Ok guys I have an issue that I hope you can help me with. I have a 96 Nissan Maxima with automatic trans. It has ~85 thousand miles on it. Before a recent beach trip which consisted of ~400 miles round trip I topped off the transmission level with ~4-6 oz of that Lucas transmission fix. Everything went great; I love the car and have had very minimal issues with it. The car isn?t driven hard either.
The day after we returned from the trip I noticed it hesitated when I was attempting to back up. I started to further explore this never before issue. I found it will stall or idle extremely rough whenever it’s in reverse, the gas is applied. Applying very little throttle and it does just fine anything other then that, it’s kaput; but starts right back up. Mind you it’s only in reverse that this happens. Everything shifts smooth in all forward gears.
I took it to a transmission shop to have them give me a hint on what it could be. They hook it up to the computer, check the linkage, fluid level, road test it and visually inspect.
The manager came out and asked when I put the Lucas in?? I was puzzled at his wealth of knowledge. How in the world did he know; this guys good I thought. Turns out I left the bottle (safely) in the engine compartment just in case I needed to add a bit more to bring it up to the proper amount.
He went on to say that adding this stuff is a huge NO NO (and the companies know it) as it will swell the rubber seals within the trans. These rubber seals are very particular with different oils/their compounds. He showed me what he was talking about with parts of another trans. It appears that there is a rubber O seal that’s possibly expanded (like a sponge in water) that?s preventing some small coffee can looking thing from turning freely. The swollen O ring is binding which in turn is stalling the engine while in reverse.
Does this sound reasonable?
Is Lucas to blame? (He said it was) but recourse in a positive outcome for me from them is highly doubtful
It’s going to cost me 400 bucks to have them pull the trans and look inside; whatever repairs are needed then that 400 will be applied towards the bill.
It doesn?t say anywhere on the Lucas bottle about any warnings or concerns that the consumer needs to look out for. Like? May not be compatible with all transmissions?
What?s my recourse??
Thank you
Why did you put the Lucas in there in the first place??? Was the transmission acting up??? I can tell you from experience that it is a PIA to clean that gooey junk out of a transmission during a rebuild. I vat every single part inside a transmission during a rebuild which will usually get it out after 2 or 3 cycles. This stuff is really intended for last resort type, get me to the next exit, quick fix. It sounds like you have “done-in” your transmission. In the future, and this is for anyone, NEVER put anything in your transmission other than the proper manufacturer type fluid without talking to a qualified transmission tech first. Mistakes can get very expensive. Let me know how much they want to charge for the rebuild when you find out.
transman
+1 on never putting anything in the trany other than the recommended fluid.
I’m wondering if you can get away with just doing one of those complete trany fluid changes and if it still gives you grief, wait for another 1000 miles and do the trany fluid change again.
Thanks for the info…No there was nothing wrong with it prior to the Lucas. I assumed that it was going to be ok. I believed the advertisements a bit too much I guess. Will it help to have the whole thing flushed with the machine and filled with the recomended fluid or is it toast??
Do you think I have any recorse with Lucas since there is no warning on the bottle??
Thanks for the help and I’ll let you know what the cost is.
One more question?
Why is reverse the only gear affected??