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. :-/

 

[Team 17]

If u really like the car, then get it fixed. But I think you should get a newer car.

 

[olds97_lss]

I would go with the rebuilt trans as well. If you take it to a dealer, your not going to get $3000 out of it, so it won't really rationalize trading it in for a new car.

If you think the engine is still good and the rest of the car is in good shape, I'd go with the rebuilt trans.

Getting a used trans is like marrying a hooker... you have no idea how hard it's been ridden or what kind of maintenance it has had.

12K miles isn't very many miles for a warrenty and for the extra $2000, you get a trans that's been cleaned up and rebuilt with 3 times the warrenty period.

 

[shadey26 ntc3]

See if you can find another shop that can do it for less. I would shop around first before I put my eggs in one basket. You might save yourself some real big buck that can go toward your rc's

 

[FastEddy]

I have always had the mind set of driving a newer car.
First off look at who's in the car.... YOU! You can't be replaced.
A newer car will offer a better safety factor if you shop right.
A car is a tool for work. It has to be dependable.
If you do some shopping around and get a newer car 2-3 years old with 20-30k on it you will have a safe dependable ride.

Or,

You can get a brand new one with 0-3% interest. Get a modest priced car and the payments will be reasonable.

I have seen people get attached to a car and end up spending several thousands of dollars on fixing it just to have it brake again in a few months. Your car may have treated you well for a long time but sometimes you have to say good-by before it eats you alive.

Look around, have your Dad or an older family member help you if your uncomfortable going to the dealerships by yourself. You owe it to yourself to look around.

 

[ImBroken]

I'd have to agree with Ed on this one... Try to get a lower price for the tranny, have it fixed, then start hunting for a newer ride.... There's so many good deals on cars these days...

 

[WoodiE]

Call around before you do anything. My father is an auto mechanic and in fact he just replaced a tranny in a Dodge mini van, the guy went with a good used tranny and labor cost him about $1400 - about $1000 of that was for the tranny.

ANY dealership is going to be about 100% or MUCH more over what you could have it done else where. Find yourself a trustworthy mechanic and get a quote, I'm willing to bet it will be much cheaper then the dealership. If you'd really like I could contact my dad and get his recommendation on what he'd do, be it replace the tranny or buy a new car. At any rate, call around first!

As for getting a brand new ride - well I'm going to strongly disagree with Eddy. While yes I do day dream about owning one of those brand new four door Chevy heavy duty trucks I'd never buy a new car or truck. Why in the world would you buy something for $10k, $15k, $20k or more just to have it lose it's value by 20% or more just for signing your name on a piece of paper? On top of that new cars and trucks are not magically prone to break downs, in fact during the break in period of a car or truck (usually around 10-15k miles) is when the car will have it's break downs. Maybe it's just me, but I've seen just as many new cars as I've seen old cars parked in my dad garage for repair.


-Michael

 

[kwong2001]

You might try calling up some local junkyards to see if they have any taurus's in your generation with the tranny still in. Maybe try to find someone who knows how to swap the tranny's. I'll bet you could do the whole thing for like $300.

 

[WoodiE]

mcvickj,

I went ahead and called up the ol' man to get his opinion. I told him what year, make, model, and how many miles on the car. He said the Taurus has always been know for tranny problems among a few others. He also recommended looking for prices else where other then the dealership, he also brought up a very good point - how much the car was worth. He said for the amount of miles already on the car your trade in value isn't going to be much as all, so putting another $2,000-3,000 in the car might not make sense at all. I went ahead and checked out Kelley's blue book value and here's what the car is worth in "good condition" ("Good" condition means that the vehicle is free of any major defects). If you sold it out right: $2,275, if you traded it in: $1,025 (Dad thinks it'd be less then that thogh). With that said he said unless you still owe money on it or have some real connection with the car, he'd recommend getting rid of it. Putting $2,000-3,000 in a car that isn't worth that in "good" condition doesn't make sense, you should put that $2k-3k towards a newer car.

He did say however that he would do a job like that for $300 labor plus about $600-700 for a used tranny, so that may give you another reason to look else where other then the dealership.

Just the 2cents from a mechanic.

 

[PiErow]

Ford car trannys.....................

 

[mcvickj]

Thanks alot for the info WoodiE. That helps. I do not have any real connection with the car. I see the car as something to get me from point a to point b. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Skyline Racer]

hey mcvickj...

if you really like the car, stick with it bro. youll regret it if you sold it. just like some r/cs. ya know... you work hard for somethings, then there gone and you miss them like no other. i give the best of luck to you!!!

 

[rocknbil]

mcvickj how often have you checked the tranny fluid? Ever?

What happened is either the tranny fluid got low or stayed low and it could just be out of fluid . . . OR . . . you burnt up your clutch bands . . . OR the pumps are clogged. **Usually** if you catch it right when it starts to skip or keep the level up this won't happen, but if it goes for a few miles it won't kick in any more.

Do yourself ONE FAVOR: get the dog home and fill it up with tranny fluid, if you haven't already. If it's just low . . . five or six bucks of ATF is worth knowing for sure.

