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Did a Little Tree Pulling...Now I Have No Reverse

12K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  Metal-X-Militia 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE COMING IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS. 9/11/2013




9/16/2013


Picked my truck up from the Dealer on Friday. I was the latest victim of SMOD and NISSAN fully covered both the Radiator and Transmission. I got under the truck and their she was, a brand spanking new transmission; it's good to know that I have some new stuff because this would have been a huge expense. I never thought it would happen to my truck.

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Ok guys/gals, I went camping this weekend and yesterday, needed to pull some brush/tree from a clearing. I had to pull it in reverse so I used the front bumper hook. I was in 4 hi because I really did not think I needed 4-lo here; it wasn't that big of a tree; 8 inch and you could rock it around pretty easily but couldn't be pulled out by a couple of guys. It was muddy as **** from downpours too and I had to back it up a slope.



I ease into trying to pull back this sucker. Just my luck, i'm an idiot and my back and front right tire now have a huge mound (I lined up really poorly) that I can't clear, I get stuck. My wheels spins, I'm shooting up mud etc etc..I played with it just like I would when in snow; I went up a little I went back a little. I have to switch from reverse/drive to get some leverage, now I'm just stuck because my wheels are turning in the mud; so at that point...I wasn't really straining the vehicle because I was in limbo. I was at it for like 5 minutes even after we unhooked me from the tree.

Can't reverse. It stops working all together and the engine is just revving. I had to be pulled out from the back and once I was cleared. I still had no reverse, I went down the road to park in a clearing and while driving down I put the truck in 2-wheele drive; no reverse still.

Drove home this morning with no issues; still no reverse though.


Nothing popped, nothing sounded like it was grinding, it just went from spinning wheels at one point and after shifting from drive back to reverse no engagement and as if I was in neutral. I'm telling you, I really did not push the truck to any sorta limit with what happened yesterday and by god I would be really disappointed if what I did could damage my vehicle because it was very very mild in terms of pushing the Xterra.


Now it sure seams like it could be mechanical right? But driving up on Friday, my Speakers did not work at all. They worked in the morning, no power to the speakers driving up though (Friday). I also had my rear window explode on me in June driving back from work, SafeLite guy said that he thinks there's an electrical issue because the gasket was melted (I did in fact turn on my anti-fog the day it exploded). Perhaps outputting too much current and heating it up just enough so that when I drove over a gap on a bridge and the truck bounced, the window popped.:dontknow:


It seems like a long-shot with the electrical but could it be that maybe the Solenoid now has an issue in the transmission?

I'm going to disconnect the battery and see if it resets anything, again a longshot but I don't know whats wrong and I need it fix soon. Might have to take this in.

It's really bad timing with everything, i'm hoping I could get a couple of guys to chime in with some ideas.

Thanks fellas,

-Jason P.
 
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#2 ·
That sounds like a bum deal. Hope you get it figured out without it costing too much. Do you not have a rear recovery point? It's always better to pull going forward because the gears have more strength rotating that direction. They are weaker when you pull in reverse. Also next time use 4-Lo pulling a tree. It makes the work easier on the engine and drivetrain.
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#3 ·
Ideally I would have loved to pull from back but recovery point. I'll need to do something about in the future.

Been driving around today, after disconnecting the battery and nothing changed. No reverse, nothing but revving like I'm in neutral :mad:

God this sucks.


Bummmmmp
 
#6 ·
When is the last time you changed the trans fluid and is it brown/black now?

It's rare (but can happen) for a single gear to go on an automatic trans; it's usually all or nothing. Wondering is some foreign object/debris is lodged in the passage(s) for the reverse gear or if a broken internal spring is causing the issue??
 
#7 ·
It was changed out in the winter. It's new, I even have a couple of bottles of Matic-S in the shop. I'll check just for kicks on the color, I expect nothing but red.

But yea, It's just a neutral feel. I almost feel a bit of "switching" when I switch from Park, to Reverse to Drive etc...but it doesn't go, just revs.

I tried driving down my driveway backwards to see if I can catch the gear, nothing.

Driving feels normal, no unusual sounds. Just no reverse, now I have to wake up for work and drive in, lets see if I can do this without reverse:crybaby:

-Jason
 
#8 ·
My guess is an internal valve body or seal is gone, I hope you can diagnose w/o opening her up, but I have a gut instinct you may need to.

As others have said - forward 1st gear is far lower than reverse. 4-Lo is better.

Even a compact or mid-size tractor is weak at pulling trees. An 8 inch tree is about 1500 lbs even without the dirt it is attached to, and you are pulling static weight (not like 5000 lbs on wheels like a trailer). That sends the internal pressures on your tranny through the roof fast (and then a subsequent spike in temperature if that pressure has no where to go). Somewhere in your transmission that pressure went somewhere...

Got to rent a dozer next time! They are a lot of fun to operate. Or a backhoe to dig out the roots...equally fun once you get the hang of it.

Good luck with the repair!
 
#9 ·
Sounds like you may have a vavle body issue in the tranny. The reverse is lower than first gear as was already mentioned. However, the reverse on auto transmissions require even higher presure than any of the other forward gears. Tranny's are not that bad to work on if you have the time and the space to do them. I've taken a couple of them totally stripped down and rebuilt them in school. I know that it works since we have to do a dyno test on it. If you do attempt to do it be careful when it comes to the check balls because you have to know where they go and how many on each side of the valve body. Also be careful when messing with the actual valves and springs in the valve body. If you don't keep track of where each one comes out of then you can put them in the wrong area and will lose a gear. I saw one group totally screw up the valve body and the thing started to smoke within about a min after being put on the dyno. Good luck to you.
 
#21 ·
I am having the exact same problem. No reverse! Drives perfect, did a PMF, drove great for 3 weeks, and all of a sudden no reverse. No SMOD detected at my PMF.
 
#23 · (Edited)
levels are good. Haven't rechecked for SMOD. Has been bypassed since PMF, with new Radiator waiting to be installed. Thinking reverse solenoid. The X has been draining the wallet lately!!
 
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