Help! - Tranny is DEAD
 

I have a 94 LS (FWD). Just recently the car will not engage in any of the forward gears. It drives for a little then it disengages. Dealer claims that it needs a new tranny and has quote me $3,500 for a refurbished one. Is there cheaper route? -e.g., rebuilding tranny?

Thanks in advance!

One of our esteemed members, Harry (newsvx), just happens to have a 94 fwd tranny in his basement and it's very low mileage. I'm sure he will pipe in here if it is still available.

Re: Help! - Tranny is DEAD
 

Your dealer's quote is way on the high end of the price scale. The record lowest quote, which was pretty recently mentioned here, was $2200. $3500 is insane.

There are plenty of routes. Right now I have a used tranny sitting next to my car in the garageand this weekend I'll transplant it. That was the most inexpensive way I could find to make my car run again. You could try Aamco - most people here will poo-poo that suggestion, but there are good Aamco shops and bad ones, just like everything else.

Rebuilding, if you can find a shop that'll cut you a break, can be a cheaper route, too. Rebuilding one of these things is apparently an expensive thing to do, so you're still talking between $1500-$2000 for a really good deal.

Thanks guys for the quick reply! At this point, I will consider anything BUT the crazy $3K+ repair bill.

Just an FYI, the car has little over 100K miles with new timing belt, water pump, belts, and even synthetic tranny/gear fluids.

Could my problem be anything other than tranny? Doubt it...

Thanks again!

Do yourself a favor and PM "newsvx". He is a super guy and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to work something out with you. :)

Agreed. This will probably be your least expensive and least troublesome route. I had mine rebuilt by a "reputable" rebuilder. I've had nothing but trouble since. After the rebuild, a 2-3 flair. I took it back in and they diagnosed the TPS. They had the car for almost a month before finally diagnosing it. Within a month, I was getting a tranny code (Duty Solenoid A). I took it back, they changed the solenoid to no avail. Had the car for over a month in the diagnostic process and still had no resolution. It was this board (Beav in particular) who finally properly diagnosed the problem, another member who loaned me a test TCU (the TCU proved to be the problem) and I was back to normal within days (not a month!) after purchasing a used TCU from another person on this board.

I too, was trying to save money, because my dealership quoted 4,600.00 for a suby reman unit. Al told, I've probably spent more than the 4,600.00 since the first rebuild (which, if y'all will remember, was a Legacy autobox). However, if I'd not gone the route I did, I would've missed the Vermont Fall Foliage Meet. Looking back, it was worth the money/inconvenience. But, that's just me. :D

Get in touch with Harry. He'll treat you right.

Sent him a pm :D Just for your amusement, got a trade in value of $800 for my car! With working tranny, a whopping $2500. Used car mkt is a dump right now. Still trying to decide whether it's worth the repair.

Randy - quick question - I don't have any check engine or Power light on. WIll you always have some warning light when you have a tranny failure?

as with anything, some are good others not so. randy had a bad experiance with a rebuild, mine (knock on wood) has been fine for about 3 months now, cost $1,900. others have had soa trannies and still had trouble.

as for the used car market, with zero financing it would sure affect my thinking if i was in need of wheels.

No. The lights only work in the failure of an electrical component (duty solenoid, etc.) If it's a mechanical failure, you won't get a light. Strange, but true. :(