N-CVT Issue

[Keith Coppuck]

Hi Folks,

just bought my Sister-in-law a nice red 1996 Nissan Micro Shape auto 3 door hatchback 998 cc K11 with powder clutch. Serves me right; every good dead goes unpunished!

Problem:

• Very difficult to select Drive or Reverse, shift moves easily when engine is not running
• when slowing to a halt or stopped the gearbox doesn't fully release causing the engine to stall sometimes.
• Also at slow speeds a bad noise

Once in gear and going runs fine and stays in gear. Reading through the threads and some other blogs/websites, it would seem worth trying the self diagnosis test, change the brushes and perhaps gear oil. Is it worth changing the powder (iron filings) and where can I get these from except really expensive from Nissan?

Before I spend is the gearbox dead?

Is there anything else I can try not worth spending too much money on the car as only cost £300 but apart from this issue low mileage and good condition?

Hope you can help?

Keith

 

[Ed]

Give the gearbox an oil change, just to see if it helps before doing anything else.

 

[Keith Coppuck]

Give the gearbox an oil change, just to see if it helps before doing anything else.

Cheers Ed, will add that to the list!. Keith

 

[solarice]

I forget what the actual powder is (its not iron filiings though -- info can be found online with enough searching)...you can buy it wholesale though, only issue is knowing how much was originally inside the unit. Something i never tracked down (trial and error is an option but very time consuming), funnily enough the clutch repair people etc arent that helpful when it comes to not giving them money lol.

Opening up the clutch is very straight forward once you get it out the gearbox.

From what ive read low powder normally means no / intermittent drive. (something its not suffering from).

The oil needs to be bright red, if its black get it changed

Have a look at the actual gearbox selector cable to make sure its within adjustment spec (possible first fault cause), also the throttle cable adjustment (the cvt is piggybacked off that and is also adjustable iirc)...second fault could possibly be that it thinks you're still accelerating?.

 

[Keith Coppuck]

I forget what the actual powder is (its not iron filiings though -- info can be found online with enough searching)...you can buy it wholesale though, only issue is knowing how much was originally inside the unit. Something i never tracked down (trial and error is an option but very time consuming), funnily enough the clutch repair people etc arent that helpful when it comes to not giving them money lol.

Opening up the clutch is very straight forward once you get it out the gearbox.

From what ive read low powder normally means no / intermittent drive. (something its not suffering from).

The oil needs to be bright red, if its black get it changed

Have a look at the actual gearbox selector cable to make sure its within adjustment spec (possible first fault cause), also the throttle cable adjustment (the cvt is piggybacked off that and is also adjustable iirc)...second fault could possibly be that it thinks you're still accelerating?.

Thanks Solarice, will check all the points raised, great help!

 

[micra 2000]

at the top of the accelerator pedal there are 2 micro switches ,you should have about 1/8" movement at the top of the pedal before the 1st switch is pressed if this needs to be adjusted the only way i know of it to adjust the accelerator cable.
the 1st switch turns on the power for the clutch then the second one increases the power so the clutch doesn't slip.
when you change the oil go to nissan for the oil its special cvt fluid thats used BUT its about £15 / ltr not cheap ,when refilling you refill via the dipstick tube,always check the fluid level with the oil warmed up,engine running go through all the selector positions back into park then with engine still running check level on dipstick top up as necessary.

 

[Keith Coppuck]

at the top of the accelerator pedal there are 2 micro switches ,you should have about 1/8" movement at the top of the pedal before the 1st switch is pressed if this needs to be adjusted the only way i know of it to adjust the accelerator cable.
the 1st switch turns on the power for the clutch then the second one increases the power so the clutch doesn't slip.
when you change the oil go to nissan for the oil its special cvt fluid thats used BUT its about £15 / ltr not cheap ,when refilling you refill via the dipstick tube,always check the fluid level with the oil warmed up,engine running go through all the selector positions back into park then with engine still running check level on dipstick top up as necessary.

Hi Micra2000, thanks for the tips - will do all of this! Cheers Keith

 

[Keith Coppuck]

Ok! I have changed the oil, definitely needed doing, brushes were absolutely fine - plenty of life left! check throttle switch distance and all electrical connections. Even changed the air, engine oil and air filter (none related to issue) and runs sweet as a nut but still engage and disengage issue :-( Open to suggestions? Cheers Keith

 

[solarice]

Is the accel and gearbox cable all ok aswell ? (asking as you only mentioned checking electrical)

 

[Guy]

Btw Keith, under location you missed 'Europe, the World, the Solar system, the Galaxy' .

 

[Keith Coppuck]

Is the accel and gearbox cable all ok aswell ? (asking as you only mentioned checking electrical)

Hi Solarice, thanks for the reply yes we checked all the links and cable, re-greased. I think I might need a new powder clutch :-( Cheers

Keith

 

[Keith Coppuck]

Btw Keith, under location you missed 'Europe, the World, the Solar system, the Galaxy' .

you missed out the universe, may the Force be with you! (my son is Luke so does that make me Darth Vader?)

 

[micra 2000]

for a powder clutch you will be looking at £780 ish for the job to be done i had a price given to me as we were finding it hard to move the gear selector but its sorted its self out

 

[Keith Coppuck]

Micra 2000, I wish mine would sort itself out :-( looking at about £150 for a guaranteed secondhand unit plus £100 to fit

 

[solarice]

Hi Solarice, thanks for the reply yes we checked all the links and cable, re-greased. I think I might need a new powder clutch :-( Cheers

Keith

Ah right, i've checked in my haynes and the only thing they mention for selector probs is "poorly adjusted gear selector mechanism" its a little involved but its as follows (if you fancy having a shot ) :

1. Apply handbrake and jack up car (on axle stands).
2. Under the car loosen the two adjustment nuts securing the inner cable end fitting to control rod.
3. Inside car move gear selector to "P"
4. Under car check that the transmission lever is in the "P" position with transmission locked.
5. Hold the inner cable and control rod end fitting at right-angles to each other, then run the adjustment nuts up each side of the control rod fitting without moving the cable or rod.
6.Tighten adjusment nuts and lower vehilce to ground.
7. Road test vehicle and check correct operation in all selector lever positions.

