The Nissan Path

Well, after 130k wonderful miles, the dreaded radiator coolant leak destroyed the transmission on our 2005 Pathfinder. I wonder if someone could help me with the questions below or point me to a good post.

I tried the search function for an hour but could not easily find the info I needed.

1. Rebuild vs a used transmission...any advantages to either option since they are roughly the same price

2. What model year transmissions are interchangeable? (will a 2009 transmission fit my 2005 if they are both 4x4, non-offroad with shift on the fly)

3. Anyone have experience buying a trans off ebay? Any other recommendations on where to get a good used trans for a good price.

I was quoted $4200 by a local transmission shop to fix the problem but considering the vehicle is only worth $7-8k, I want to find a less expensive option.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you

$3500 less $1000 core at rockauto!! $2500 sounds good! It's a Reman, freight was only $150 to Fargo.

with a remanufactured transmission, the quality of the transmission is going to be dependent on the person(s) doing the work, the reason for the original failure, and the policys of the re-manufacturer
on a re-manufactured, i'd want to know who did the re-manufacturing (what company), and what their reputation looks like
most remanufactured transmissions for R51s probably got re-manufactured as the result of coolant contamination
what did they replace in the re-manufacturing?
did they replace the valve body (the solenoids are very susceptible to corrosion damage)?
probably the best re-manufactured transmission would be one from whatever Nissans source is
otherwise, reasonably low mileage used would be a consideration, as these transmissions rarely have issues beyond the coolant contamination issue

More info from rockauto:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... 442&jpid=0

Sounds legit to me!

that DOES look legit!

Today I drove my 2005 Pathfinder home with its new 6 speed manual trans. It is not finished, there is still much work to be done. Pictures have been taken and will post what was encountered during the changeover. When its all put back together.
However at this point of the swap, very happy with how it drives/shifts. Since the TCM is no longer online, yes the PCM is flagging a code about missing TCM. Will handle that in the future.