Decades

Andy, Don't think it is in the owner's manual, but the transmission dipstick is on the passenger side of the engine, on a tube above the oil dipstick with a black cap that you will need a (I think) 10mm socket/wrench to get off. the dipstick is a couple of feet long, and has the marks on it for cold and hot. You may be able to tell if it is mechanical in the transmission by the smell of the fluid or color. Mine had the friction plates and the band burnt up. I am much less sure of this: I think the wiring connection that sends the speed sensor information from the transmission is the one just aft of where the dipstick tube goes into the transmission (It has a green connector) on the passenger side. I have enough room where I can crawl under mine but I still have a hard time reaching the connector without touching the exhaust and have only wiggled it to check tightness. There may be another connector that is actually on top of the transmission; I was under the van with the Nissan technician when he checked the connectors that ultimately fixed the electrical problem in October, but he also checked a bunch of other connectors under the van and in the engine compartment. If someone on the forum knows for sure, please respond and I'll delete this information; I don't want to mislead or have the wrong info on here. Also, I've read that you don't want to use brake cleaner to clean your MAF sensor; there is a special aerosol spray for it if you are going to try to clean it. If you have a stock, non-oiled air filter and it is intact, I don't think that this would be dirty.

I may have spoken too soon. Long story short, the van is currently at Level 10 Performance in Hardyston, NJ. The transmission is being upgraded to their Bulletproof package. I was driving to Buffalo, NY this past week/weekend by way of Pittsburgh, and while I was still in Virginia on 12/18 the van shifted hard from first to second- very abruptly, like hitting a pothole. About 15 minutes later I put the transmission in manual mode to see if I could get better fuel economy in the hills heading into West Virginia, and I ended up seeing the transmission slip (RPMs went up about 500 RPM with no increase in acceleration or speed, and the burning smell came into the cabin.) I shifted out of manual and switched to monitor the transmission temp- it was at about 1/3rd of the bar, which is higher than I have seen it, but not pegged high. No problems the rest of the day except the thumping shift from first to second. Spent the night and the next day (12/19) near Pittsburgh, no problems, but only drove while cold (transmission temps never got above 2 or 3 bars, shifting was normal) but ambient air temp was also around freezing. Drove from Pittsburgh to Buffalo on 12/20, no problems noted, but I also didn't need to stop at all. Drove from Buffalo to Pittsburgh on 12/21, after the vehicle warmed up the hard shift from 1st to 2nd started again. The longer it was driven, the more time it seemed to stay in first gear, and the higher the RPMs seemed to get before shifting to 2nd. Once it was in 2nd, everything else seemed normal. Found the closest Nissan dealership with the Commercial Vehicle service (Monroeville, PA) and took it there on 12/21- (I had read on a Titan forum that someone had a hard shifting problem at around 20k and a transmission flush fixed it.) They flushed it and said that there was material in the fluid. I found Level 10 Performance Transmissions through a Titan site, and figured it would be better to upgrade than to replace with the same. Dropped the van off there last night. By the time I had stopped driving it (had to get it towed the last 75 miles to Level 10) the engine wouldn't accelerate and RPMs were "hunting" around 1.8k at about 45-55 MPH. I was going fine until I hit traffic, the shifting became horrible (4k before shifting, with nowhere near the acceleration associated with the throttle input.) Finally on the side of the road with 18504 miles on the Odometer. The only other symptom I may have missed previously is after merging onto a highway, the van seemed to hang out in 4th gear for about 5 seconds longer than you would expect, with the throttle released but with RPMs hanging out at around 4k. I thought that it was due to the transmission programming, it has been doing that on freeway merges as long as I can remember, although I probably didn't notice if it didn't always do it. I'm not sure if the transmission just couldn't handle the additional torque and HP from the supercharger or if I did some damage back in the first week of October when I had one very abrupt shift when the connection between the ECU and transmission was lost (It felt like running over a curb, but I think I was in 3rd gear at the time) which then damaged it enough that the amount of stress the transmission could take was lowered, or some combination of the two. The third option is that it was a defective part, but that doesn't seem likely. With the supercharger, peak horsepower at the wheel went from 250 to about 380 and peak torque went from about 300 to about 355 as measured on the Dyno at Abacus racing (those were the higher of the two sets of numbers from the two places I had it dyno'ed at) - I think the only time the transmission saw a that power was on the dyno, although I didn't baby the van at all. Either way, it looks like the folks at Level 10 will fix it better than new. I'll update when I get it back, but they may also put photos on their Facebook page.

