2005 PathFinder Transmission Overhaul

[TroutsTrannySvc]

We just had a '05 Pathfinder in our shop and did the transmission.
Local junkyard costs for a rebuild was from $2,800 to $3,700.
Finding information for this transmission was a pretty hard deed, we basically needed information pertaining to the valve-body.

The transmission failed because the walls in the radiator gave way and left the ATF and coolant mix together.
So the radiator had to be replaced, along with two #18,000 GVW coolers added.

Here is some information that I felt would be nice to post incase some transmission tech is in the same position.
The main diagram we needed was concerning the check-ball positions.

Hope this helps.

And we did the rebuild at lest than $2,200.








I will post the diagram for the check balls here later when I run to the shop.

Hope this helps!

-Jared

[disallow]

We just had a '05 Pathfinder in our shop and did the transmission.
Local junkyard costs for a rebuild was from $2,800 to $3,700.
Finding information for this transmission was a pretty hard deed, we basically needed information pertaining to the valve-body.

The transmission failed because the walls in the radiator gave way and left the ATF and coolant mix together.
So the radiator had to be replaced, along with two #18,000 GVW coolers added.

Here is some information that I felt would be nice to post incase some transmission tech is in the same position.
The main diagram we needed was concerning the check-ball positions.

Hope this helps.

And we did the rebuild at lest than $2,200.



I will post the diagram for the check balls here later when I run to the shop.

Hope this helps!

-Jared

Do you have any pics of the rad that failed? Anything external to look for? Yikes... I have an 05 and live in the salt belt, so this hits home for me....

Good job on the price of the rebuild though!

t

[Npath]

Do you have any pics of the rad that failed? Anything external to look for? Yikes... I have an 05 and live in the salt belt, so this hits home for me....

Apparently the 05's have this problem and the 06's shouldn't have this problem.

The transmission cooler inside the radiator tank cracks, so you won't be able to see the problem.

Next best thing is to open the rad cap and have a quick look when it's cold.

[disallow]

Do you have any pics of the rad that failed? Anything external to look for? Yikes... I have an 05 and live in the salt belt, so this hits home for me....

Apparently the 05's have this problem and the 06's shouldn't have this problem.

The transmission cooler inside the radiator tank cracks, so you won't be able to see the problem.

Next best thing is to open the rad cap and have a quick look when it's cold.

So let me get this straight.... was it the radiator that failed? Or the trannie cooler?

t

[TroutsTrannySvc]

As stated the cooler is known to have the walls crack and mix in with the coolant.

Normally when we get a vehicle in our shop, reguardless of what make/model/year it is, if equipped with a transmission cooler that is built into the radiator we eliminate that and put external coolers on. We have had a lot of failures and not just with Nissan.

Sorry for late response been busy down at the shop which is good as surrounding business' in this trade aren't doing so well at the moment.

-Jared
TTS

[Suliman]

Anyway for an easy verification if the cooler is internal to the radiator or external? (ie, where to look for the external cooler?)

[disallow]

As stated the cooler is known to have the walls crack and mix in with the coolant.

Normally when we get a vehicle in our shop, reguardless of what make/model/year it is, if equipped with a transmission cooler that is built into the radiator we eliminate that and put external coolers on. We have had a lot of failures and not just with Nissan.

Sorry for late response been busy down at the shop which is good as surrounding business' in this trade aren't doing so well at the moment.

-Jared
TTS

Hey there,

So per my post in another thread (including pics) there is already an external oil/air cooler on my 05 pathfinder. Any problem with just bypassing the radiator and going direct to this cooler?

t

[dandemedi]

As stated the cooler is known to have the walls crack and mix in with the coolant.

Normally when we get a vehicle in our shop, reguardless of what make/model/year it is, if equipped with a transmission cooler that is built into the radiator we eliminate that and put external coolers on. We have had a lot of failures and not just with Nissan.

Sorry for late response been busy down at the shop which is good as surrounding business' in this trade aren't doing so well at the moment.

-Jared
TTS

Hey there,

So per my post in another thread (including pics) there is already an external oil/air cooler on my 05 pathfinder. Any problem with just bypassing the radiator and going direct to this cooler?

t

I just installed an aftermarket atf cooler after radiator coolant leaked into transmission. I drained 4 quarts of atf through tranny line that was on driver side under radiator. since atf squirted through there I supposed that was the line coming out of tranny. Bypassed cooler in radiator and drove for a few miles. Atf still milky so I was going to drain atf through bottom of tranny. I removed the drfain plug and no atf comes out but dipstick marks that it is full. I think I reversed the return line. ANY HELP

[reinaldo]

That's pretty good but it's quite expensive. It could be the radiator and not the transmission that's the problem itself. But still it's a nice diagram of yours and what you did is just fair enough.

[allisojh]

The radiator is the problem.

If your tranny is good, complete the bypass.

As soon as you disconnect the hoses from the radiator you will know if you have a problem. If nothing but a little bit of tranny fluid comes out, you are good to go. If coolent is pouring/leaking out of the radiator, you have a radiator leak and need to do something more than just the bypass as you now have coolant mixing with your ATF fluid.

I am NOT a rocket scientist or a mechanic and completed the bypass very easily myself.

There are many posts on completing the bypass and I even attached a pic of how I did it.

[RXTII]

I just had the same problem with the radiator cooler going bad and the coolant and ATF mixed damaging the transmission, can anyone Please help me with a printable diagram or illustration showing an Exploded View of the valve body and components, I've just overhaul the transmission and it still won't work so I took it down again and suspecting it has something to do with the valve body but the diagram would be a really helpfull tool here..
thanks in advance.

[disallow]

I just had the same problem with the radiator cooler going bad and the coolant and ATF mixed damaging the transmission, can anyone Please help me with a printable diagram or illustration showing an Exploded View of the valve body and components, I've just overhaul the transmission and it still won't work so I took it down again and suspecting it has something to do with the valve body but the diagram would be a really helpfull tool here..
thanks in advance.

The Factory Service manuals are posted in a sticky on this forum. Aside from that, I'm not sure if anyone here knows enough about trannies to help you out. Maybe Tech?

t

[minutericesentra]

I know this is kinda old, but couldn't find many people tackling this rebuild themselves...

I've just overhaul the transmission and it still won't work so I took it down again and suspecting it has something to do with the valve body but the diagram would be a really helpfull tool here..
thanks in advance.

I second that! I'm gonna dive into mine in a week or so... I had no coolant contamination, did the bypass when I got the truck 2 years ago and now reverse is gone and I fear the rest may fail at some point. Fluid was almost BLACK on last check!! So I changed about a gallon, no change at all.
I'd really like to see that diagram for the valve body.
I found a full FSM on NICOCLUB.com but valve body info is not very detailed in there:?

Did you ever figure out why your rebuild didn't work??

[AZ_Path]

I had no coolant contamination, did the bypass when I got the truck 2 years ago and now reverse is gone and I fear the rest may fail at some point. Fluid was almost BLACK on last check!! So I changed about a gallon, no change at all.

I'm not a mechanic, but if the fluid is black that sounds bad and I would imagine you need to replace more than a gallon if it's even salvageable at this point. What color was the fluid when you did the bypass?

[minutericesentra]

was still red, not very dark at all.
I'm confused... every forward gear works/shifts/holds great, no weird noises/vibrations.
I've been very nice to it. lol

Guess i'll flush and see what happens