Have just been browsing around on the board and now understand why
people love the March/Micra! They are also becoming very popular here
in Zimbabwe!
I have a small vehicle workshop with friends and a few days ago
another friend brought in a recently imported (but used) Nissan March
[Chassis K11-902923, Model EAEARHZK11EDA, Engine CG10(DE) 997cc,
Transmission code NP-TC46NHD1AA]. The car has a CVT gearbox. The car
is not changing gears. It takes of smoothly but does not change gears.
I am aware of the nature of CVT boxes and that one does not easily
detect gear changes in a CVT car. However, in this vehicle, the car
will scream and scream and will struggle to get to 80km/h. I have
pushed it and it did get to 120km/h but I could tell that i was
torturing the car. Occasionally, the vehicle will sound as if it has
changed a gear soon after take off, but this is rear. We took the car
for electronic diagnostic testing and all systems were reported to be
ok.
This indicates that the problem is most likely mechanical, rather than
electronic. What could be the problem? How do we rectify it?
To complicate matters, CVT gearboxes are highly unusual here in
Zimbabwe and no one repairs these boxes or has any real experience
with them.
I have noticed that the oil is a very light brown. Am told that the
oil should be pink. Is this true? Is all CVT oil pink?
We would like to open the gearbox and am wondering if there is anyone
out there who has done this before. What should we look out for? Does
anyone have a downloadable repair manual?
P.S. Importing another gearbox will cost +US$3000 from IBC Japan -
this is more than the cost of importing another March.
We would greatly appreciate any help that we can get.
(This morning i drove another March with a CVT gearbox, and it was
smoother, and less frenetic than the one i mention above)
Regards
Lemuel Dennis
Harare, Zimbabwe
there are no gear changes on a cvt.
the problem may be the electro mechanical clutch slipping/faulty
Steve
Thank you.
Somebody told me today that "either the valve body has worn out
allowing oil pressure to bleed off or the secondry drum has split.The
drum splitting is the most common problem on these box,s". Could this
be true?
Lemuel
The electric clutch brushes are most likely suspects. If it's slipping the
clutch, the transmission will seem to be stuck in a lower ratio but that's
because the transmission isn't seeing the full engine speed. I think.
The transmission fluid should be red but has turned dark due to overheating
because of the slipping problem. Change it after the transmission is fixed.