Zdriver300

I was leaving work last night and when I went from reverse to first gear, my car would not move. When I put into gear it will make a quiet grinding sound and will not move.
Transmissions are not my expertise, but I did a little research and I think it could be caused by low transmission fluid. This seems like something I could do without towing my car or spending lots of time and money replacing my transmission or axels.

Anyone here think the fluid could be my problem? If not, do you think it needs new transmission and/or axels? I have had no problems with this car in the time I have owned it, I do regular maintenance, but I have never replaced transmission fluid (@ 1.5 years). The previous owner had some work done to transmission, added Fidanza flywheel and maybe a couple of other things. Thank You

1986 300zx Turbo

PredatorZ

your trans fluid should be changed, if an automatic ever over heats it destroys the oil, if left in the car the trans will fail soon, you need to have you trans serviced, have the filter and oil replaced. At the very least check the dip stick, you will have 2 to worry about engine and transmission

Zdriver300

It is a manual transmission, and I cannot find anywhere to check transmission fluid, I do know how to change the fluid. Before I bought the car the transmission was serviced, the guy had all the pictures where a Z specialty mechanic replaced and upgraded several parts of transmission (Fidanza flywheel, etc.), so I assumed the transmission fluid was changed at that point (its been about 4 years since).

zxguy1986

OK, check your factory service manual (FSM) diags MT-4/MT-20 in FSM Section MT (free download at XenonZ31 Reference and check out the other great free docs too) It's called Filler Plug - you remove it and stick your finger in to check fluid level/condition. There's a drain plug, too, below that. See it?

Sounds like you need to get it to a lift anyway so a tow may be be needed. At least you can drive it away from that lift... if t-fluid is your only problem

If it's fluid level - you have a leak. May as well locate it while you're down there. Keep that beautiful creature on the road!

rogerz

since it is a five speed tranny fluid should have little if any effect even bone dry you should be able to shift and move (maybe not for long). could be as easy as the input bearing but I'm guessing you got bigger problems. pull up the center console and be sure the lid is still buttoned on. if it is loose may be your shifter handle pulled out of the mating piece in the tranny. have you checked the fluid in the clutch hydraulics? if clutch okay then you need four jackstands and some tools to drop tranny. Or tow to tranny shop. Be sure the drive shaft is still connected and not laying on the ground.

86tcoupe

yes not enough info, unless the clutch is not disengaging I vote for the trans shop

any other gears seem to work 3rd -4th ?

Zdriver300

Sorry was at work all day yesterday.

I checked and there seems to be a small leak in the transmission and differential(a few drops on ground and tranny was wet a foot or so past clutch.) The clutch fluid is good(clutch is about 2-3 months old). Since there is a leak I am going to check/replace trans and differential oil and I'll pull my center console and check shift as I have aftermarket short shifter.

Hopefully this will get the car moving and I will figure out the leak and/or get a tranny shop to check it out(engine and electronics are my forte, body work and transmission are not)

Thanks for all the responses and wish me luck!

Zdriver300

First off thanks for all the responses. I went and got all the supplies to switch fluid, I started with the differential, because it did really require me to lift car. Both fill and drain are the plugs you stick 1/2" socket into, but I was unable to break the seal, I did clean it and spray PB blaster on it.

While I was messing with differential I noticed one of the axel was coming out of differential about 1 1/2", I noticed because it was very clean and shiny. I eased it back into the differential and it locked into place(could not remove it again). At this point my car goes into gear and drives with no issues(I only drove 3-4 miles home). This is where I believe I leaked a small amount of gear oil.

I realize it is not normal.. but do axels slip out of the differential sometimes, is this a sign of something terribly wrong?

It was pulled out 1" - 1 1/2" at this point.


I do not have a before picture of my axel.. but (if pic does not work), here is a link to an after picture

User Media - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

m tr4nch

i literally had the same exact problem after owning my z for less than a day. i thought i blew the diff, but the driver's side axle popped out of the diff just enough so that the car wouldn't move. same faint grinding sound and everything. a couple days later i realized this was the problem (after getting it towed) and simply pushed it back in place. mine didn't click back in though, but it hasn't come out again (after 2 months). there is a c clip on the end of the axle shaft that goes into the differential that clicks into a groove inside the diff that holds it in place.

PredatorZ

Sometimes you really have to get in there and look around, weird that it popped out, handy tech tip to look for in a mystery noise issues.

You might look into checking all your wheel bearing, make sure everything is all greased up and tolerances set properly, I just took the front wheels off yesterday to re-check the torque on my front bearings, replaced them a few hundred miles ago. Your FSM will have all the specs for the bearings, on new ones, it was between 3 to 7 ft/lbs and more if there are used and just being serviced.

86tcoupe

you might want to replace the snap ring and check the control arm bushings