It does say the above adjustment is usually used (common probs) if the car will start in other gears other than "N" or "P" (also includes inhibitor switch as a possible adjusment) or if the indicator is pointing to wrong gear or vehicle moves when in "N" or "P" or poor gear shift.

Dont wanna send you on a wild goose chase though...haha. (Above info for upto 99 reg -- doubt it'll change much though).

Unfortunatly the Haynes is very vague on the CVT. It basically says if you've got rough gear changes, slipping or excess noise apart from changing the fluid go see a specialist.

I'd give the Diagnostic Test a go (if you havent already), it might give more questions than answers but you never know.

 

[loic.le.bacquer]

Ah c'est vrai, j'ai vérifié dans mon Haynes et la seule chose qu'ils mentionnent pour les problèmes de sélecteur est "un mécanisme de sélecteur de vitesse mal réglé", c'est un peu compliqué mais c'est le suivant (si vous avez envie d'essayer ) :

1. Serrez le frein à main et soulevez la voiture (sur les chandelles).
2. Sous la voiture, desserrez les deux écrous de réglage fixant l'embout intérieur du câble à la tige de commande.
3. À l'intérieur de la voiture, placez le sélecteur de vitesse sur "P".
4. Sous la voiture, vérifiez que le levier de transmission est en position "P" avec la transmission verrouillée.
5. Maintenez le câble intérieur et le raccord d'extrémité de la tige de commande à angle droit l'un par rapport à l'autre, puis faites passer les écrous de réglage de chaque côté du raccord de la tige de commande sans déplacer le câble ou la tige.
6. Serrez les écrous de réglage et abaissez le véhicule au sol.
7. Effectuer un essai routier du véhicule et vérifier le bon fonctionnement dans toutes les positions du levier sélecteur.

Il est indiqué que le réglage ci-dessus est généralement utilisé (problèmes courants) si la voiture démarre dans d'autres rapports que "N" ou "P" (inclut également le commutateur d'inhibition comme réglage possible) ou si l'indicateur pointe vers un mauvais rapport ou le véhicule bouge en position "N" ou "P" ou un mauvais changement de vitesse.

Je ne veux pas vous envoyer à la poursuite d'une oie sauvage... haha. (Informations ci-dessus pour jusqu'à 99 reg - je doute que cela change beaucoup).

Malheureusement, Haynes est très vague sur la CVT. En gros, cela dit que si vous avez des changements de vitesse brusques, des glissements ou un bruit excessif en dehors du changement de liquide, allez voir un spécialiste.

J'essaierais le test de diagnostic (si vous ne l'avez pas déjà fait), il pourrait donner plus de questions que de réponses, mais on ne sait jamais.

Bonjour

Micra 2000, j'aimerais que la mienne s'arrange tout seule :-( je regarde environ 150 £ pour une unité d'occasion garantie plus 100 £ pour l'installer:fou:

Hello, have you solved the problem? I have the same with my micra k11 cvt 1.0l 1997. Thanks for your help ! Loïc

 

[loic.le.bacquer]

Ah c'est vrai, j'ai vérifié dans mon Haynes et la seule chose qu'ils mentionnent pour les problèmes de sélecteur est "un mécanisme de sélecteur de vitesse mal réglé", c'est un peu compliqué mais c'est le suivant (si vous avez envie d'essayer ) :

1. Serrez le frein à main et soulevez la voiture (sur les chandelles).
2. Sous la voiture, desserrez les deux écrous de réglage fixant l'embout intérieur du câble à la tige de commande.
3. À l'intérieur de la voiture, placez le sélecteur de vitesse sur "P".
4. Sous la voiture, vérifiez que le levier de transmission est en position "P" avec la transmission verrouillée.
5. Maintenez le câble intérieur et le raccord d'extrémité de la tige de commande à angle droit l'un par rapport à l'autre, puis faites passer les écrous de réglage de chaque côté du raccord de la tige de commande sans déplacer le câble ou la tige.
6. Serrez les écrous de réglage et abaissez le véhicule au sol.
7. Effectuer un essai routier du véhicule et vérifier le bon fonctionnement dans toutes les positions du levier sélecteur.

Il est indiqué que le réglage ci-dessus est généralement utilisé (problèmes courants) si la voiture démarre dans d'autres rapports que "N" ou "P" (inclut également le commutateur d'inhibition comme réglage possible) ou si l'indicateur pointe vers un mauvais rapport ou le véhicule bouge en position "N" ou "P" ou un mauvais changement de vitesse.

Je ne veux pas vous envoyer à la poursuite d'une oie sauvage... haha. (Informations ci-dessus pour jusqu'à 99 reg - je doute que cela change beaucoup).

Malheureusement, Haynes est très vague sur la CVT. En gros, cela dit que si vous avez des changements de vitesse brusques, des glissements ou un bruit excessif en dehors du changement de liquide, allez voir un spécialiste.

J'essaierais le test de diagnostic (si vous ne l'avez pas déjà fait), il pourrait donner plus de questions que de réponses, mais on ne sait jamais.

Bonjour

Micra 2000, j'aimerais que la mienne s'arrange tout seule :-( je regarde environ 150 £ pour une unité d'occasion garantie plus 100 £ pour l'installer:fou:

Hello, have you solved the problem? I have the same with my micra k11 cvt 1.0l 1997. Thanks for your help ! Loïc