Rebuilt vs used transmission

Hi,

I am going to do something as my transmission is going. 164,000 miles on my Honda accord. Any opinions on rebuilding the current one vs putting a used OK one in. The warranty on the rebuilt is 12,000 miles. The warranty on the used is 24,000 miles.

 

Basically a two year warranty on a used tranny??? That is WAY more than I would expect; generally 90 days would be more expected. Part of the formula is the cost of each and who is doing the work. For the used one, something to consider is that if you have a tranny shop install, they will not be the ones with the warranty, it will be the supplier, and you still have to pay for the R&R labor. For the 24,000 mile warranty, possibly you get "one" replacement under warranty; so if it craps out in two months they may give you a replacement and the warranty will end. Have to consider all angles.

What kind of shape is the rest of the car in and how long do you plan on keeping it? If it's in decent shape and a keeper, a quality rebuilt may be best. Check around; I would not be surprised if you could find one with a 3 year/36,000 mi warranty. Jasper, for instance, is 3 year/100,000 miles:

http://www.jasperengines.com/transmi...automobile.htm

 

does either warranty include labor to install the replacement ?

 

I agree with the tow guy, are you planning on keepin the car? Or you jus fixin it to sell it. Also what is goin out on your tranny? Is it jus a few gears it pops out of?. What year honda is it. If it's a late 80's to mid 90's there's an abundence of trannys that can be had for a pretty decent price and you might be able to save a lot more money in the long haul then havin to have yours rebuilt, and gettin it rebuilt can put a lot of down time on the car if it's your daily driver. Jus a few things to think about when doin a tranny fix

 

Hi,

The car has been great and we have had no other problems. There is no gear slippage. There is a low whining sound now when the gears shift. The tranny guy said it was a loose bearing? I had one person tell me it might just be that the car is getting some age.
I hate to spend the money if it ain't a problem.
It is a 96 Honda with 164,000 miles. I would love to keep it goin'.
Gets over 30 MPG.
Help!

 

There are several Equipment Replacement strategies, so if you have a spreadsheet and want hard numbers to back up your intuition I'd look these up on the Web.

I'd post mine but my posting method is offline.

With your labor and time and what with loopholes [expressed or implied] I'd disregard any claims that you can collect in any meaningful way on warranty promises.

That's why I think some companies offer a "lifetime warranty"-it sounds good but probably most buyers sell/junk the car before the replacement tranny fails, or the reman co. can claim that external causes overstressed the replacement.

 

I think I would get a second and third opinion before I condemned the tranny and being as it is operational I would drive it until there was a definite problem. It may go another 50,000 miles without a problem, BUT I might be a little careful how far I got from home.

 

You know, I think you're right. I just don't have a good feeling yet about shelling out $1500-2,000. I will have someone else look at it.
And it runs fine, just has this little whine when the automatic shift occurs.

 

OK. So now I have someone saying it is the pump that let's oil into the tranny. To get to the pump you have tear apart the tranny.

 

Unfortunately tranny diagnosis isn't always an exact science. Could conceivably be either of the two items (and maybe 3 or 4 other parts). SO, options are (1) get a third opinion, (2) have one of two garages that's already checked it dive right in, or (3) roll the dice and keep driving it until it craps out which will no doubt happen when's least convenient and most expensive.

 

Never rebuilt an automatic, but I've seen tests with gauges that seem to allow sorting through the couldbe/probablynot choices with some certainty.

For this many bucks you might want to pay for three thorough checkups using whatever hi-tech diagnostic tools are currently available. I'd avoid seat-of-the-pants stuff.

This technique may or may not be found, yet, in most garages.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/lo...number=1490162
I know they already do something like this to predict bearing failure in expensive earth-moving machinery. They don't even have to disassemble it to know which bearing and how worn.

The diagnosis might be more neutral if you tell them you don't know yet who will do the work, if anyone.

 

I had a similar issue a while back.... tranny making an "unhappy noise" - but seemed to be working okay.... Check with your insurance company for towing insurance... mine runs about $1.50/month to add on to my policy. Should the transmission crap out - I call my insurance company, they send out a tow truck - and pay for the tow back to my garage..... Lot cheaper than a new/rebuilt transmission - until you know exactly whether or not you need to replace it.

 

Books on this type of task will tell you what special tools you'd need to buy or rent.

JC Whitney sells rebuilt kits, so this is your lowest price on parts.

Pulling and replacing the trans in a parking lot, putting in a synchro ring into a Spitfire trans took me total 12 hours, never having done it before, working from a Hayden manual.

During this long day, a part fell out that was not on the diagram, then another that looked just like the first one.
I had to guess where they might go.
I must have guessed correctly.

 

Have done the basic checks such as checking your transmission fluid?
So its an automatic? I haven't messed all too much with honda auto tranny's, but If its a 5 spd I would bet you it's jus your throw out bearing that's wore out.Fairly simple fix

 

I should also mention, you got yourself a manual for your car. Not no weak ass haynes or chilton but a factory service manual? PM me if ya need one. I'm always open to help out other Honda Heads from havin some lame ass Mechanic charge em up the a$$ for work they could of done there selves.