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Actually, the basic prices for "rebuilds" seems to have held fairly steady when indexed for inflation. Recently had the Chevy (GMT 800/2001/179K) redone for ~ $1700, which was quite reasonable for a 4WD - easily w/in range of $900 some 15 ~ 20 years ago.
I was sitting there in the waiting area with a lady while getting an oil change. She was telling me about her car, an early 90's Olds Cutlass, one of those hit with an ugly stick. She had about 170,000 miles on it. She told me it was ok, but the transmission was slipping. She went on to say that she had the transmission serviced within the last couple of months. I inquired further. It sounded like she was sold one of those power flushes for the transmission fluid, and it sounded like it had never before been done. I could imagine the stress this placed on the hardened seals and whatnot. People shouldn't drive a car for an eternity, arriving at burnt brown transmission fluid, and then subject a car to its first hooked-up-to-a-machine transmission flush. I didn't offer any opinions, but I filed that information away in my head.
I had the flush done on my '04 Venture minivan when it had 36k miles on it, they flushed all of the old Dexron 4 out and replaced it with synthetic Dexron 6. It now has 68k miles and I'm thinking of using my LiquiVac to drain and refill with new fluid. It actually has a dipstick, but most made after about '02 no longer had them.
I had the flush done on my '04 Venture minivan when it had 36k miles on it, they flushed all of the old Dexron 4 out and replaced it with synthetic Dexron 6. It now has 68k miles and I'm thinking of using my LiquiVac to drain and refill with new fluid. It actually has a dipstick, but most made after about '02 no longer had them.
My latest ride is recent vintage GM 4 spd transaxle and has a dipstick. I plan to do "drop and drain, with filter" often, and skip the machine flushes. If you do it often enough, you will eventually change out all the fluid in the torque converter. The machine flush doesn't change the filter, by its very definition. It's a "closed loop" event.
In the 70s and 80s, automatic transmissions were simple ... rear wheel drive, centered, 3-speeds, no lock-up torque converters, and no computer chip/sensor to regulate shifts, instead relying on vacuum from a small hose.
Dad had a 76 3-spd GM trans rebuilt in the mid-80s, and I had an 84 3-spd GM trans (with torque converter lock-up) rebuilt in the mid-90s. The guy did a great job, for around $600 to $700. He told me the shift points might be more noticeable than I might like, and to bring it back if I didn't like the shifts. They were, I brought it back, and he made a minor adjustment and it was awesome.
My next car had a 4-speed GM transaxle (lock-up, no chip) which never needed a rebuild because I was religious about the fluid changes. My current car has the evolved version of that 4-speed transaxle (lock-up, chip) which shifts seamlessly.
Questions:
a) How much do 1990s/2000s 4-speed domestic transaxles cost to rebuild (NOT at a chain operation)?
b) How much do 2000s/2010s 6-speed domestic transaxles cost to rebuild (NOT at a chain operation)?
About 5 years ago I was having some trouble with an erratic shifting 4L60E. Was quoted $1700 to rebuild it. The stealership wanted to charge $3000 for a new tranny plus another $500 for the lock up converter.
One thing to keep in mind besides fluid changes in an auto tranny....is heat. Therefore investing in a good auxiliary transmission cooler is usually a good idea.
Of interest, the prices you quoted to rebuild a 3 speed auto back in the day, are about what it costs to have one redone, today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpolyglot
My understanding is that, on a 4 spd transaxle, the torque converter only locks up in the 4th gear, and it is barely perceptible. So, on a 6 spd transaxle, is only the 6th gear locked up, at highway speed?
Every 4 speed OD I've ever seen only locks up in 4th gear. If one locked up in 3rd it would really lug the car down.
About 5 years ago I was having some trouble with an erratic shifting 4L60E. Was quoted $1700 to rebuild it. The stealership wanted to charge $3000 for a new tranny plus another $500 for the lock up converter.
One thing to keep in mind besides fluid changes in an auto tranny....is heat. Therefore investing in a good auxiliary transmission cooler is usually a good idea.
Of interest, the prices you quoted to rebuild a 3 speed auto back in the day, are about what it costs to have one redone, today.
Every 4 speed OD I've ever seen only locks up in 4th gear. If one locked up in 3rd it would really lug the car down.
Thank you for all this info. There's a lot here, in compact form.
Correct about the heat. The mid-70s THM 350 trans that Dad had rebuilt came from a car that always ran a little hot. With its second trans, we also installed a thermostat that opened at about 180F instead of 195F, the car then ran really cool, and the trans fluid stayed cleaner/smelled ok. That car was pummeled by rust, especially around the vinyl top, and general interior wear, while the powertrain, especially the small block Olds engine, continued to run flawlessly.
On the mid-80s THM 200, completely overlooking to change the fluid (not me) caused it to fall apart when it had 130K. Not bad for a notoriously bad transmission. When I had it rebuilt in the mid-90s, I had them put in a THM 350. Pushed by a 3.8 V6 meant the bigger trans didn't have to endure much torque being pushed through it. I've heard that's a more favorable combo. Certainly better than a V8 driving through a THM 200.
With my own early 90s car, I had a car that both ran cool and one in which I changed the trans fluid/filter every 20K to 25K, and at a dealership where they knew me and there was a fixed menu price. It shifted at almost 300K the way it did when it was new. I think that I could barely feel the lock-up occurring in 4th (OD), which seemed to be "programmed" at almost exactly 47 mph under normal throttle.
Last edited by robertpolyglot; 11-29-2012 at 08:57 PM..
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