Talked to local trans shop, SUPER cool dude.

explained the situation to him, he had very valid and relevant questions, and thoughts.

a very rare for this to happen without "contamination" what we call smod.

he also kinda agreed with what nissan said in that replacing the valve body/ tcm with this many miles was risky. he said the new fluid acts like a detergent and breaks up old gunk which causes issues. I told him that i do a drain and fill about once a year, and what i have done to prevent smod. which was bypassed when i first got it, then i changed the radiator out and re-routed it through the new radiator. he said that even once the rad is replaced he suggests against re routing the trans lines thorugh it, idk, he says any radiator can leak, which i suppose is true.

anyways, he said that he likely would charge around $5k to put in a reman trans, about the same as nissan.

I told him about the reman valve body/ tcm that is pre programmed at $500 and he straight up said i should probably try that as its a good deal, and otherwise I'm likely looking at the reman trans at around $5k.

So, pretty sure that's what im gonna do is try the replacement VB/TCM and hope it works. I'd this truck to get me by another couple years or so before buying a new one.

 

I'm sorry I don't have any input, but please keep us updated. A $5k is tragic, hopefully the $500 option will fix the issue.

 

You can find low mile junkyard transmissions for less than 3k. could be an option as well.
Found one for 800 shipped with 12k miles a couple years ago when I 4wd converted
Just found a titan one with 30k miles for less than 1k earlier this year

 

OK so, Help me make sure im prepared, what do i need?

New trans pan gasket?

i have all necessary tools for this job.

1.5 gl or so of maticc s compatible atf

drain pan..

new part

do i need gasker maker/ sealer on there?

that seems like it right?

 

OK so, Help me make sure im prepared, what do i need?

New trans pan gasket?

i have all necessary tools for this job.

1.5 gl or so of maticc s compatible atf

drain pan..

new part

do i need gasker maker/ sealer on there?

that seems like it right?

All you need is the programmed TCM, gasket, a 10mm socket., and a small screwdriver to unplug 2 connectors inside. You don't even need to remove the crossmember to swap it out, no RTV needed.

They sell screen/gasket combos for fairly cheap if the new valve body doesn't come with the screen installed.

 

Just got a UPS shipping notice from streetsmart, so far so good..

also before that they emailed me asking to confirm the vin, also sounds good.

 

I have dealt with the dreaded P1757. Look for my older posts, I did a write up as have others here on how to crack open the valve body and repair the cracked trace. Look at post #2 video and #6 a quick write up I did that you can print and take out to the rig with you.

More Transmission Problems.....

Hello all, I just purchased an 05 xterra se, had a few issues, including the radiator failing, i did not get SMOD, but the coolant side actually cracked on top. replaced the radiator, checked and filled my transmission fluid at the same time. fast forward a week later and now my valve body...

www.thenewx.org

 

@mtnbound MAKE SURE you check solenoids with a multimeter before installing/test driving. I dealt with StreetSmart when I rebuilt my trans and did all the work just to have their faulty unit mess up my rebuild and I had to order another set of friction clutches.

Do you have pics of your current valve body?

 

@mtnbound MAKE SURE you check solenoids with a multimeter before installing/test driving. I dealt with StreetSmart when I rebuilt my trans and did all the work just to have their faulty unit mess up my rebuild and I had to order another set of friction clutches.

Do you have pics of your current valve body?

thanks for the info. I wasnt even sure if the streetsmart unit would come with the solenoids or not I hoped it would.

I have not taken my old one out yet, as im waiting for all the parts/ supplies, as well as for a time when i have time to do it. the new parts are supposd to be here on tuesday, which would be great as im off tue/ wed and would do it then.

Ill make sure to take pics as i go through theprocess, assuming i can find a sec when my hands arent covered in atf lol

I'm also really curious to see how the original VB/TCM look as well, I may or may not try to take the old one apart and look at the circuitry.

I dont really know much about electrnoics, i've never "Tested ohms" or anything like that. not even sure how really, nor do i have the tester.

I was hoping this was going to be plug and play..

