YACT: Hope your weekend was better than mine....

[mcvickj]

Friday I noticed my car was starting to hit the shift points really hard. It almost felt like being rear ended. Thats how much force it had when it hit the first shift point. Didn't matter how soft I got on the gas. So I told my self I would get it in the shop Monday morning.

On my way into work Saturday the tranny was still hitting the points hard but felt fine. I was about half way to work and I was waiting at a stop light and I get on the gas and the RPM's climb to about 6k and then it decides to slam into gear. I knew this wasn't good. After getting to work I decided to take as many back roads as possible just incase I had to pull over to the side. I only managed to get about 1/3rd of the way home when I had to pull over and park it. It got so bad that I couldn't even get over 20MPH. I walked into the place of business and told them what was going on and that I needed to leave it in their parking lot until Monday.

I couldn't do anything with the car on Sunday because everyone was closed. No sense of towing in somewhere without them expecting it.

Now we are at today. I get the car towed to the local Ford dealer and I tell them whats going on and I want to get the car diagnosed to see what the problem was. I receive a call about 6 hours later telling me my transmission is shot. !@( $@(Q*% Just what I was afraid of. He then tells me I have two options. I can either get a used tranny with 48k for $1056 or a remac for $1936. Regardless of what I choose the labor is going to cost me $640.

So it would be either $2576 for the remac or $1696 for the used tranny. The remac comes with a 3 year / 36k warranty. The used comes with a 1 year / 12k warranty.

My car is a 1997 Ford Taurus GL with a 3.0 V6. The milage on the car is right around 167k. It had 116k when I purchased it back in 01. I've been pretty religious about oil changes and general maintenance. I know the car has a lot of miles on it but I feel the engine is still solid. It has never given me any problems. It doesn't burn oil. I know the car. The body is still solid. No rust. I've been told the Ford 3.0 V6 is a very good engine.

If you was in my situation what would you do? Right now I'm leaning towards putting in the remac and hope to get another 4 years out of it. This is just a very very lousy time to happen. What really burns me is it gave no indication of going bad. :-/

 

[NutBucket]

What's the car worth and what's your financial situation?

EDIT: There's no way in hell I'd pay $1000 for a used tranny.

 

[TechnoKid]

You did regular transmission fluid changes as well?

What exactly on the transmission is shot? The torque converter? The clutch packs? Valve bodies?

You are not going to get a lot in trade in with that sorta probelm on the car. IMO, fix it and use for another few years.

 

[Ulfwald]

Get the reman tranny. Used ones could also give you the same issue right after the warranty runs out.

 

[SynthDude2001]

You're not the only one who had car problems over the holiday weekend....mine no longer wants to start at all (fuel pump maybe...I really have no clue still). I feel your pain.

 

[Pepsi90919]

FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!
FOUR MORE YEARS!

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
You did regular transmission fluid changes as well?

What exactly on the transmission is shot? The torque converter? The clutch packs? Valve bodies?

You are not going to get a lot in trade in with that sorta probelm on the car. IMO, fix it and use for another few years.

That's true. If you plan to get rid of the car you'll have to sell it yourself.

EDIT: Think of it this way. Either you spend the money and keep your current car or you sell it for what you can and use the money to get something else.

 

[sniperruff]

just find a cheaper mechanic or junk the ford. i don't think a taurus with 167k miles on it is worth $2k.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

You can part if out if you want to make a little extra

I'd start looking for another car. Is it really worth that much money?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Look up on edmunds.com or something similar what it's worth IF the tranny is fine

For something you'll be putting so many miles on, get a more reliable car

 

[mcvickj]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
You did regular transmission fluid changes as well?

What exactly on the transmission is shot? The torque converter? The clutch packs? Valve bodies?

You are not going to get a lot in trade in with that sorta probelm on the car. IMO, fix it and use for another few years.

Honestly, no I didn't do regular transmission fluid changes. It might have been done once when I took it in for a tune up.

I don't know what is shot in the tranny. I doubt the dealer would be able to tell that just from the diagnostic machine.

 

[mcvickj]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
What's the car worth and what's your financial situation?

EDIT: There's no way in hell I'd pay $1000 for a used tranny.

I have no idea as to the current value of the car. I could always look at the current blue book price. I know I paid $4700 for it back in 01.

My financial situation? Eh...could be better, could be worse. I would like to avoid adding another montly payment if I could but that will not happen no matter what route I choose.

 

[NutBucket]

Well, I think either figure is high for the part. I can get used Honda auto trannys for $200 all day long. There's no reason you should pay that much for a used tranny. There's tons of 'em out there.

I'd find a different mechanic first and foremost. I think $1k for the whole job including parts would be more reasonable.

 

[z0mb13]

thats what u get for buyin a ford!!

