Bottomed out this morning

[BlitzPuppet]

Bottomed out on my way to work this morning while driving my 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5.

I was driving to work and was taking the back roads instead of the highway because traffic was backed up so bad since it was so foggy. I turn onto a back road which is very narrow and notice a truck with a trailer is pulled onto the side of the road. Getting closer I realize that he is on the wrong side of the road and is in the trailer hosing something off. This causes traffic to slowly pull into the opposing lane and drop two wheels off onto the grass/ditch (sharp/sudden cuttoff onto grass from the high asphalt). When I passed the truck I eased the car back onto the road and heard a *scrraaaaape* noise. I drive about 50 feet and pull off onto a driveway to check my car and notice that the CVT's pan was what was scratched and fortunately not dented from what I can tell.

Is this something I should worry about other than painting? Not noticing any weird noises or behaviors, I just want to be proactive/careful.

Picture:

Scraped transmission pan

 

[aquariuscsm]

Nah you'll be alright,no worries.

 

[IndyIan]

The trans pan on my old Neon looked about the same, no issues ever. The worry is that you've pushed part of the pan up so it rubs on something inside the trans.
With a car that new I'd probably put it on jack stands and run it with my ear close by to check for any light rubbing even.
Also see if you can find a drawing of the trans to see if anything is close to the bottom of the pan.
If not, spray some paint on it and count yourself lucky.

 

[4wheeldog]

That actually appears to be the differential part of the transaxle that got scraped. It should be a relatively heavy casting, so you are good, other that a paint patching chore.

 

[Donald]

You need to immediately paint the CVT pan florescent green.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
That actually appears to be the differential part of the transaxle that got scraped. It should be a relatively heavy casting, so you are good, other that a paint patching chore.


Good point, I think you may be right...I'll see if I can get a drawing of the parts.

Originally Posted By: Donald
You need to immediately paint the CVT pan florescent green.


Everyone knows fluorescent colors add horsepower....I don't want to overstress my transmission!

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Got ahead of myself. will be posting a few more.

http://i.imgur.com/zuYr4XB.jpg

 

[BlitzPuppet]

another picture:

http://i.imgur.com/m5uaOBI.jpg

only problem is the manual's picture doesn't show the hump as seen from my original picture.

 

[eljefino]

To me it looks like a plastic cover but IDK.

I had a 96 taurus where the transmission pan was dented inwards 3/4 of an inch and it still ran fine, and their trannies were made of glass to begin with.

 

[cjcride]

I'd spray some Fluid Film on the scrapes and forget it.

 

[zach1900]

Nah, you're fine, the pan can be sacrificed , if it didn't dent anything it's fine.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

I actually got some matte finish Rustoleum at work and sprayed the affected area. Can hardly tell it's there anymore, the scratches just made it look scary.

Thanks for your help everyone, definitely put my mind to ease!

 

[19jacobob93]

I wouldn't worry, my car has been scraped and bashed beyond belief underneath and accidentally driven over huge storm kerbs 3 times to the point where my head hit the roof followed by a few deafening bangs as my cars underbelly is smashed by solid concrete slabs! Apart from eventually busting all 4 shocks everything works fine despite the dents and scrapes!
One thing I have a habit of doing is driving forward in a parking lot if the space in front is empty, forgetting that there is a big concrete kerb stop infront of me!
I just sprayed all the smashed scraped areas with fish oil so the bare metal areas don't rust

 

[BlitzPuppet]

Post rustoleum paint. I don't see any damage:

Guess I got lucky! Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[cjcride]

Looks good Blitz.