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Random Quote: Life's a peach. You slurp your way through the sweet and juicy but sooner or later, you hit the pits!
So I have a truck with 75,000 miles and the transmission shot and the truck is out of warranty. I am not thrilled to say the least. Anyway, I know nothing about transmissions, but it looks like they want $1800-$2000 to rebuild it. My question is, how reliable are rebuilt transmissions typically, assuming that the job is done right?
I am also planning to get a new truck within the next 2 years so may just pull the trigger now.
Truck is an 05 F-150 4x4. I am not happy about it. The funny thing is that the dealer will give me a 75,000 mile warranty on a rebuilt tranny, but the original one only came with a 60,000 mile warranty.
Truck is an 05 F-150 4x4. I am not happy about it. The funny thing is that the dealer will give me a 75,000 mile warranty on a rebuilt tranny, but the original one only came with a 60,000 mile warranty.
This is because they make so much money off the rebuild.
Since you are getting rid of it in the near future see if you can find a junkyard tranny.
__________________ USCG 100 TON MASTER
Pursuit 2870 CC
Palm Beach 161
1984 Mckee Craft 14'
Sunset on the ICW
Madeira Beach, Fl
Honeymoon Harbor
Bimini
"Many times life gives you the test, before you learn the lesson!"
Wayy high in my book for an F150 transmission to be rebuilt. Keep looking, you can get the parts to do a high end transmission rebuild for a superduty diesel for 1200.
what does shot mean ? need more info . what codes are stored ? thats the right price for a top quality rebuild. only problem is federal law states change one part and it can be called rebuilt.....you got to know who is building it 1/3 of the price will be to cover future warrnty issues with a reman from a reman house. deal with a local atra certified trans shop better warranties. and you get the parts you are charged for that are needed. on a ford an extra qt or two of fluid will cure many ills billions made on fords due to wrong fluid level .
what does shot mean ? need more info . what codes are stored ? thats the right price for a top quality rebuild. only problem is federal law states change one part and it can be called rebuilt.....you got to know who is building it 1/3 of the price will be to cover future warrnty issues with a reman from a reman house. deal with a local atra certified trans shop better warranties. and you get the parts you are charged for that are needed. on a ford an extra qt or two of fluid will cure many ills billions made on fords due to wrong fluid level .
An extra quart or two above the full level on the dipstick?
__________________ USCG 100 TON MASTER
Pursuit 2870 CC
Palm Beach 161
1984 Mckee Craft 14'
Sunset on the ICW
Madeira Beach, Fl
Honeymoon Harbor
Bimini
"Many times life gives you the test, before you learn the lesson!"
It will only be as reliable as the guy thats rebuilding it. The guy that does our tranny's gives a 3yr./50K mile warranty on his rebuilds, in 15 years I can only remember one that had to go back in that time frame. We had a customer come in with a tranny issue that just had it "rebuilt" by another shop, our guy took it apart and couldn't believe the mess that they made of it. Almost every bolt was stripped or cross threaded and only a few parts were actually new. Make sure you actually get a rebuild, not a patch job.
Wayy high in my book for an F150 transmission to be rebuilt. Keep looking, you can get the parts to do a high end transmission rebuild for a superduty diesel for 1200.
Does not seem out of line to me. Mine was 2200 and I shopped around quite a bit. Some were a little cheaper, but warranty was worse.
Book rebuild time is 11-12h then add parts. A new trans is probably 2000-2500 then add install time, maybe 4h?. Rebuild is probably cheaper by a little and as noted, shops like them because of the labor involved, they make more of the total profit.
Price is right, they will offer a long warranty because chances are you will wreck, trade or sell the truck long before 75k occurs. Sure thats not always true especially commercial vehicles.
I used to own a transmission shop and we did many Ford Transmissions, and many Ford Pickup transmissions. We also did a lot of commercial vehicles that had the transmission you probably have which is most likely a 4R70W or 4R75W.
If you look hard enough and negotiate enough you will find a shop that will rebuild your transmission for just about any price from $1200 to $3000. But you want a job that will last and will be better that before. A good shop will offer several things.
1. They will have a solid nationwide warranty with many places that can service the transmssion if you breakdown far from home.
2. They should have a good reputation for quality and reliability. You can get this from the BBB, and local mechanics that you trust to tell you about the shop, and also from other customers.
3. You want to make sure they use quality parts and use a heavy duty torque converter especially since you are probably towing with it.
4. They will install all the new updates and replace the solenoids.
A couple of other things.
If the transmission is bad the shop should be able to show you. They can show you the codes in the scanner, they can show you "excessive" not normal metal in the pan. (there is always some metal on the magnet in the pan). The condition and color of the fluid may be burnt. There is a leak in the transmission?
They should also offer to do what is called an internal inspection. And this will show you the worn or damaged parts that are inside. Of course an internal inspection requires the removal and tear down of the transmission. And this normally comes at a cost of $300 to $600 labor to do. At that point you are almost commited to a rebuild. But it is the only way to really know. Plus this will tell you if you have hard part damage such as planet assemblies, sprags, roller clutches etc. Which will make the cost more.
The cost is also going to depend on what they find when they do the internal inspection, if they are giving you an estimate without the internal inspection (a bad sign), then they are just guessing. They could be the best transmission mechanics in the world and they are not going to know what is exactly going on inside that transmission.
A transmission is the most complex part or your vehicle, it is also one of the most expensive. That transmission has about 2000 parts and is full of intense pressures and electronics. And controlled by several computers.
Options
If you try to sell the truck with a bad transmission no one is going to want it.
If you buy a junkyard transmission you may get another bad transmission. And it is going to cost you $600 everytime you have to return it to the junkyard to try to install another one.
If you go to the dealership the replacement transmissions they supply amazing enough are from a large reman house they are not new. They have about the same success rate as a good rebuild from a local shop. But you get the nationwide warranty.
You can ask your mechanic to put in a reman if he is good at swapping the transmission that way he holds your warranty but he is not nationwide.
The best chance for success is to have someone install a Jasper remanufactured transmission. These are probably the best in the market. But they are very expensive. They also come with a good nationwide warranty. This is also a reputable company.
They only way you can get your money back after fixing the transmission is to keep the vehicle. Any attempt to get rid of this vehicle at this point will cost you more money.
Transmission Rebuild 
