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Changing My Cvt 8spd To A Manual 6 Spd-not By My Own Request!

menav35
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menav35 Newbie

menav35

Posted
Posted (edited)

Alright, well where to begin? I have decided to open a new thread in hopes that people in my position can get advice and we can help each other out, as well as get some advice and recommendations from all you experts out there!

Here is the situation: 2003 V35 CVT 8-spd=broken, parts are unable to be made, located or found, but you can buy a new one from nissan for about 21-28k, depending who you speak to. This is however obsurd seeing as the car is only worth about that amount in the first place!

The only solutions I can come up with after it sitting in different mechanic shops for over 6 months is to:

A.) Buy the New tranny for 21K

B.) Contact a guy in NZ, who claims that he can fix it and rebuild it because he has the parts from JATCO and wants 10K+shipping, but who is going to electronically transfer 10k to a stranger along with your broken tranny?

C.) Convert the Tranny to a 6spd Manual which is in the coupe V35 skyline? (This is all pending that a mechanic will do it and I have a few electrical wizards looking at all the wiring and the conversion, but nothing definite yet)?

From these choice, I don't think I really have another choice besides C. Any ideas?

Does anyone actually know the part number of this transmission which goes into the V35 coupe the 6spd manual and have any pics or the wiring layout?

Edited by menav35
rs73 Grand Master

rs73

Posted
Posted

If you do go with option B might worth a small investment to fly to NZ, checkout the guy's workshop and do some homework on local forums or people who have serviced their transmission in that person's workshop. If the guy's legit, it may save you $10k, as going for option C might cost a bit less than $10k I imagine (with parts and labour) and your steering wheel +/- shift paddle may not work anymore... plus finding a mechanic might be a challenge as these car is relatively new not many will know them as well as the old R32/R33/R34 range.

I had an R33 gtst auto to manual conversion - 4 yrs ago cost $5k parts and labour. for a car this new, go figure. estimated maybe $8k-9k but you do end up with a real manual. so both B & C is worth considering, but I not A in my opinion.

-= SKiZO =- Rising Star

-= SKiZO =-

Posted
Posted

I feel for you man, and I hope that no one has to go throught that.

Out of interest:-

1) How many km's has your car got on it?

2) How does it "break", i.e what stops working?

3) What mods, if any?

3) What's your driving style in general? Anything excessive/track/donuts/dumping/granny driving?

If it were me, I'd put the car on a boat to Japan and go over and sort it out over there.

menav35 Newbie

menav35

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you do go with option B might worth a small investment to fly to NZ, checkout the guy's workshop and do some homework on local forums or people who have serviced their transmission in that person's workshop. If the guy's legit, it may save you $10k, as going for option C might cost a bit less than $10k I imagine (with parts and labour) and your steering wheel +/- shift paddle may not work anymore... plus finding a mechanic might be a challenge as these car is relatively new not many will know them as well as the old R32/R33/R34 range.

I had an R33 gtst auto to manual conversion - 4 yrs ago cost $5k parts and labour. for a car this new, go figure. estimated maybe $8k-9k but you do end up with a real manual. so both B & C is worth considering, but I not A in my opinion.

I agree that flying to NZ may save me 10k, but it might also cost me 10K in fixing it. If I could change it to a manual I would save a lot more considering (removal and instalation of the new tranny, flying there and back, shipping of the tranny to and from and my time off work) these costs may add up quite quickly to at least 4k). The thing that gets me about the Guy in NZ is, how did he get the parts? He sounds a bit too confident and I really don't think he can do it, but it is going to cost me at least 4k to find out.

NISMO Grand Master

NISMO

Posted
Posted
What's the deal with having the car re-exported for repairs, and re-imported again - do we have to pay stamp duty again on 2nd entry?

Just curious on how this procedure work...?

Really good point and may be worth looking into.

If it's just the tranny broken, could you not ship that without the whole car?

Oh, and good luck with it buddy, i would be devestated. Unfortunately it's looking like the CVT is the model to stay away from.

Wasn't there someone else on this board who had a massive issue with the CVT?

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

With the guy in NZ kleenbeats on the forum has spoken to him and I wont post the comments made about what he was offering and how much he charges, last quote for a new one was just over a million yen FOB and Nissan local wanted $24,000 and was for a dealer.

I will get a current confirmed price for a new one Ex Japan and post it, the oil for the transmission does "not" have a generic choice like all other transmissions which can cause issues, oil is $1,500 local and $600 Ex Japan which has to go sea freight.

rs73 Grand Master

rs73

Posted
Posted

and keeping it auto would mean you won't need a manual pedal box and probably can use existing CVT 8's pedal box (accel & brake - no clutch pedal needed), and is the handbrake on CVT 8 is the same as in 5sp auto - which is actually a foot pedal next to the brake pedal?

in manual the handbrake is a real hand brake lever next to the gear shift lever, so again you'll be up to more parts to replace for going to manual conversion.

Chris Rogers Grand Master

Chris Rogers

Posted
Posted

from my experience with them - you would need the auto controller if you were to toss a 'proper' auto in it. so that to me would be a harness swap. also the ECU is different in them. 350GT auto one is different physically to the CVT.

driftt has the best idea so far.

  • 2 weeks later...
-= SKiZO =- Rising Star

-= SKiZO =-

Posted
Posted
I feel for you man, and I hope that no one has to go throught that.

Out of interest:-

1) How many km's has your car got on it?

2) How does it "break", i.e what stops working?

3) What mods, if any?

3) What's your driving style in general? Anything excessive/track/donuts/dumping/granny driving?

Still haven't ascertained what exactly breaks or the conditions leading up to the failure. Anyone know? This is with a view to helping us build some preventative measures at the very least.

  • 3 years later...
padlock Contributor

padlock

Posted
Posted

i have the same problem, im selling my fc to buy a gt8 with cvt issues but i am getting an extremely good price. im thinking of just making a profit on the car and looking for a factory manual. i test drove a 6spd manual 350gt yesterday and i was pretty much in love.

any news from o/p on how you went with your car and conversion.???

cheers

dissss Rookie

dissss

Posted
Posted (edited)

As I understand it the 350GTs CVT is a unique design, not at all like the one in the Maxima or Presage or other VQ35DE Nissans (this is why I went for a 300GT with the 5 speed)

An entire car can be had from $12-13k NZD (which is a fair bit weaker than the Aussie at the moment), even if you had to buy the whole car and have the transmission removed and shipped it might be an option. You could sell the rest on to a wrecker or for maximum money have someone part the car out for you (I know I'd pay good money for the part-leather seats and the rest has got to be worth something). Obviously the problem here is its a logistical nightmare you don't know how much life the new box has in it.

Edit: The CVT guy in NZ may have access to a few wrecked/parted out cars which could explain things. Best to tread warily though.

Edited by dissss

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