Transmission went out, whats your story?

[SHOMac]

Well, I got a little info for everyone.

Transmission died out on me in the middle of a 200+ mile trip from Chicago, IL to Grand Rapids, MI.

Ended up being the front seal blow out and that drained all of the fluid and the heat messed everything up in there pretty bad.

The complete rebuild, new dual disk furnace brazed torque converter, transgo shift kit, new selenoids/pistons/fluids/seals, various other items the mechanic mentioned is going to put me back $2369.08.

Anyone have any experiences similar to this, and what was the outcome of it ... a rebuilt transmission = much better than stock, or just as good?

 

[wuzzzer]

When rebuilding a transmission its a good idea to put a shift kit in, like a Trans-Go. It will make shifts feel much firmer and prolong the life of the transmission. I think the kit itself is less than $100, but since you have to pretty much tear the entire transmission apart to install it people usually wait until the transmission fails and then do it.

 

[SHOMac]

Yeah, the mechanic almost talked me out of getting the transgo shift kit, saying it doesnt do much.

Well, anyway... thought I would vent a little about how much it is going to be.

Anyone have similar experiences and how much did it put you back for?

 

[sho'd]

i rebuilt my own transmission, used the Shift Technology Lub Dam and Shift Tech. shift calibration kit as well, i prefer that one over the trans go. trans go and Superior have been around awhile, i just like the quality of the superior kit, actually has new acumulator springs. amongst other upgrades such as steel boost valve and sleeve, 3-2 pull in valve is also upgraded to steel instead of aluminum, i believe thats the one i replaced, anyhow spend 750cnd dollars and some of my time. i'm happy with it so far. hope everything works out for you as well.

 

[wuzzzer]

Yeah, the mechanic almost talked me out of getting the transgo shift kit, saying it doesnt do much.

Well, anyway... thought I would vent a little about how much it is going to be.

Anyone have similar experiences and how much did it put you back for?

Oops, didn't notice that you went with the TransGo. Good decision!

 

[SHOMac]

The guy said it really didnt help much.

Whats your experience with it, did you install it/what did you notice?

I dont think this guy knew what he was talking about to be honest... but he is the mechanic.

How will I know for sure if it was installed and not just being CHARGED for ir and nothing to show for it (because like I said earlier, he said there isnt any improvement...)

 

[TimboSHO]

I dont think this guy knew what he was talking about to be honest... but he is the mechanic.

The guy you talked to (Craig) has no idea what he's talking about, and he really is no mechanic. After I was laid off from that place, then asked to come back, he was one of the reasons I didn't go back. He thinks he knows everything, but he really has no clue most of the time. If you can get past him, the other guys that actually do the work and know what they are doing are really good.

 

[Ict_Lx]

My transmission had the same fate as yours on a 160 mile trip from Wichita to Lawrence about a year and a half ago. Ended up taking it to the stealership in Lawrence as I didn't have a way to get it home. All told they got me for just over $3000 without any upgrades...Yay Ford

 

[SHOMac]

The more I think about it the more I want to jump over the counter and give that guy a piece of my mind......
Not only for over charging by about $500 but also for over charging by $500!!!

 

[avocadoman1]

i had a local shop rebuild my '99 in '05 at abt 78K miles. total cost was $2300.
the shop had previously rebuilt a '97 duratec for me, so i knew what to expect.
in both cases, a trans-go kit was installed (in addition to other upgrades).
the trans-go was installed per spec, so the shifts feel very stock like. although i have read on this site that some will install "stiffer" springs which will result in firmer shifts.
following my SHO rebuild, i immediately purchased an XCal programmer thru FPS. the XCal provides that firm shift feel with many other advantages (mid-grade fuel, less wear on torque converter). the benefit is that when i go to sell my SHO, i can revert the tranny back to stock mode which is a very smooth (luxury) shift feel.

the '97 had 40K miles on the rebuild when i sold. my '99 has almost 20K since the rebuild. neither had/has problems.

i'm so glad i went with the custom rebuild vs. a "bolt-on" OEM from Ford or Aamco.

 

[SHOMac]

Thinking about running the synthetic ATX fluid since it is going to be a completely new beast now.

ANyone have any experience with amsoil tranny fluid?

The good, bad, ugly, stuff to look out for?

Hope people can input if they have any experience.

 

[VADERSHO]

i had a local shop rebuild my '99 in '05 at abt 78K miles. total cost was $2300.
the shop had previously rebuilt a '97 duratec for me, so i knew what to expect.
in both cases, a trans-go kit was installed (in addition to other upgrades).
the trans-go was installed per spec, so the shifts feel very stock like. although i have read on this site that some will install "stiffer" springs which will result in firmer shifts.
following my SHO rebuild, i immediately purchased an XCal programmer thru FPS. the XCal provides that firm shift feel with many other advantages (mid-grade fuel, less wear on torque converter). the benefit is that when i go to sell my SHO, i can revert the tranny back to stock mode which is a very smooth (luxury) shift feel.

the '97 had 40K miles on the rebuild when i sold. my '99 has almost 20K since the rebuild. neither had/has problems.

i'm so glad i went with the custom rebuild vs. a "bolt-on" OEM from Ford or Aamco.

Damn thats alot of money for a tranny rebuild I had a '98 duratec and the tranny went out, I got it rebuilt for $1200 bucks w/ a transgo shift kit and a one year warranty. Now it did take a month for me to get it back (he is so busy) but well worth it.

 

[TimboSHO]

Thinking about running the synthetic ATX fluid since it is going to be a completely new beast now.

ANyone have any experience with amsoil tranny fluid?

The good, bad, ugly, stuff to look out for?

Hope people can input if they have any experience.

Go with Amsoil, you won't be sorry

 

[SHOZ123]

Be sure to put in additional cooling and replacing the factory lines with 3/8" hose is a big plus too. The factory lines are smaller, probably about 1/4" ID in some places.

Amsoil Universal ATX is the best IMNSHO.

 

[SHOMac]

bumper bump

 

[SHOMac]

I was talking to eric about mounting a Gen2 cooler, is there a step by step procedure anyone knoes of, or a link, or the best way you know how to do it?

 

[SHOZ123]

I mounted mine to the steel bumper beam. Very hard steel so you have to start with a small drill bit and gradually increase the size to get the hole diameter you want. I tapped mine out to 1/4" -20 SAE threads and used two bolts to hang it. It's a perfect fit on the GEN 3.

As far as hoses I bypassed the radiator cooler on mine. And installed new hoses coming from the tranny. You need 1/4" mNPT x 3/8" straight hose barbs to come out of the tranny and about 10' of 3/8" tranny hose.

The bottom port on the tranny is the return and the top is the output.

From the top port run the line to the existing AUX cooler on the drivers side. The from the passenger side of the AUX cooler loop it 180* to the passenger side of the GEN2 cooler. This needs to be a large gradual loop so don't kink or restrict the line.

Then out of the GEN 2 cooler on the drivers side to the lower port on the tranny.

If you live somewhere that has cold temps you will need to block 1/2 the cooler off in the winter.

 

[SHOMac]

darn, sounds like a days project for me, where do you live ill pay you to do it!

hehe

 

[SHOZ123]

Coordinates are in my location line to the right..........

 

[Silvapain]

I did the exact same thing as Paul, but instead of tapping the holes in the metal bumper I oversized them and dropped bolts down through the bumper and used nuts. Took me about 2.5 hours to run the new tranny lines, and a couple more hours to mount the gen 2 cooler. The hardest part is drilling the holes.