Whats the Transmission Situation Like???

[lndshark]

Hey all. We all know the engine situation with our cars, no new ones left, just used and rebuilt.

What about the trannys though. We all know the trannys are garbage, but I've never heard how the futur looks for thoes.

Is it possible to still get a new one? What are the options in rebuilds? etc.

I was looking on ebay on day and searched for AX4N and found several transmisions from different ford models, i think one was a windstar or freestar. Is this a totally different tranny that what we have.

I would appreicate any input into this.

thanks

brian

 

[avocadoman1]

ford dealers and aamco will install a "bolt-on" rebuilt for $2500+.
the upside is you get your vehicle back in a couple of days and with a 3yr-36K warranty. It's unbolt, trade out core, and bolt-on remanufactured one.
the downside is you get all stock components that may wear our similarly to original equipment, and feels the same when driving. you know, long, smooth, boring shifts.

rebuilders will usually cost less...about $2000 (depending on mods).
the upside is you can modify it to suit your needs (i.e. trans go shift kit, torque converter upgrade) and will ultimately extend overall life. also feels great when you drive it.
the downside is rebuilding can take 5-7 working days & these guys usually don't offer a long warranty. most rebuilders in my market only offer a 1yr-12K warranty when they rebuild it.

bottom line...i prefer the rebuilt. have them upgrade the inner workings and, when done correctly, you'll be fine for the life of the engine.

 

[lndshark]

Thanks Bob.

So parts are readily available then.

I remember reading a thread from Larry Eck about when Eric and himself rebuilt his engine from the ground up. I think he said something to the effect of a lot of places told him "he was getting the last part off the last shelf."

I was just curious if that was the case with the tranny and tranny parts also.

Thanks

brian

 

[SHO#7]

There are only a few parts inside the transmissions that are different than a regular Tauri AX4N. It will be tricky to find those said parts in the long run. But I would say there will not be problem for quite a while.

Also to comment on the above. IMHO you are not going to get a top of the line rebuild for 2000. You may get an average slapped together unit with a 12 month warranty. But that is about it. When you start dealing parts and their costs, you creep past any 2k mark quickly. I am not saying units must cost 3k for just a rebuild, but things like the replacement of solenoids alone, will bring a bill up.

I know of some shops that will rebuild a Ford reman *cough* Doug *cough* and add the upgrades to that. I think that is a fantastic way of doing things, if you can afford it. You get everything checked against new clerances, and for the most part, reman units work nicely. However, in a rebuilders defense. Someone had to rebuild that unit, just the same as Ford had someone rebuild that unit. They sublet out their work to whoever gives them the lowest price. A quality rebuilder ( not saying me, but I have some great guys ) can do a fantastic job too. My comback ratio is low, very low. We spend the money to do it right the first time. Yes, I may be a few hundered more than the next guy. But I promise that mine will last longer, work better, and just be an all around great unit. This goes for all transmissions, not just the AX4N/S breed.

The saying rings true, you will get what you pay for.

Mike

 

[avocadoman1]

Doug is a great option if you live in the southeast.
if not...you gotta pay shipping (in my case to...California).
then you gotta install.
then you gotta ship the core all the way back to the southeast.
it'd cost me over $1,000 in shipping alone.

my rebuild 12 months ago ended up at $2200 + tax on $500 in parts.
installed the shift kit and general TC upgrades.

 

[lndshark]

Thanks for the input Mike. Good to know there no danger in the near future of running out of parts.

I seen alot of AX4Ns on ebay, for different models.

One I just looked at said it was for 2000 and newer sable and taurus.

Would this work in the SHO?

Is that a possibility, replacing it with a more readily available transmission.

One more question, why, if you can't swap, are they all called the same thing. That doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Thanks for the input guys

brian

 

[Ian Macoomb]

It might work. The SHO AX4N doesn't have the transmission speed sensor on it. The SLO trannys have a different final drive ratio too. Paul Nimz has got the slow gears in it and he had problems getting the computer to work properly.

 

[MilTownSHO]

My rebuild with everything replaced, adding a trans-go shift kit and transmission cooler was $1,000 bucks. It helps when you know someone.

 

[lndshark]

MilTown, I remembe your car. Couldn't believe it sat for as long as it did. I would have bought it but didn't have a job at the time. Heck, I figured the tranny alone was worth what you were asking for the car.

I would have had twins then.

 

[V6&V8SHO]

FPS when a SHO tranny does go for me.

 

[roland]

I was on the interstate today, and a piece of wood that was thrown on the road by some stupid construction worker (i'm guessing since the wood is bright yellow and they are doing stuff with bright yellow would right off the highway), was hit by a car, flipped away from it, ricocheted off the side of the truck in front of me and a little to the side, then went under my SHO, and tore up a bunch of stuff, including some cable from the transmission. The car started smoking like mad, and all the transmission fluid started gushing out onto the highway. Not fun - still haven't found out how much damage or how much it's gonna cost me :<

What really sucks is I just had the transmission fluid refilled about 4 days ago, I guess the SHO wanted to see just how much I love it!

I was probably gonna have to have work done on the tranny soon, this just speeds up the timeline!

Usually around when do most of them go, is it just depending on how the car is driven or do they tend to turn crappy around a certain mileage?

 

[SHO#7]

I was on the interstate today, and a piece of wood that was thrown on the road by some stupid construction worker (i'm guessing since the wood is bright yellow and they are doing stuff with bright yellow would right off the highway), was hit by a car, flipped away from it, ricocheted off the side of the truck in front of me and a little to the side, then went under my SHO, and tore up a bunch of stuff, including some cable from the transmission. The car started smoking like mad, and all the transmission fluid started gushing out onto the highway. Not fun - still haven't found out how much damage or how much it's gonna cost me :<

What really sucks is I just had the transmission fluid refilled about 4 days ago, I guess the SHO wanted to see just how much I love it!

I was probably gonna have to have work done on the tranny soon, this just speeds up the timeline!

Usually around when do most of them go, is it just depending on how the car is driven or do they tend to turn crappy around a certain mileage?

May have come up and hit a line or ripped the pan. The state should pay for your repairs if indeed it was something they were working on.

And for the earlier question about why they do not swap, there are some different internals. I only know a few off hand ( Master overhaul kits are different, some lip seals and bushings are different, valve body and pump setup are different, stuff like that. ) Not to mention the converter is different.

Mike

 

[roland]

well shoot, according to the guy at the auto-shop, it probably wasn't the thing I hit on the road, and the transmission is going to have to be rebuilt. Haven't even hit 100k miles yet and the car wasn't driven real hard.