Anyone have their auto tranny replaced? How much?

[TastyHuman]

Got the bad news from the dealer today. The auto in my 03 Baja is kaput. Well, it still drives, but the 4-3 downshift is so brutal that the tires skid when it happens. I bought it used at 40k miles and the 4-3 downshift was already sketchy so not sure what happened to it.

Anyone have their auto transmission replaced? How much did you pay?

The dealer wants $3700 for a remanufactured unit with 2 year warranty. That's too steep and I'm shopping independent shops now and looking for data.

Thanks!

[bajaguy]

That seems a little high, but reasonable. Do you know what's actually wrong with it? I would check around with quite a few tranny shops before giving up. I had 4 try to jip me before I found an honest one that fixed the problem I would have spent $1800-$2600 for a rebuild without fixing the real issue: the valve body and control unit. $1500 later I didn't waste any money.

[TastyHuman]

No, the dealer wasn't very forthcoming. He just said it had an internal problem and the fluid was burnt (it was changed 20k miles ago).

Years ago there were shops that used to rebuild them, does anyone do that anymore?

I've got a couple of calls in to respected transmission shops but no calls back yet (disappointing). I guess stopping by cold is the best approach.

This is the first automatic I've ever owned (and maybe the last!). Sticks usually just need a clutch or seals.

[bajaguy]

I agree. Stick is way better. But I count my blessings for having such a wonderful car at all. Yeah, back in TX there were quite a few transmission shops. Most general service shops don't though. They would send it straight to the trans shop. Honestly, the dealer sounds like they are trying to find the easy (and most expensive) way out. The Aamco transmission shop here is the only one I found to be honest. They even ran a diagnosis for free. Which is how they determined a rebuild was not necessary.

[Dinky26]

Look up an AAMCO if you can.

[TastyHuman]

There was a highly rated local rebuilder here in Beaverton (OR). They completely rebuilt the transmission, with new converter, new electronics, and update kit (with all known fixes) for $2.9k ($1k less than dealer). The forward clutch assembly (I think that's what he called it) was toast. I bought this Baja used with 40k miles, and it already had a rough 4-3 downshift then, so I'm not sure what, if anything, the PO did to it. But it got me through another 40k miles and now with the rebuild I hope for 100-200k more. It is driving and shifting like a top now, the shifts are nearly imperceptible.

[bajaguy]

Nice!