 

I would highly recommend getting a decent multimeter and finding a website or book on basic electronics. Here is a quick and simplified lesson on the very basic electronic theory of Ohms Law.

V/R = I
V x I = P

V is Voltage (sometimes called potential), measured in Volts. This is the force that pushes electricity.

R is Resistance (sometimes called load) measured in Ohms (which is symbolized with the Greek Omega symbol). This is the electrical property of whatever apparatus is "consuming" the electricity.

I is Current (sometimes called induction. I know, the initials are confusing. Just go with it) measured in Amps. This is the actual flow of electricity.

P is Power (sometimes called VoltAmps. That gets into more advanced theory though) measured in Watts. This is the work performed by an electrical circuit.

A voltage, such as in a battery, is applied to a load, such as in a lightbulb. The resistance of the load and the voltage of the battery will determine how much current will flow according to Ohms law. Additionally, the combination of voltage and resistance and subsequent current flow will create power, again accordingly with Ohms Law.

As voltage increases, current flow and subsequently power also increase. As resistance increases, current flow and subsequently power decrease.

Before you measure the resistance of a load, you would first set your multimeter to the Ohms setting. A decent meter will have a "continuity" toner. Continuity simply means that there is a continuous path for electricity to flow. If you touch the two leads of the tester together, you complete the electrical path in the meter and it will sound a tone or beep for as long as you hold the leads together. The display should also read zero. Zero Ohms means no resistance, which is a short circuit. (Looking at the Ohms law equations, zero resistance results in infinite current flow. That's usually a bad thing. Think sparks and fireworks). With the leads separated, there will be no tone and the meter will display something like "inf" meaning infinite resistance and no continuity. This is known as an open circuit. By doing this quick check you ensure the meter is working and doesn't have a dead battery or something.

Then to test the load, you touch the metal leads of the tester to the metal wires or connectors of what you want to test. Typically there would be a red "plus" or "hot" wire bringing voltage and current to the device from the battery and a black "minus" or "cold" or "common" (so many names!) wire to return the current to the battery thereby completing the circuit. In a car there can be multiple circuits in one wire harness so many colors are used. Typically the colors will be marked in the wiring diagrams in the fsm.

For the resistance test plus and minus doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you have the load disconnected from the voltage source. You do not want to apply your ohm meter to a voltage, that can fry it. It's also important that the leads not touch eachother or any other metallic objects like the frame. It's fine to hold the leads and wires together with your fingers, just don't let them touch anything else metallic as that can give you a false reading. Also, make sure all contact surfaces are clean. Dirt and grime are more resistive than conductive.

As long as each lead of the tester is touching each wire of the circuit the meter will show the resistance of the circuit. Again, zero Ohms is a short and infinite Ohms is an open circuit. Both indicate a bad device. The fsm should give you the acceptable resistance range for the device. As long as your measured resistance is within that range the device is good.

 

Today I got all the fluids, I think I actually have everything to do both diffs, the trans, engine oil, and the t case, not sure on the tcase though. . i may hold off on that one. but, i figure i might as well go ahead and do it all while its" in the shop" lol.

Ill start tuesday morning draining fluids and the part should arrive sometime in the afternoon to reinstall and fill er up. . I cant wait to get this done! the anticipation is driving me nuts!

 

Alright well i've made some good progress!

eased into the day with an oil/ Filter change, looking good there.

then i moved to the back and did the rear diff, also looking good.

Next onto the trans. let it drain for a while, started loosening the pan bolts, some of them were really in there tight!

Finally got the pan off, that was a mess! and the old gasket really didnt want to come off! that took some scraping!

got the pan all cleaned up, letting the remaining fluid drip off the valve body.

Waiting for the new valve body to arrive, I have an appt from 3-4 so it was a good time to take a break, hopefully ill get a delivery soon.

after the appt im going to tackle removing the old valve body. I dont really expect that to be too hard, other than having trans fluid dripping all over the place..

