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My buddy nursed it to a long time trusted shop. They pulled the codes...I don't know what they were but they said they would try replacing the solenoids. This is a QUALITY shop that is well respected. It does, however have new management since the death of the long time owner.
Anyway, the next morning, they called and pronounced the transmission DOA and they gave him that HUGE estimate to fix it.
So, he called me. I asked my resident transmission guy for a referral in Orange County and he gave me the name of an ATRA shop that he said was an honest and capable shop.
At thiat point, my buddy called shop number one and told them to hold off. He told themhe would take the car home and park it while he decided what to do.
Three hours later, they called him...
" Hey, we decided to try ONE MORE thing...we installed a "update kit" of some type and now it works fine!"
Very interesting....
I guess a cynical person could think that just maybe, they planned to simply install the "kit" and charge him for a total rebuild....or....they would have simply farmed it out for the 4000.00 rebuild that turned out not to be needed...or...they were being totally honest?
I guess he will never know but 450.00 is a lot better than 4000.00. It works just fine now.
Opatience, what do YOU think?
I think that you were a good friend and your buddy owes you one.
To be honest, I wouldn't be letting that shop do the work.
I guess a cynical person could think that just maybe, they planned to simply install the "kit" and charge him for a total rebuild....or....they would have simply farmed it out for the 4000.00 rebuild that turned out not to be needed...or...they were being totally honest?
I try and give places the benefit of the doubt, but this one, I have to agree with your call. It sounds like they saw him coming and figured they could make some money.
They bad thing is, most the time, the mechanic in the back is clueless that this happens.
Transmissions are easy for some shops to condemn, as they can give folks nightmare stories about how the entire transmission is ruined.
Before plunking down $4k, it is wise to get a second opinion.
Protect yourself. A reputable shop will have no problem with you wanting to get a second opinion.
Another thing. Transmissions log trouble codes too.
If they condemn the transmission.......
Ask what the troublecodes were.
Did they check and see what the shift solenoids were doing?
What part of the transmission, EXACTLY, failed?
Sorry, got off on another track. :surprise:
Don't most transmission shops have to pull apart a transmission to determine the extent of damage and give an accurate estimate? Once they (trans. shop) have you in for $300-$400 for diagnostics, it would be a bit hard to tell them to put it back together (or put it in a doggie bag) you want to take it somewhere else for a second opinion.
It sounded like this is a common problem on these. A "bracket kit" was installed to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again.
Jipster,
In the "old days" all a mechanic had to do was drive the car in order to determine what was wrong in most cases. They could feel the transmission slip between gears etc and pretty much know what they were going to find.
It's a new world today and the "old school" guys either drop out, retire or they are forced to learn a trememdous amount in order to keep up.
the other day i was in a parking lot with my in 2nd gear and had my foot on the clutch. when i took my foot off the clutch it never came back up. it had maybe another 1/4 inch of movement but was fully engaged. once i got it parked i could see a brake fluid leak on the what i believe is the cap to the transmission. there is a line going from my master to my slave cylinder that runs right above the cap as well.
I believe that it is a pressure issue that is not allowing my clutch to function properly. could it be from a broken seal or a broken line. I dont have a 2nd person to help me out at the moment so im stuck guessing at the moment. also when i press my foot on the clutch i can feel it trying to build pressure but the leak occurs again.
any help will be greatly appreciated.
No, not really.
They should be able to drop the pan at the most to determine the extent of the damage.
At the most, they would be out the cost of the diagnostics, filter and oil.
If you brought a vehicle in for diagnostics and they disassembled the transmission to find a solenoid problem, then you don't want them doing the work anyways.
A person should ALWAYS ask about the diagnostics, how far they are going to go and how much it will cost.
I'm always concerned when I see a pattern at certain places where they condem the entire unit on a whim.
Take a look at the diagrams and see if you can tell us where it is leaking.
Clutch master and slave cylinder.
It sounds like the resevoir is leaking at the hose to the slave cylinder.
could it be from a broken seal or a broken line.
Yes, very much so. How much fluid is in the resevoir?
also when i press my foot on the clutch i can feel it trying to build pressure but the leak occurs again.
Sounds like you may have blown the pipe to the slave cylinder. I'm not certain on the Mazda, but most of the are plastic and over time, can crack.
Such as some of the well known chains?
any ideas as to why i cant go into park?
also, my key just now got stuck in the ignition, came out earlier today when i had the car in neutral.
little background, on most mornings i have to "wiggle" the gear lever otherwise the car wont start, I'm guessing this is because the transmission doesn't engage "park" or something, I'm no mechanic. But most days a little wiggle will start up the car. I'm sure this has something to do with my current problems
my engine: VG30E, little over 100k miles
tranny: RE4F02A (at least google says it is)
thanks guys
The key came out earlier in the day but it wont anymore, i think the car doesn't realize I'm in neutral and still thinks I'm in drive.
