[Theodore Grey]

The transmission in my daughters 2009 SL Hatchback needs replacing. She has almost 170,000 miles on the car. It will cost about $3500 to have the transmission replaced. For some time she has had the ticking noise from the engine. I would say the noise is somewhat loud. I can't decide if I should have the transmission replaced for her or look for another car. Advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pimperell]

That ticking sound you hear could be a piston slap. The engine used in the 2009 has a history of being prone to this particular issue. The sound will usually be the loudest when the engine is first started, and as the engine warms up, it will decrease in volume. It will also get louder as the outside temperatures start to drop in winter. My 2009 Versa sedan had the engine replaced under warranty at around 30,000 miles because of this issue. The slap is caused by the piston rocking in the cylinder and in time will cause the engine to start using more oil than usual. If it is a piston slap, I would not trust the longevity of the engine with that kind of mileage and would not invest $3500 in a new transmission. Good luck!!!

 

[Keith Wagner]

Unless you plan on keeping the car for a LONG time, putting a $3500 trans in a car that is worth maybe around $3000 does not make much sense,
especially with potential piston slap.

You would be far better off looking for something else at this point.

 

[scarecrowdjinn]

Theodore,
Why are you looking to replace the transmission? Just because of the noise? Was the Transmission diagnosed as starting to fail?
As pimperell stated, is the sound louder early in the morning on first startup, and get a little quieter as the car warms up?
Also, I have had exhaust leaks on cars that make a ticking sound from under the hood.

Anyways, if the transmission is truly failing, i'd take the $3500 and go for a new(er) car.

 

[NismoAlmera]

After about every 60,000 miles the valves need to be regulated, that's usually what is causes a ticking noise. There are no lifters on the hr16de engine so I would have the valves regulated and see if that fixes the problem before replacing anything.
For improved efficiency add an oil catch can between the PCV and the intake manifold it will definitely help the cylinders clean themselves and in turn help your engine run better and last longer.

Good luck friend

 

[amc49]

Nissan specifically calls out the tappets or cam followers as 'lifters' in the service manual. There is no maintenance interval, only when a valve begins to make noise, it is intended for them to be left alone for life of the engine beyond that. The cam(s) come out to service any noise as the lifter changes, they are different thicknesses to take up slack.

To the OP, the engines use plated blocks instead of cast iron and once they wear through the plating the pistons then make cold start noise due to heavy wear. Nissan had substandard blocks for several years through there and lots of engine fails. The problem was the plating was not done as well as it should have been, plating blocks is a picky process and can go wrong very easily.

 

[Theodore Grey]

Theodore,
Why are you looking to replace the transmission? Just because of the noise? Was the Transmission diagnosed as starting to fail?
As pimperell stated, is the sound louder early in the morning on first startup, and get a little quieter as the car warms up?
Also, I have had exhaust leaks on cars that make a ticking sound from under the hood.

Anyways, if the transmission is truly failing, i'd take the $3500 and go for a new(er) car.

Yes. Transmission shop said transmission was bad after it stopped moving. You could wait a bit and it would go a ways then stop again. It tripped codes P0725, P0746 and P0868. Thanks.

 

[NismoAlmera]

Oh geez, I'm sorry to hear that.
I'm definitely adding an external transmission cooler this spring. These CVTs are junk, does anyone here know how hard it would be to convert to a manual.

Here is my source on the lifter and valve regulation after 60k btw.

Nissan HR16DE Engine | Performance mods, reliability, oil

Nissan HR16DE engine specs, general problems and its reliability. What engine oil is recommended for HR16, its lifespan, its performance mods, etc.

mywikimotors.com

 

[PoMan]

Yeah, that's a tough call. It's one thing if you could source a transmission yourself and install yourself, or have a shop install a good used transmission. The earlier CVTs were hit/miss for sure. IMO, regular fluid maintenance helped them live longer and very few people knew or know to do this. Heck, my 2015 Versa 1.6s with ~45K miles on it is only worth about $6000.