Andy, Is the check engine light on? Any other lights? I've had two problems with mine: I drenched the underbody and ended up getting the "CRUISE" light staying on and the "SET" light blinking, and had no acceleration- apparently the wiring harness connection on the transmission got wet and put me in a limp-home mode (3rd gear?) because the vehicle speed couldn't be determined from the transmission. The other is more recent (this past weekend)- I've just put 18k on mine, and the transmission had started shifting hard from 1st to 2nd; got it flushed at a Nissan dealership and they found material in the fluid, plus the fluid was burnt. If it is the transmission, it will eventually throw an engine code. I was getting codes for 1st, 3rd, and 4th by the time I stopped driving it- I've been monitoring transmission fluid temp, and it never has gone above 1/3 of the way up on the display, but if I remember correctly it is usually more like only one to 3 bars. My transmission problems were worse once the vehicle warmed up, and from your description (and location) it sounds like it was cold- did it change at all once it warmed up?

Aluminess lists the NV on their site: http://www.aluminess.com They have listed front and rear bumpers, roof racks, and boxes/racks for the rear bumper. I'm unfortunately in the market for a front bumper after hitting a black bear. I don't know how they will price out compared to the factory chrome bumper, a fog light, the bumper grille, two sonar sensors, and some of the plastic in the wheel well on the driver's side.

Tatunka, I called Stillen today- on their website they do not list any details but if you call the Sport Truck division (866)25Zero-553Seven and speak to J.T. he can pass on the info that Todd at Tidewater Z collected as he installed mine. They are working on NV changes to the install instructions for the Titan kit. It has been a year and I only have about 15k miles on the odometer since the install. Zero issues with the supercharger although very recently a local Nissan dealership did not want to work on an unrelated problem because the van was "heavily modified" (the problem turned out to be a connection issue with the wiring harness connection on the transmission that caused the ESC light (not the one that is controlled by the button, the one to the left of it), CRUISE light, and SET (for c. control) blinking- an issue with the transmission speed sensor signal, I think, which makes the van almost un-drivable until fixed- removing and reconnecting the wiring harness corrected the issue.) The only thing I have not taken care of with my install are two CEL codes that are for the 2nd set of O2 sensors that show a (false) lean condition. I need to request that those CEL codes be deleted with an UpRev code change, I just have not taken care of it yet (I just mentioned it to JT today when I spoke with him.) I don't know if this is an issue because of the headers and B-pipes or if it would be there on just a supercharger install with a cat-back exhaust. I used to clear the code when it came up with a handheld code scanner; I stopped bothering with it since it doesn't bother me, and the CEL light will blink if any new codes show up. I also still need to put in a cold air intake instead of just the K&N filter I have in the stock air box now. I don't know how much you travel, but if you are ever in the Virginia Beach area you are welcome to take it for a test drive if you are considering having one installed.

I think if I were to put in a second tank, it would be mirroring the OEM one but would have to change the exhaust to side pipes. There is plenty of room on the passenger side if the exhaust is re-routed. Mirroring the OEM location would provide peace of mind for crash protection, too.

I'm just about at 10k, with only the door lock issue on the sliding door that was fixed quickly with one trip to the dealership. No other problems, still love the truck. I've got 285/75R17s on the stock wheels, with a 2" lift, and still have just over an inch on the side door. If I ever take the lift off, I'd go with 285/70R17's, though I'm pretty sure the 75's would still fit fine. You can put the 2nd row in the next slot back and still have about 2" of space between the 2nd and 3rd row of seats (the 1st row in the rear position is about 6+ inches away from the 2nd in the normal position.) You may have trouble getting it back out without taking out the 3rd row first. I have the driver's side half of the 3rd row removed, with all other seats in the normal spots except the one right behind the driver- it is in the next spot back so my 2 year old isn't kicking my seat. Also, only the middle seat in the second and third rows have all 3 of the latch system anchors if that matters for car seats for you. The single seats only have the anchor on the back and the 3rd row seats and window side of the 1st and 2nd row do not have them at all.

Video (if this works) Just the good part of the Dyno (short sound byte really- had to edit it to get it less than the 500MB limit) Edited: Swapped the video for the full run instead of just a throttle bump (Run 8 at Abacus Racing from the graphs in my gallery) NV56SCPull.wmv 11/23/13: Added 2 more STD-corrected graphs to my gallery (to better compare to Stillen's graphs) and 3 pictures of the exhaust.

Congrats! Train horn? Grover stutter horn? Carson makes an electric one, I don't know if it will sound as good in person. The law here says that the volume of the horn must be appropriate to the size of the vehicle. When I go from driving my NV to driving my wife's minivan, I inadvertently chirp the tires (on the minivan) until I get used to it. That NEVER happened before I got the NV. Go easy on your Z!

