Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
If you take it to a shop 99% of them will recommend a full rebuild. Good luck finding an honest transmission shop.
I'd start with the easy stuff, check fluid level and change fluid and filter if they are serviceable
Yup, of course any shop will tell you you need a new transmission, which you probably do.
Drop the pan, change the filter and change the fluid. Do several drain and refills afterwards for a little while and see what happens.
It probably needs another transmission though. Call up some shops and ask for the labor of it, and if they'll accept a transmission you provide. Then call up some salvage yards that already have transmissions removed and purchase one. You might be able to get one for $150.
I'm not a big fan of used transmissions too much of a gamble when the labor costs are so high you could really get screwed.
There might be some reputable transmission shops out there that rebuild for decent prices but it's still going to be expensive and hard to find a good shop.
If you do look for a rebuilder, one of the easiest ways to gauge quality is by the warranty. Avoid any shop that offers the 12 month 12k mile warranty. One of the decent shops around here have 3 years 36k mile warranty on rebuilds, some offer lifetime if you come in once a year. That's the sign of a good shop.
I think it depends on the situation. If one drives a beater that's old with high miles and the owner doesn't have the big bucks to put a new transmission in then I think it's worth throwing a used one in that may last 50k miles. I don't believe the transmissions in the Echo are known to be bad transmissions, so a used one probably wouldn't be too bad. Now if it's a car that it's known to have bad transmissions then I wouldn't put a used one in.
If my Camry's transmission died tomorrow I'd be putting a used one in, I don't have thousands of dollars to put a new one in.