I am abit anxious about disconnecting the wiring . I see some folks say to remove the retainer from the top and pull the whole wiring harness down, others say to leave that there and just disconnect it from insde, which seems harder as you have to hold the valve body up while trying to disconnect it with the other hand..

Im probably just going to swap the new on right on in so i can get it buttoned back up and refilled.

trans fluid looked dark, but there was 100% NO contamination in the fluid that came out. the magnets had a fair bit of fine metal particulate on them, not too concerning i suppose with 170k miles on it.

I took a ton of pics, dont have time to post them now, more to come!

 

I would say it’s best to remove the retainer clip and push down. That way you just push up when installing the new one. You will have to pull the harness up with pliers or figure out a way to pull the harness up from both sides until you can get the retainer clip on. There are two indents on the harness. Take a picture of how high up the harness is now for reference (I had mine too low the first time and trans fluid squirted out through there).
For mine I just put the gasket that my rebuild kit came with and I just put light thread sealant.

 

I dont need to put any gasket maker/ sealer on the pan gasket do i?

 

Done! Sucessful test drive around the block! cleared the coed and it didnt come back.

i put a tiny bit of black rtv around the pan, if anything it helped hold the gasket in place during install.

I definitely had a brief moment of panic once i dropped the valve body, but it was still connected by the wiring to the trans. this thing is somewhat heavy, 15bsl if i had to guess. so i got tired really quick while trying to disconnect the wiring harness. but i finally got it right as i was literally at my last bit of strength. all the while atf dripping all over melol it was not fun!

but, it went back in much easier.

almost 7 qts of atf came out, which was a bit more than i expected. it just kept dripping out. initially about 4.5 qts came out, then another 2.5 after i dropped the pan and started removing the VB.

i had just enough to get it topped off with the same amnt that came out.

Wow man, im always blown away after doing stuff like this, it might be difficult and stressful, but it sure feels good afterwards.

Thanks for all the help from this forum, I literally wouldnt be able to do it without you guys! ok and youtube lol

now, i just hope this lasts for a while. I keep reminding my wife i just saved $4500.00, and that i need new tires... .

 

drove another 5 miles to Hungry howies!

felt nice, no SES!!

 

So far I have put about 200 miles on the trans since the VB/TCM swap. I did about 50 around town, and then just today loaded up the X with wife and dogs and everything for a day trip to the mountains, went up over guanella pass, so lots of up and down fairly steep grades. trans did fine! It does shift abit different than before the swap, but i suppose that is due to the adaptive learning of the tcm?? either way, it seemed to do fine in and out of O/D, I did have to shift it down into 3rd a few times up long steep hills, but i had to do that before. temps stayed under 210 at the highest, usually around 180.

this was a good test for it. I need to rebuild confidence in my rigs reliability. planning a multi day "overland" trip in sept so i need to gets some miles on it before then!

 

Welp. P1757 back again. Drove like 2 miles to drop off some donations at good will. I felt it stuck in like 4th after coming to an almost stop. Looked down and saw the ses light come on. Pulled over and scanned it and sure enough. I did clear it and turn off the truck. Upon restarting it's functioning like it should and I drive it back home. Light didn't come back on which is odd. Seems like if the thing broke it broke no?? Idk but now this suck man I really have no confidence in my truck to take it and do the stuff I want to do. I might finally have to replace it. I guess I should pursue a replacement from the valve body seller Street smart. I'm pretty sure they will just send me another rebuilt one. It's not super hard to swap out. But... What confidence will I have that this won't happen again? I'd say I got 1000-1500 miles on it before today. Hard to say as my clock has been reset. Uhh .. in at auto zone now dropping off the starter core. Hope it gets me home!

 

Did you check the voltage reading prior to installing like I mentioned when you said you had ordered it from StreetSmart??
if not, check the voltage on the solenoid. If it’s off and not like the others ( I forgot what’s the correct reading). Also, check the pin connection that leads to the solenoid, It might be broken. If you do request another valve body/tcm it’s going to be another reman

 

StreetSmart is sending me another valvebody.

the thing I dont understand is how i could get the p1757, clear it and it hasnt come back. anyone ever had this happen before?