Tatunka, I'm no expert, but wouldn't a pull indicate an alignment issue? I know Quigley does an alignment after the install, is it possible you did something to throw it out of whack? Is there a place that you could go with a level concrete pad to do a rough check? Unless the tread is getting damaged and missing chunks, I would think that any gross balance issues would be found by the shop- I've had a rim that was bent and couldn't be balanced properly once, and the shop identified it with their machine. I would also not rule out a defect on a wheel- if the surface where the studs or where the hub mates to the wheel is machined wrong, torqueing down the nuts may cause the wheel to be off of the plane of the hub. I think that would cause a wobble, but not a pull. You may want to check your brakes- there may be a problem with one that could cause the pull. I don't know if the ABS would flash if there was one, but it could also be an emergency brake problem, too. If you have a infrared thermometer you can identify if there is one brake that is pulling.

Sampson, No kidding about the seats- only the 4th row ones have wheels, too! I recently took all of the seats out to pick up some rabbit hutches. I would have much preferred individual seats and the additional seating options that would give me. I'm assuming with your six you leave some buffer seats to make the trip more peaceful for the people in the front? I keep a small notebook in the car and record the numbers while pumping 20+ gallons of gas. If I'm in a hurry I just note the fuel added don't reset the trip miles or avg speed. longer term I don't think I saw a trend of improvement with engine break in. Lately my mileage has been as low as 10.8 (with traction/fun control off and accelerating like a teenager who doesn't pay for gas) and as high as 12 (with A/C off and a painfully light right foot) with all of the tires at 68 - 71 psi, depending on the outside temp with suburban driving (mostly 35 - 55 mph on two-lane roads.) I commute with a empty ride, so it is a little bouncy on bad roads. When I weighed the van the front and back were about the same weight without me in it and I probably outweigh the junk I've accumulated in the back. I think my van gains about 10 pounds a month of dropped chicken nuggets and lollipop sticks from my gang. I am really looking forward to taking it on a longer trip. If I were to do it all over again, the only thing I would change would be to skip the 2" lift kit and go with Nitto Terra Grappler LT285/70R17s on the stock wheels. That should put my speedo within 1% and have close to stock height. I was 2" too tall to fit into one of the local parking garages where I needed to be last month, and would have preferred to use the van. I love the NV for what it is meant for, but I am not a fan of commuting in it with just me and what could be carried on a motorcycle.

Dyno graphs posted in my gallery from before and after. WFC, Thanks- it honestly was the first thing I thought of when I found out it was the same engine as the Titan, I had it planned from before I bought the van and really was hoping it would work out. I have heard that there are at least 3 more supercharged NVs in the works, I can't wait to see them. I am happy with the brakes and I don't think I am going to change them- they are good enough for a fully loaded van and for towing; adding the supercharger hasn't really changed how fast I drive, I just accelerate a little better (more pep is what I was after.) When the first dyno runs were done, they said the speed limiter was set at about 110 mph (I think that is around 6k RPM in 3rd) I don't think I'll ever know if it was removed or not. There was surging at around 40MPH under harder acceleration (not WOT) I had associated it with a WOT/Speed interlock, but after the Stillen/UpRev tune (installed 11/13/2013) it seems to be gone- now the acceleration is smooth at any given throttle input (only really tested through about 1/2 throttle) and smoothly pressing down on the throttle results in a linear acceleration response. Bottom line- the van is much more fun to drive. I have a video from one of the after dyno sessions, but I'm not sure if I can add it to the gallery. The air sound from the dyno's tailpipe sensor dominates the sound until the runs start, I'm not sure the recorder I used was up to the task of capturing the sound of the runs. It really sounds like a muscle car with the exhaust. the supercharger wails like a banshee, and it was really something to see in excess of three and a half tons of boxy ugliness strain against the ratchet straps as it squatted from the acceleration. I was probably standing in a bad spot for the video :) TJS6, I still need to take some pictures of the exhaust. Is one on the supercharged NV's in the works yours? Supposedly one is a 2500 w/ the V8, should have a much better power to weight ratio than my silver elephant.

TJS6, Got the van back today with the Stillen exhaust installed. The one I got was part 503257, the Titan cat back single side exhaust for the crew cab long bed since I figured that it would be easier to shorten tubing than to weld on more. I was wrong- it wasn't a simple matter of shortening a few pieces of the straight tubing. It needed the changes described above, but Todd did a great job in making it work. Did your Banks exhaust on the NV require significant changes too? It is defiantly louder than stock and quite a bit louder than I expected. Even with the throttle cracked open for normal acceleration there is a deep bass rumble (it sounds like I should be accelerating MUCH faster :) ). I would say that the exhaust rumble is the dominant sound inside the cabin now, but not loud enough to interfere with normal conversation at cruising speed. On the plus side it makes the idle whir of the serpentine belt/supercharger completely unnoticeable, if I hadn't driven it without the high flow exhaust I wouldn't have noticed it at all. Overall I am very satisfied with it and I would choose to do it again over the stock exhaust even with the added expense of modifications and all. I will investigate adding a resonator to quiet it down even more, though.