Vroom, vroom...BOOOM!!! Crunch, crunch, crunch (tranny)

[Darkness]

Ok, so last week sometime my Check Engine light came on. No big deal, I thought, probably emissions system. So, I drove it around a while.

 

Couple days ago I got some weird noises under the hood that I couldn't track down, and then all of a sudden, I can shift into R or D and hit the gas all I want. Car goes nowhere!

 

I towed to a shop and they said the code was for the torque converter. They want to send it out for a tranny rebuild, in the neighborhood of $1800-2000.

 

There is no way I am going to pay for that rebuild. The sucky thing is, I have only had the car for a little over a year, and I still owe on it. I don't have the equipment to work on it at home, at least from the looks of things in the Hanes manual.

 

Is torque converter replacement as bad as it looks? My mother in law was suggesting a junk yard No way.

 

If it is not really feasible to repair it, I may just sell it off for as much as I can get and try to pay off the loan (about 9 months left). Let me know what you guys think.

 

1998 Grand Prix SE sedan

194xxx miles.

Split 60/40 seats

Mulberry with charcoal cloth interior

3.8 engine

power sunroof, alloy wheels, cruise, ABS, Traction Control, CD player with steering wheel controls, etc.

It basically has all of the options aside from leather and HUD.

[Psych0matt]

I picked up a tranny from a JY for about $300, and had it put in for another ~$300, could go that route

[blkinternational]

omfg thats alot of miles for only a 98, if i were you i would look at some junkyards and se how much you can pick a low milage tranny up for and have it installed somewhere like matt said it wouldnt be all that much!

[Crazy K]

Skiles Country Auto in Indianapolis often has newer GPs and should be able to come up with a tranny for you.

 

used is better than none at all, and his prices are usually good.

[Darkness]

Thanks for the input, guys. The cost quoted to me was for a rebuild of the tranny itself. I'll have to get a quote for labor involved and maybe go the used tranny route.

 

Yep, lots of miles for a 98. I bought it with higher miles, and do a 35 mile drive each way to work, so I put at least 350 miles during the week on it. Then add the weekend driving and weekday evening driving and it really racks the miles up. I probably put around 1800 miles a month on it.

[Andrew]

Not that getting a rebuild or used trans is a bad idea, but if the code is for the torque converter, why worry about the tranny? its prolly just the converter anyway.

[blkinternational]

^^ this is ture

[rockfangd]

i say change the torque convertor and check the tranny while its out. torque convertors suck when they go

[Crazy K]

torque converter failure may have damaged the tranny.

 

LMK if you need a tranny.

[White93z34]

torque converter failure may have damaged the tranny.

 

LMK if you need a tranny.

 

Very likely. and at 194,000 how much life was left in it anyhow? if you are going to tear it all apart its not worth the risk to "just" replace the torque converter. i'd get a junkyard trans. around here i could get one with 20-30k on it easy.

[89GP_SE]

it isnt really that difficult to pull a tranny. Disconnect cv's and wires and hoses, drain your fluid, place jack under tranny, unbolt tranny from motor, take out tranny mount.. lower tranny slowly from motor. Motor and tranny get stuck together, get trusty prybar out and convince that tranny to get the fuckout!

[FordBoy]

Ya i agree its not worth the risk to just change the torque converter. Then whatif the tranny taks a shit right after you get it all back together save yourself time (and money) get a new or used tranny. OR sell teh car and say its a new model. That has to be towed everywhere for fuel economy.

[digitaloutsider]

omfg thats alot of miles for only a 98, if i were you i would look at some junkyards and se how much you can pick a low milage tranny up for and have it installed somewhere like matt said it wouldnt be all that much!

 

Psh.. I've got 213,000. He's just breaking it in

[Darkness]

AAMCO just dropped the pan last night and they say there are fragments of metal in there. So, it looks like it is going to need to be replaced. They offered to do it for a minimum of $1900. How generous of them.

 

I really don't have the time or money to put into it right now, and rather than let it sit and rot, I am going to put a post in the For Sale section and see if I can clear what I still owe on it. Currently, I am driving a 91 Cutless Supreme that I "inherited" from my wife's grandmother, who passed away last month.

[dbtk2]

omfg thats alot of miles for only a 98, if i were you i would look at some junkyards and se how much you can pick a low milage tranny up for and have it installed somewhere like matt said it wouldnt be all that much!

 

My roomates '98 GP has 247k miles on it and my '99 has 218k on it.....

 

A used tranny could probably be had for like $500, but even then its still a used one and could go out a week later for all you know. Labor to put one in usually runs ~$300-500 depending on where you go. So you could probably get a used one installed for like $800-1k. Some places will do rebuilds on them for more like $1k as well, but typical pricing is about what you were quoted....$1800+ Although for that kinda coin, I think I'd go for a ZZP tranny for $1900 that with an N/A 3.8 is basically never ever gonna break.

[19Cutlass94]

That ZZP tranny would be if he were to install it himself. Or else he would have $1900, plus the labor to install it, if you can find a shop that will install it, since most dont install parts that your bring to them. ( atleast the shops around here are like that )

[dbtk2]

That ZZP tranny would be if he were to install it himself. Or else he would have $1900, plus the labor to install it, if you can find a shop that will install it, since most dont install parts that your bring to them. ( atleast the shops around here are like that )

 

A ZZP tranny is $1900 INSTALLED. And its a lot better than a stock one. The only problem he would have is getting it there.