 

New valvebody arrived today, going to drop the pan tomorrow morning and swap them out in the afternoon, have to do something at noon and it will be nice to let it drip for a while before i get under it.

this time i think im going to create some sort of stand to lower the valvebody onto so that i dont have to hold it up while also disconnecting the wiring harness.

i've got a few spare 2x4's that i think i can make into something that will do the trick.

gotta get some more atf but thats about it.

 

I forgot to update. I reaplced it and its been working fine since, about 5-600 miles i think on it now?

the second time i swapped it out was much easier as i knew what i was doing. I used a plastic storage bin to hold up the valvebody while disconnecting the wiring.

lets just hope this time it lasts!

 

I forgot to update. I reaplced it and its been working fine since, about 5-600 miles i think on it now?

the second time i swapped it out was much easier as i knew what i was doing. I used a plastic storage bin to hold up the valvebody while disconnecting the wiring.

lets just hope this time it lasts!

Hey any further updates ? Still working out okay?

 

Hi I am having the same issue. Where can I get the parts for it?

 

Remanufactured RE5R05A Valve Body and TCM | Street Smart® Transmission

streetsmarttransmission.com

 

just went for a drive to the store and back. no SES, trans feels normal, but well see how long that lasts.

got under the truck and checked it out, the pass side tie rod end has a good bit of play so thats probably the root of the alignment issue. i think it was on its way out before the trip and it just couldnt handle the off road miles.

that isnt a huge deal. im tempted to go ahead and just get that delt with and worry about the trans later.

 

it came back agian, cleared it and its gone but m sure its only a matter of time.

Ironically it came on as i was test driving my truck after working on the suspension/ steering. got that all taken care of and then this reared its head again

 

valvebody was sent off to streetsmart( not sure if thats the smartest thing to do AGAIN) but they got it on 6/6 and its on its way back to me today, 6/10. so thats a good turn around, im hoping that since they do alot of these they know what they are doing. im guessing they either replaced the TCM or soldered the one i sent it. they told me that these things are getting hard to come by( good ones) so thats why they had me send mine in, they didnt have one to send me for exchange... something to keep in mind going forward for us that own these trucks.

they did the R&R( return and repair?) for free which is pretty cool as they have a 3 yr warranty on the part i bought from them like 2 years and 10 months ago or something lol, so its almost at that point where i feel like alot of companies would try to deny coverage.

hopefully ill get it back in a few day, get it in with some new fluid and be G2G at least for a while. i swear if i get another Nissan truck its going to be manual, no TCM!

 

I got it back yesterday and got it installed. have to wait 24 hours for the gasket maker to seal, which will be in a few hours, then I can put the fluid in and go through relearn procedures.

fingers crossed!

 

uh man, this thing just wont end. so i got all the fluid i had, 5.6 qts in it, i think it needs more, i looked back in this thread and last time i needed 7 qts. its not quite shifting how it should be and seems to be running little warm, but im hoping it just needs another 1-2 qts of atf.

it did pop a p1759 after about 2 miles of driving, but that was with only 4.5 qts in it i started there and went up by half qts until i used it all. i cleared the code and it hasnt come back but that obviously has me worried. this all started with a p1757, so i was not happy to see a diffeerent one, p1759, however the description is the same, front brake solenoid.

uh man, i just want this over with. tomorrow morning ill get some more atf in it and see what happens.

 

got up to 7 qts in it and its working again! the 1st to 2nd shift is still alittle harsh but i think its the tcm needed to relearn the shift points, its getting better each time i take off from start.

it was hesitating from a stop, but that is gone. no more codes and after research it does seem that the p1759 could have been caused by low fluid pressure.

 

Anyone in the Denver area have a scan tool that can do transmission stuff? I called support about the trans shifting hard between 1st and 2nd and they said it needs to have a relearn process with a obdII scan tool. i have a cheap code reader but it cant do that.

alternatively has anyone had to have this done by a shop/ dealer and know how much it costs?