cost me 5 Grand. Geez. Anyway, gearchanges
>>> are getting dodgy. It hunts a bit more than it should and seems to
>>> 'slip'. Sometimes it 'hesitates' a bit. Specs say it's a 4 speed
>>> auto, but I'm pretty sure it's a 5 speed auto box.
>>
>> 4 or 5 speeds available on those. I assume it's an M35 and it will be
>> an *E-AT* and, depending on how late your Stagea is, it likely is a 4
>> speed. They are a Jatco and I'm not a fan of those.
>>
>> Anyway, those are, IIRC, sealed trans with no fluid changes required.
>> I don't flow with those principles and change fluid around 80-100k
>> kilometres. It might be worth considering that first. Best to go to an
>> auto specialist. Note too that E-ATs are very dependent on sensors
>> giving 100% correct data. For instance, for gearchange timing they
>> rely heavily on MAF and MAP sensors to get *correct* engine load data
>> so they can get the shift timing correct. Unfortunately MAF sensors
>> and the like   tend to clag up over time and give the E-AT the wrong
>> engine load info. A while back I had to clean the throttle body and
>> MAF sensor on a Toyota 4 speed because low load shifts became harsh
>> and 3-4 shifts flared. That fixed the issue in that case so should
>> give you something to think about.
>>>
>>> How much would an overhaul of such a gearbox be expected to cost?
>>> Spares seem to be reasonably available.
>>>
>>
>> Start at about $3k and go up from there. They are a common trans so it
>> really depends on what is found to be amiss. You could easily be up
>> for more than the initial buy price of the Stagea.
>>
>>
>
> **Good advice. Thanks.
>

Service it first before you do anything else.

--
keith on the 7 Oct 2021 wrote;
"He asserts that the claim is true, so, if
it is unproven, he is lying."