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, I think either figure is high for the part. I can get used Honda auto trannys for $200 all day long. There's no reason you should pay that much for a used tranny. There's tons of 'em out there.

I'd find a different mechanic first and foremost. I think $1k for the whole job including parts would be more reasonable.

I'd pay $1k to fix it then I'd sell it

Right now, he'll be lucky to get any decent amount. He might as well get it fixed and then sell it

 

[Quixfire]

The 97 Ford Taurus is a very good car with either 3.0L V6, 2 or 4 valves per cylinder. 167K miles on a transmission is nothing to complain about for any manufacture. If you can afford the repair I would fix the car. There is very little that fails on those vehicle and the transmission is one of the weaker links in the chain.

I would choose the reman transmission because of the warranty and since it?s being done at a Ford dealership it should cover parts and labor. I have a customer with 267K miles on her 96 Taurus and it still running strong. The only major repair done to the car outside of maintenance was an oil pan gasket.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, I think either figure is high for the part. I can get used Honda auto trannys for $200 all day long. There's no reason you should pay that much for a used tranny. There's tons of 'em out there.

I'd find a different mechanic first and foremost. I think $1k for the whole job including parts would be more reasonable.

Nutbucket, the cost of a transmission really depends on someone?s location. I don't know where you or the OP lives, but I live near Dearborn, MI and I can get a used transmission for a late model Taurus for $4-500 dollars any day of the week. But I'm lucky to find a used transmission for any import vehicle with decent miles for under $800. The OP might not live in area that is over populated with low miles wrecked or damaged Taurus/Sables for a plentiful supply of used parts. While I personally wouldn't paid over a 1K dollars for a Ford transmission I have paid that for some import vehicles.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
You did regular transmission fluid changes as well?

What exactly on the transmission is shot? The torque converter? The clutch packs? Valve bodies?

You are not going to get a lot in trade in with that sorta probelm on the car. IMO, fix it and use for another few years.

you honestly should not have to change the fluid all the time.. if it's in good shape, should last a LONG time.

 

[Freejack2]

It's threads like these that make me so glad I have a manual tranny. I hear way too many horror stories about automatic transmissions dying to the tune of 2 - 3 grand a pop.

 

[Deeko]

Would you like to hear about the problems I've had with my car('94 grand am)?

summer '02 - motor mount
fall '02 - alternator
fall '02 - some coolant assembly
winter '03 - thrown rod(engine)
fall '03 - radiator
winter '04 - head gaskets(said fvck it and got new car, totalled new car 6 months later, fixed this one)
fall '04 - thrown rod(engine)

I think I'm forgetting something from summer '02, but this is certainly enough.

 

[bobalong]

I think Monkey Muppet has beaten you on the worst weekend

 

[sciencewhiz]

My friend has an escort from that era and he says that the transmissions on the escorts and tauruses are the first things to go, usually arount 100k. Be lucky you got 167k.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Quixfire

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Well, I think either figure is high for the part. I can get used Honda auto trannys for $200 all day long. There's no reason you should pay that much for a used tranny. There's tons of 'em out there.

I'd find a different mechanic first and foremost. I think $1k for the whole job including parts would be more reasonable.

Nutbucket, the cost of a transmission really depends on someone?s location. I don't know where you or the OP lives, but I live near Dearborn, MI and I can get a used transmission for a late model Taurus for $4-500 dollars any day of the week. But I'm lucky to find a used transmission for any import vehicle with decent miles for under $800. The OP might not live in area that is over populated with low miles wrecked or damaged Taurus/Sables for a plentiful supply of used parts. While I personally wouldn't paid over a 1K dollars for a Ford transmission I have paid that for some import vehicles.

Makes me glad to live in SoCal I suppose. I just look at the 2k price for the reman tranny and think about what 2k bought for me; a low mileage motor and tranny in excellent condition with loads more power then my stocker. It wasn't hard to find at all and if I needed an auto instead of a 5 speed it would have been cheaper.

 

[Pepsi90919]

my 95 ford taurus with 275,000 km is starting to get really lazy shifts between first and second gear.

it's also making a horrible noise at the back, and idles like crap sometimes, and has left me stranded twice on major highways because of an alternator and tensioner pulley. it's a piece of crap.

don't buy fords.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
my 95 ford taurus with 275,000 km is starting to get really lazy shifts between first and second gear.

it's also making a horrible noise at the back, and idles like crap sometimes, and has left me stranded twice on major highways because of an alternator and tensioner pulley. it's a piece of crap.

don't buy fords.

The slow shift between first & second is normal for most high mileage transmissions. The internal seals are starting to wear out. The noise in the rear could be your rear upper strut mounts, it sounds like a metal on metal rattle.