The Nissan Path

Gurus,

How can I determine if my transmission has ever been replaced?
The reason I ask is I am at 173,000 miles on my V8 Pathfinder and the transmission works absolutely perfectly.

Yes these are generally good transmissions but I know from indicators that this vehicle has been used HARD as a tow machine in the past prior to my purchase.
The indicators are that right after purchase:
- Needed both rear wheels bearings replaced
- One of the two rear springs was broken
- rear shocks needed replacing.

There are two indicator that point the opposite direction:
- Radiator was original ( and we know they usually get replaced when these tranny are getting replaced)
- engine is really good shape, clean inside and outside, newer plugs in it, newer batteries and when elements of the powertrain had fluids done the shop told me they had been serviced in past couple years.
So the powertrain had been well taken care of.

Still,.. I want to use the power in my V8 to burn a little rubber... but the thought that my tranny is old keeps me form doing it.
is there a serial anywhere on the outside I can write down and present to a dealer?

There will be a serial number but you'll probably need to go upstairs at Nissan to trace it. Because there's no unit-specific calibration, they don't record A/T build numbers like they do CVT's. The only record will likely be at the factory which produced the vehicle, so only Nissan DPC would be able to request it.

Thanks!

PS: What is "Nissan DPC"?

The parts people at Nissan Corporate.

Thanks!

You're most welcome as always. Merry Christmas and happy motoring!

You could always get a CARFAX report on the vehicle to see if it's been replaced. That said, just because it's original compared to have been replaced doesn't necessarily mean it's going to stand up any better to making performance improvements to the engine and/or more aggressive driving. The RE5R05A is a pretty stout transmission as it is, but there are kits available to upgrade it and I recall hearing about a transmission rebuilder in NJ on the Frontier forums that makes a heavy duty version of this transmission. As far as the aftermarket kits, most competent transmission shops should be able to do them. Level 10 Bulletproof Transmissions and Oregon Performance Transmissions would be two such companies, but there are others.