I decided long ago to never allow myself be at the mercy of mechanics. But for those that don't have the time or know-how to deal with it (as it sounds like you might be) they are your your only option. The sad part is they prey on ignorance, if they think you don't know . . . they will do just this, sell you a tranny rebuild when it's only fluid. You can fill it up with ATF to find out for sure. If not . . .

You might try calling up some local junkyards ..... I'll bet you could do the whole thing for like $300.

Best. Advice. Ever.

But . . . you have to have access to tools, in the case of a Taurus rent a cherry picker, to at least lift if not pull the engine, be willing to get your hands dirty, bust all eight of your knuckles (usually,) lose at least a whole weekend, and be able to follow the cryptic ramblings of an auto manual. If you're up to it - this is the way to go.

If not, a Taurus? Dump the dog and get a new car.

 

[flash]

it may be time for a new point a to point be mode of transportation. :/

it has happened to everyone at one time or another.

 

[mcvickj]

rocknbill - I check the tranny fluid at least once a month along with the oil and topping off fluids. I checked the fluid on Saturday and even added some type of additive from Lucas that says it helps prevent hard shifting.

It almost seems too easy for the dealer to just hook the car up to a machine and say the tranny is bad. How in the world can you say that without actually digging into the beast.

A while back the Service Engine Light came on. I had it checked out the following day with my old mechanic. He told me it had something to do with a sensor with the torq converter. He said it wasn't a problem (at that time) but it would have to be fixed eventually. I received a quote but put it off. I am wondering if that sensor has died and its sending mixed signals to the computer which is throwing the shifting points off?

You are right I am at the mercy of the mechanic. My knowledge of car repairs is very limited but I have no problems getting my hands dirty and fixing the car with the help of a family member or friend and gain some knowledge in the process.

A few in my family have a garage and tools to work on the car and I'm sure with the help of a manual we could get it. Something worth looking into. I am planning on going thru the phone book and calling around for some different prices.

 

[bigfreak]

mcvickj, sorry to hear about your car. If you have the resources to replace the tranny with a used one on your own, go for it. This will be the best bang for the buck.

If not, you're looking at a lot of money for a car that has 170k on it. Everything on the car wears outside of the tranny and engine. There are shocks, struts, axels, wheel bearings and numerous other moving parts on the car that just will not last forver. If you have to pay someone to fix it for you, you're looking at a lot of money regaurdless. For what it's worth, I'd replace the car if it was me. For a couple of grand you should be able to round something up that is in better shape (better mileage).

good luck making your choice.

 

[rocknbil]

rocknbill - I check the tranny fluid at least once a month along with the oil and topping off fluids.

Well, it was worth a shot. Didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the thread.

How in the world can you say that without actually digging into the beast.

Well . . . knowing HOW they work is a good indicator. For example, if you know how a manual clutch works, and you let the clutch out and it doesn't engage the tranny, it's a pretty good assumption that either the pressure plate is worn or the spring is not engaging the pressure plate. (There are other reasons, just example.) So if the fluid level is up, the auto tranny is something that only a few things can be wrong, the most likely being the pumps or clutch pads, which is essentially dismantle the entire tranny.

I hate those service engine lights. They redefine the word "idiot light." Any number of little irrelevant things can cause them to go off - my Toyota PU will do it sometimes after a refill of gas! (Something aobut a tank pressure sensor.) I shut it down, disconnect the main computer for 30 seconds, and it's fine for months. I guess my point is it's not likely it's that little sensor, but am not an EXPERT on AT's, I just have some working knowledge. Enough to keep me out of trouble, and know I'll never own an AT again (if I can afford not to.)

I still say if you can't get a used one and swap it without moving mountains, get a new car, it's just too much money to soak into a rebuild to have something else go in three months.

 

[FRIDGE]

i was watching this show and they show how they rebuilt the transmission. basically from what i comprehended they take the tranny off the car crack it open take the fluid out and replace it. theres a bunch of metal shaves and crap in it. then its just good. beaware though my brother had the transmission on his car fixxed wiht a low ball mechanic and he had to take it in again thank god he had a warranty they ended up changing the transmission as it was just too burnt out for tv lol. get a new car. 1-2 G's is all you could get and all you see your car for is a point a to b type thing get like a used toyota corolla I'm not too sure maybe the toyota matrix is even cheaper.

 

[olds97_lss]

They also replace any seals or anything else that is worn... visably of course.

From what you described though, it sounds like your torque converter is dieing, but that me be something that is part of the trans rebuild.

The torque converter is basically the pump that drives the transmission... if I remember correctly. I never really messed with any automatic transmissions myself. I've replaced a few clutches in manual transmission cars though.

 

[fisherman]

Stuff thats happened to my familys cars in the past is one we had this dodge caravan and we thought the tranny was messed up but then my dad looked online and found that it took only a certain tranny fluid the stuff that they put in it was messing it up, so we got the right fluid and the problem was fixed. Next story my brothers battery was going bad and the truck was shifting hard like you discribed. We took it in and found that it was the battery that was making it happen, you wouldnt think that it would be the battery but it was. the thing is taht the computer in the car does the timing for these new vhicles and like you said it could be the sensor. Not sure just trying to help.