My toyota's also get their keys stuck in the ignition. My 89 corolla did it, my 03 corolla does it. this is the first time my nissan has done it. But with both corolla if i wiggled the steering wheel the key would come out.
oh well, lets see what the mechanic says. i just wanted a 2nd opinion.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Also I'm not sure how you can detect a "slip" when decelerating? It's hard for something to be slipping when there is no pressure upon it.
Her statement about what happens when it stops is less specific (it's only happened once or twice), but her statement that 'the braking doesn't feel right' makes me believe that it may represent a loss of engine braking either from the transmission disengaging or from a malfunction in some system that controls engine speed (she had a vague impression of the engine speed increasing). As you can see, Shifty, you may be right that it is not the transmission, but rather an engine speed control system that is faulty. Further analysis may have to await another incident of the problem, during which her raised consiousness will cause her to remember more details. Thank you for your help, and I am cheerfully accepting any WAGs that may occur to anyone.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Transmission in the past year has been either delaying/slipping in terms of a slight banging or downshifting in a abrupt way. Anybody has any similar problem with this. I've had service on the transmission regulary, Thanks
Upon taking the car back to the transmission shop, the mechanics there pulled the transmission pan and concluded it was full of water, pink and kind of foamy. They allege the water must have come from the rain or having submerged the car. I say not! I have never had this happen to any car that I have ever owned.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience with water in the transmission and what was done about it?
Tom
Just had the 5 speed transmission replaced in my 2000 Celica with a used one. My car had about 80K miles on it and out of warranty, so I am pretty upset at Toyota and this will undoubtedly be my last one.....on that note, the "new" tranny that I had the shop put in had about 60K miles. The only potential issue is that it is abit notchy going into 3rd gear. Not every time...I would say about half the time. It's not terribly notchy, but I"m obviously paranoid that this tranny will also go out on me and I'd be stuck with another huge bill.
Tranny has 90 day warranty, but of course I'd have to pay for the labor all over again, and there would be no guarantees that another one would be problem free. New or rebuilt is out of the question as I am looking at over 4 grand for that.....I guess my question is, how serious is a notchy shift into third? My plan is to change the fluid annually and to listen/monitor the condition of the transmission very closely and sell the car if I hear anything untowards as I really do like the car besides the recent problem with it.
fluid was last changed but it looks pretty dark. I noticed that there is no drain plug on the pan? I want to do this change myself ( I am mechanically-inclined) , what is the procedure or where can I find info on the process? I only desire a fluid and filter change not a flush. Also , if I don't use the 4 -wheel drive feature do I need to change the transaxle fluid as often or not ? Thank you for your time and input.
When this happens, it won't shift into 5th gear and displays other shifting problems. If I shut the car off and restart, the fault clears and the car well work perfectly. If I'm on interstate with no fault and in 5th gear, everything works well. I've read that this problem has also exhibited itself in BMW's and Audi's with this transmission. Does anyone know how to fix it?
It's a messy job, you need a large pan to catch the fluid. I use one of those plastic trays that you mix concrete in.
You can use the drop down windows on the right of this page to search for Jaguar topics that might apply. I know they are discussion trans. issues.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
http://www.atra.com/consumers/bulletins/cb-108.pdf
I don't know lubegard. I'd have to research it and find out the chemistry to have an idea if it could possibly be effective or is just more snake oil jive.
Basically all the anecdotal information and testimonials in the world mean little because unless you do extensive testing with a control group and unless you control all the conditions for the transmissions being tested----you got nothin' there.
If you use Lubegard and your tranny goes 250K, is that due to lubegard or good luck? What if your neighbor doesn't use it and gets 249K? or 275K?
What if he doesn't use it and his transmission fails at 90K?
The answer to all these questions is: Nobody has a clue.
http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/trans_atf.html
http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/index_trans.html
It makes me wonder about the claims when they state that anything the consumer can buy is bad and the only good additives would be found sold by professional shops. Are they sounding their own horn for profit?
Then they talk about fluid "sheer." Isn't that fluid "shear." Or am I on the wrong track.
Hurts validity of the paper if they don't have their terms right.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As for ATRA, sure, one must always be suspicious of the claims of "interested parties" but I do generally agree that industrial-grade products for repair shops are always better than off the shelf stuff.
To me, most additives remind me of "vitamins" that people take. Lots of cost, dubious benefits, even though the vitamins are well-made and have all kinds of literature attached to them.
When they do clinical testing with large data base and double-bind reliability tests, it turns out that vitamins don't do much good at all.
Would I throw Lubegard into an AILING trans? Sure, why not? Into a perfectly good transmission? No, I don't see the point of spending the money on a problem that doesn't exist.