Offroad-Express

1995 Nissan Mistral owner. Great car when works well..but I do have several problems at the moment(vehicle not myself). I am hoping someone out there can help me in solving them.

1. Auto trans slips or stays in 2nd/3rd gear randomly but have noticed when it goes around the corner is more frequent. I have had a new trans(recon) no more than 6 months ago and this problem continues-fine on open road. Last 2 trans. burnt out, have external cooler in now.

2. 4x4 not engaging at all, only in 2 wheel drive. Is this electrical fault maybe??

3 Just today handbrake light stays on but worse still no brakes. Put foot down on pedal and just a spongy feeling, pump it and I get a beeping noise- not so much fun when towing a tralier full of horse manure.

Not sure if I should exorcise the car as it feels though it is possessed by demons .

Need help!!!

Handbrake light coming on could also be because it is low on brake fluid have you checked?

1, what part of the country are you in?
2, handbrake light has 3 sensors on it, you may have no vacuum or are indeed low on brake fluid
3, no 4wd could mean the selector is not engaging, the CV's are broken or the hubs are not engaging; check if you have auto or manual hubs
4, I suspect low oil level in the auto box?

If the trans has been out recently I'd say they have forgotten to put a plug back in. (4wd) the mistral is a very basic 4wd system its either in 4wd or its not. even if they hadn't put the selector back in the correct place you'd still get 4H.

have you put it 4wd on some wet grass and see if the front wheels do turn? or is based on the assumption the green light doesn't come up on the dash when engaging.

factory auto hubs?

Low oil will stop the trans working properly.

Brake master cylinder seal. (did mine recently and its a 98 )

Thanks some great suggestions. Sorted brakes out- split brake hose so that not a problem.
4 wheel drive definitely no go as I needed to be towed today on wet slope. The 4x4 light comes on in 4h and 4l but front wheels dont turn. I will check the plugs on the selector when I am under it tomorrow. Also will check trans fluid.
Thanks for the responses most appreciated.