i have a 1983 280zx and its a five speed and the gear shifter wont stay in fifth it slips out. i am new to this forum and would appreciate any help you guys could give. thanks

 

Start by changing the tranny fluid. If that doesn't work then you may need a new tranny.

 

Have you tried holding your hand against it? I had an old school 4runner that I lost the 4th gear sincros, so it would pop out of gear unless I held my hand to it.

If it forces your hand back & still pops out of gear, then you're prolly lookin @ a rebuild. How many miles are on it?

 

My brother had that problem on an old Pulsar he used to have. It started with 2nd. It would just pop out. Then 4th would pop out. Then after a short time 2nd stopped working all together. Wouldn't even go into gear. Then Reverse went out. Then finally 3rd and then 4th. Turned out that the tranny just needed a fluid change. But in the mean time it chewed up all the synchro's. It was funny to watch him try to drive that thing toward the end there shifting from 1st to 4th and then trying to accelerate with the little underpowered engine. But lesson learned. I kept telling him, just let me change the fluid and I'll bet it'll help. That was back when second was popping out. So change that fluid double time or you just might end up needing to rebuild a tranny that wouldn't have needed it

 

OK, You know how I love the Nissans... But the Pulsar was the worst car they ever built. I mean Cheesy beyond belief. The motor may have been reliable, But I've never seen a car that unravelled like a cheap sweater faster than the old Pulsar. The paint was usually oxidized within a year, trim pieces falling off everywhere... It was just gnarly. But, they did keep running through all of that, so I guess it could have been worse.

Anyway, Do what J said and change that fluid right away. it just might save you some major headaches down the road.

Rod.

 

I can't recall the trim buy his paint was this sort of this pastelly pinkish/rose color. It was supposed to be Red He never did have engine problems with that thing either. He once ran it bone dry of engine oil and that little motor started overheating on him and stalled out. He called me to come look at it. I tried to start it and it ran really rough then it would die. I checked the oil and it was dry. Nothing but varnish on the dipstick. Not even oil spray. Not a drop. So we got some oil put it in. I told him don't be surprised if she craps out on you on the way home. Well that little motor kept on purring like a kitten til the day he got rid of it. The thing I remember best about that car though is the poor sap he sold it to. We were outside a friends house and the neighbor comes out, drunk as hell and wants to know what kind of car that is. We tell him a Pulsar and he says that's a cool looking car. Is is fast? My brother says fast enough. The guy offers to buy it off of him for $1500!!! This is with only first and 5th gear. My brother tells him the tranny is a little rough and said he'll take it. I asked him if he atleast wanted to test drive it (my brother looked like he wanted to kill me there, but hey, it's pretty messed up to sell somebody a car if they don't know what condition it is in). They guy said he was in no condition to drive a car and didnt even have a license. He just wanted it cause it would look cool in his driveway My brother payed $50.00 for that car from a friend. He sold it for $1500.00. The only money he ever put into that car was the oil and gas.

Oh and DotheDrew should get credit for the tranny fluid advice. I was just demonstrating the catastrophe that not doing so can cause

 

there is around 135000 miles on it and the tranny fluid was changed about a year ago and it is still popping out and yes i can hold it in gear with my hand but as rpms change it pops out

 

Im not so sure about the 280zx but i know that some toyotas have a bushing down under the shifter, and when that goes bad it could pop out of gear. is there a possibility that the 280zx might be the same and my problem could be solved with an inexpensive bushing?

 

Man this happened to me.. Only way to fix it is a rebuild or new tranny.. Its either a syncro or slider.. Mine was a slider..

 

It means the transmission isnt positively going completely into gear. So it's popping out. The bushing problem you mentioned probably was doing the same thing except it was the shifter itself prohibiting the transmission from fully engaging. I've run my shifter without any of the bushing and while it was a pain in the *** to get it into gear it still didnt have any problems once it was in gear. Are you experiencing any other problems? Try shifting it HARD into gear and see if it still pops out. And even if the fluid was changed check to make sure it hasn't run low from leaking or whatever. Good fluid is only good if it's in the trans

 

If it comes down to it that I need a new transmission or a rebuild, where can I find rebuilt transmissions for a 83 280zx? and how much roughly would it cost to have it rebuilt at a tranny shop?

 

I don't think there are any rebuilt trannys setting around to purchase so you'll just have to ask some local shops in your area. You can either pay them the labor to remove and instal it or bring it into them. If you plan to bring it to them, then stop by the shop and tell them what you want. I've heard prices range from $200-500 just for the rebuild. I've never had this done myself though. I just go with low-mile used transmissions, but yours practically is a low mile transmission.

 

or you can get an elastic band to hold the shifter in place!

 

in my 1982 280zxt it pops out of 1st gear when i engaged then when i gas it , it will stay in gear but when i slow down it pops out ?

 

might be because there are still bags of drugs left inside the transmission from when the previous owner brought it across the border. . . . . .

 

lol hey !!!!!!! im draing out all the oil and taking apart the tranny tomorow ill let yal know what i find ;-) lol

 

take some pics of it apart for reference

 

A permanent marker used to make reference marks and arrows for orientation is invaluable. You'll be sorry if you don't take the proper precautions.

 

nimso, what you are probably finding is that in the least the cluster gear and its bearings are worn out. Most likely all the bearings are shot, and as a result it has worn down most of the teeth in the gears.

Technically it has to do with the pitch of the gear(s). If the bearing and gear are worn when torque is applied the physical forces cause the gear to 'push' (or tweek) outwards away from the other gear. If there is not enough bite (metal) and the angles are acute enough, torque actually causes it to 'pop out' of gear.

You have no choice but to rebuild the entire tranny with new gears, bearings, and synchos. Inspect each gear, if it looks any bit worn, replace it. Do all your synchos, and all your bearings.

 

ok I can see frome all the post on this that there arent any transmision service guys here. no affence.
I happen to be one, so let me put it to you like this 5th is your direct drive, so that should tell you that your shaft is walking apart. what I mean is the input is backing off the main shaft, or the main shaft is backing off the in put shaft. culd be worn out bearings on the front, or rear of the case. the main shaft should have some sort of bearings either needle bearings that ride in the end of the input shaft, or a pocket bearing, or mabe a regular set with the race preced on to the main shaft were it rides in the input shaft. check those simple things, and by the way when rebuilding a transmition you always replace the syncros. hope this helped.

 

Now, if only you didn't live all the way out in Texas, I'd have 3 tranny's for you to rebuild!

 

well it dosn't matter to me were the transmision came from or were I am, I can still fix them the same. I would much like to start mabe doing somthing like that, you know were people ship me there trans, and I fix em. I bet I could make good money doing that, then I would ship the trans back to them.