D40 Auto "Slow to Engage" Reverse

OK Guys what's up with with my auto??

In the past week or so it has developed a "slowness" to engage reverse - especially first thing in the morning when it is cold.

Symptoms are when reserve is selected nothing happens for a few seconds. So if I select reverse and apply some throttle immediately the ute revs then 'thud' it takes up the gear and I can move. If I select and wait a second or two its all normal.

It does not happen when any forward gears are selected.

Any thoughts?

Mine does the same thing on occasions but not all the time, im not that mechanically minded but i thought it may have something to do with oil pressures in the gear box ??? Id say it happens once every 2 or three months and the car will not engage for 2-3 secs which seems like a long time when when your sitting there reving the engine to try and get it to engage.Only in Reverse as well, never had a problem with other gears.

Nothing a good line locker wont fix.

How long since the auto has had a good service ?

I wouldn't trust a dealer to service the auto.

Mine sometimes won't engage immediately, I thought maybe they'd put bloody Microsoft Windoze in the TCM so figured it'd blue-screen, reboot, get the gist of it and whack it in sooner or later.

Mmm, can't say I've noticed. Will pay more attention. How many KLM's you guy's done? I'm at 70k now. I was wondering how to tell if fluid was low with no Dipshit. What a great Idea, especially If this is a result of low fluid.

Would never let anyone except a automatic transmission shop touch a auto. Pulled 1 apart many years ago at school, Yeah right never again. I would give a auto place a ring and hear what they have to say. Do d40 auto,s run a trans cooler, If not might be a worthwhile addition, Doing the 4wheeling you do Boss it might be due for a service

The transmission cooler is at the base of the radiator.

Yes it exists, but I'm not sure if it's as efficient or effective as it could be. Post-warranty, that, the radiator and intercooler are items I wouldn't mind seeking improvements on.

jjohn said:

I was wondering how to tell if fluid was low with no Dipshit. What a great Idea, especially If this is a result of low fluid.

Click to expand...

Jjohn the dipshit is the one looking under the bonnet

The Auto trans dipshit is on the drivers side of the engine and requires a 10mm spanner to undo the bolt which locks it in place.

I haven't got any pics and can't be bothered getting the manual out but if you look between the wheel well and the engine on the drivers side you can see a steel (?) tube that runs down below the firewall. From memory I think it has a black cap on it, however about 2 inches from the top is a 10mm bolt which holds a flange, the flange works as a lock (sort of) that holds the dip stick in.

This was one piece of useful information I managed to get out of a Nisan mechanic, the information is in the manual somewhere but given that auto trans these days are "oil for life" type items it may not be as easy to find as engine oil checking information.

Commodores run transmission cooler, But i know as part of heaving towing package they used to put another seperate cooler at front to cope with extra demand. So it could be something to look into

I have 5 months left on my warranty and 45,000 kms on the clock so if it is a fault I am keen to get it fixed. But it seems that it maybe "normal". My ute has been logged book serviced by the local Nissan dealership.

KraftyPg said:

Jjohn the dipshit is the one looking under the bonnet

The Auto trans dipshit is on the drivers side of the engine and requires a 10mm spanner to undo the bolt which locks it in place.
.

Click to expand...

Oooook, thanks, I think.

Kind of a fair call I guess since I did see it before n read the hand book n just thought, oh yeh good one Nissman.
So I just moved on to the next thing, bit outa character actually.
Kinda copping it on the chin.....Very reluctantly ....
Hand book say's, "When checking or replacement is required, NISSAN recommends contacting a NISSAN dealer or qualified workshop for servicing."

But now I look at it again with your description I can do it, so thanks for sure.
Dipsh!t out!

Bosshog ...

it found out you were thinking of trading it in - so now its gonna give you curry all the time !!!



But seriously, in the auto's i've driven over the years, the main problem external of the actaully transmission itself was, play in the linkages.
The nylon (or rubber) gromets in the linkages can deteriate allowing some play, causing problems in gear selecting - will usually start with REVERSE and PARK, and then progressively get worse and cause problems with all gear selection.
If you have rubber gromets, definetly replace with Nylon - will last longer. I had a full set carefully machined for me by a mate who had a lathe - back when i was in my early 20's and drove a ....... <cringe> ..... Stigma GK Sedan ....

Pretty normal for us guys here, I know at least 2 people aside from me who have the same R gear behavior. I have to wait a sec or two after I put it in R before I release the brakes to step on the gas. Otherwise the thing shudders a bit and then goes backwards. Mine's an '08 but I've had that shudder thing since new.

Same for me on my 08 AT. It was like that on day one, it's still like that now with extensive valve body mods/upgrades, deep trannypan and Infinity S ATF fluid.

I notice that mine will shift into reverse really quickly if I put my foot on the loud pedal. Could it be a oil-pump-rate thing?

Back in the days of messing around with Holdens, anything running Trimatics, one thing I would do to prevent the problem you are describing (Trimatics were shockers for delayed engagement into reverse) was to drill the oil supply hole into the clutch housing out slightly larger and increase the pump pressure by installing a slightly heavier spring into the pump. Reverse would be instant. This would also affect engagement with other gears as well but it wasn't a concern. Not something I would be expecting or wanting to do on a low Klm vehicle but then again it is a Nissan.

Mine must be a hump day build as I don't experience an slowness to engage reverse but on the odd occasion I do when engaging drive.