Thread: Is This 5th Gear Popout? And How Many Of You Live With It?

Ok, to make a long story short. My transmission on my 99 P11T went out, so I went to pick n pull and got one from a 94 SE-R. Took both transmissions to a shop and told them to inspect the 94 one before putting it in. They said it looked fine...today I was finally able to drive it and it goes into 5th, but as soon as I push the gas it pops out. Does this every time. Is this 5th gear popout?

I have spent enough money trying to fix this and it has been a year since it broke down. I really dont have the money, time or patience to go through this again. How many of you live with 5th gear popout? How is it on the freeway?

Thank you!!

It's livable, as long as your exhaust isn't too loud.
I lived with my NX having no 5th gear for about a year. Traveling about 30mins at hwy speeds daily.
But I was also on stock exhaust; now with 3" I'd shoot myself.

Only downside for me was that anything above about 80mph I was in VVL(my rmp switch was set too low, 4.5K)

Thank you for your reply!! Would an option other than buying the 5th gear pop out kit from Courtesy Nissan be to buy a used transmission from a B14 SE-R and swap over the parts I need? I've read that the 5th gear popout was only common on SE-R's earlier than 95.

Still would like to hear what others have to say. Does this sound like 5th gear popout?

Thank you!!

Yes is seems like 5th gear pop out. If you're not sure drive it a while and 5th gear pop out will only get worse.

If you're going to buy a B14 transmission why bother swapping parts. just install the whole tranny, unless you can find a b14 tranny with a cracked case, another common problem.

I had the same problem with 5th gear and lived with it a while but couldn't take the high RPMs on the highway or the poor gas mileage.

I got a 2001 P11 transmission and switched over to a hydraulic clutch. Not one regret, I could never go back. Next on my wish list is a 6 speed swap.

Not really liveable if you commute on the highway. If its your fun car, then the hell with it.

I lasted a whole 20 days in the first ever time one of my SR20's developed 5th gear popout. I also had a 3" exhaust, no cat to a magnaflow muffler, so 4th gear was even more obnoxious than 5th.

I only commute 5 miles to work one way and take the streets, so I'm not too worried about that. However, I do drive about 4 hours one way a couple of times a year and this is the only reliable car that I have. Would it be ok to drive for extended periods of time? I don't want to cause any more damage. Oh and I have stock exhaust and intake.

I'm going to try and fix it, but that might be in the next year or two.



My P11T is a 99 and I've read and have been told that there isn't a transmission that is a direct swap without some sort of modification. That's the only reason I swapped the gears over from a B13. There aren't any local 99 P11T transmissions for sale.

Thank you for your replies!

Yes.

Unbearable.

Yes that is another option. You are rolling the dice, but it is one option.

That's what people would like to believe. More likely there was a transition period where the new 5th gear was phased in, meaning some 1994s got the new gear but even 1996s or later could have gotten old stock 5th gears. Nissan likely didn't want to throw away hundreds of thousands of 5th gears so they just phased them out as the new design came in.

I strongly suggest you fix the transmission properly. This can be done MUCH cheaper than buying either of the pop-out kits available. If you re-use your fluid, axles seals, reverse and neutral switches, 5th gear shift fork, and everything else that comes with these kits (almost all of the parts in the kit are there so you can replace other things "while you're in there") you can get the job done for a lot cheaper than you expect.

The only part you absolutely need to buy is the 5th gear. Last I checked this is $125 - $175. That's all you need. The 5th gear brass synchronizer (baulk ring) is $15 and a very good idea to replace as well. So for $140 - $190 you can have a new 5th gear with no problems.


Don't forget to read this thread: http://www.sr20-forum.com/general-maintenance/18390-how-recognise-repair-5th-gear-pop-out-b13-b14-transmission.html

I would ask the trans shop why they didn't notice the bad gear. A fifth gear with pop out issues is obvious, the gear and engaugment collar are worn to the point that a shop should notice. The sad part is 50% of the 5th gear pop transmission can be fixxed temporarily by just flipping the engaugment collar. I have corrected this on 20+ fwd sr20 trans. with great results.

That's true. I guess you could spend $0 and flip the collar and get 1/4th the mileage out of the transmission. Meaning, if the transmission has 100k miles on it now, you might get 25k miles out of it if you flip the collar.