rebuilt transmission source! HELP!!

[Guest]

Trany out in 89 coupe. My guy wants $2,700 to rebuild. Anyone with good source for reputable tranny is GREATLY appreciated.<P>maark

[padgett]

Transmissions are not easy to ship, would help to know where you are.

[Guest]

Should cost around half of that, including removal and installation. Be sure to get a rebuilt torque converter and new chain as well as all soft parts.<P>Would not recommend Aamco. Call around and get recommendations on the best in your area.

[Guest]

Go to gmpartsdirect.com and contact Customer Service and ask them for a price on a GM remanufactured "transmission in a can"(SERTA). Even with shipping, you might be surprised at the price.

[Guest]

Please tell us where you are located so we can better assist you

[maark]

Thanks for all the replies! Had to make a living yesterday. Now back to more important stuff. I live in the panhandle of Florida near Ft Walton Beach. I did check on a GM reman and got a VERY good price of $1450 + shipping BUT my tranny man is skeptical about the GM reman. My 89 with 85K miles would SLAM into reverse and the tranny man says that is a cronic GM problem. Internal pressure leaks .. blah blah blah. (tranny talk) He is not convinced that GM addressed the problem in the new remans. I talked to both area Buick dealers and they said the ball was rewieghted and cylinder size adjusted to compensate for the problem (yada, yada, yada)and everything was hunky dory now BUT they could not pass judgement on whether any remans would have the new modifications. That was my tranny mans point. He WILL make modifications that will cure the problem and I believe him. I have been through several tranny shops and this guy is golden. He assures me his rebuild will be much better and will last far longer than the original BUT he only has a one year 12K warranty. Kinda contradictatory!! GM has a 3 yr 50K warranty on the remans. I can ask for a shelf date or reman date on the tranny i am getting but i do not trust GM to provide accurate info. Incidentally I am not a GM fan.. I tried as a kid with a Corvair, Vega and X body Skylark. All were TOTAL junk! The lifespan of a cheap watch. BUT I am a proponent of style and find the Reatta unique and well done from a design point of view. I bought this 89 coupe trade in last Thursday after talking to the original owner for several hours. Took it in for tranny fluid change and when they dropped the pan the left differentail gear was in three pieces in the pan. (That explained the pulling to the right) Still don't know how the diff locked up to get me to the shop. A normal diff would have free spun and I would have gone nowhere. Anyway should I believe the tranny man or go with the GM reman for $650 less? I do not want the "slamming into gear " thing to repeat itself 50K down the road. Thanks for any input.

[Guest]

Personally, I would go with the GM Tranny. Your mechanic is really pushing for his rebuilding expertise because he will make more money out of it. If he's so proud of his work he ought to be able to provide as good a warranty as GM's. If by chance he says he will match GM's get it in writing. Of course, even in writing, this does not guarentee that he will be in business in three years either. Think GM will be in business three years down the road? I bet they will.

[padgett]

That "slamming into reverse" is a new one on me (have 88 440T4, '90 4T60, and a '92 4T60E - all essentially the same transmission).<P>Sounds like you snapped one of the spur gears (possibly from "slamming into reverse" too many times).<P>Point is that while there are weak points in any transmission and FWD units get mork shock loads than RWD, the great bulk of the transmissions are very reliable.<P>Second point is that if I wanted "more", would not stay with a 4T60 in the first place, would go to a 4T65 or 4T80 which are significantly stronger.<P>However, given the choices, I would also go with the GM remaned unit since both the price and the warrenty are better.<P>ps you gave the part price on the trans, what is the R&R cost and is there a core charge ? Would assume R&R is included in the $2700.<P>pps have had Corvairs and Vegas plus a V-8 Sunbird that I had for over 20 years. Each had their quirks but for me were very reliable once you understood them. <P>Probably my favorite was an Astre station wagon with a steel sleeved engine & GT trim. Do not know of anything today that is as nice a package.

[maark]

I only drove the car two days so i do not know how the tranny was treated before me. My park Ave had the same problem at about 65K. The R&R is about $375. Core will be no prob since the defunct one is out. Would the stronger trannies need to have the internal controls from the Reatta? Anything stronger is fine by me. I have an 85 Mercedes with 200K on it and the tranny is still smooth as silk. Even pulling around an SEL stretch body. So I know that a long term reliable transmission can be made. The most I ever got out of a US automatic was 112K. The auto transmission has been the end of many otherwise good US cars. I also have a 92 Acura that is still smooth as silk at 180K plus. I wish the "Big 3" would apply themselves to producing a long term transmission that will last at least as long as the new engines. I was unaware that Reattas made a manual trans or I would have looked a little harder for one.

[Guest EDBS0]

go with the GM Tranny<P><B>and install a VERY large tranny cooler!<P>And FLUSH with synthetic fluid every couple of years!</B><P>Some GM execs would argue they have them deseigned perfectly long enough to get them out of warranty!<p>[ 04-24-2002: Message edited by: Easily Distracted by Shiny Objects ]

[Guest]

...my '88 Reatta and '90 Riviera have 150,000 and 122,000 miles and shift smooth as silk with original trans. i did have a '86 "T" type Century (bucket seats and floor shift) and a '86 Riviera that would thump when shifted into rev or first...probably because of the mumbojumbo you've mentioned. The Century and '86 Riviera i bought with about 90,000 and both had GM remanf tags on them.<BR>...Pagett...wasn't the Astre a pontiac Vega? They started using the cast iron inserts as an alternative to silicon lapping the origional alum cylinders...and later about '76 started using the "chevy II" "iron duke" 4 cyl. i really liked my '71 Vega GT...POS...maybe...but all cars were back then.

[Guest]

I have an 88 reatta, live in Minnesota. Today is a sad day... short trip became even shorter when tranny stopped shifting past 1st. when physically shifted into first all is fine. when shifted into second..short slip then (i think) shifts back into first. If in Drive or OD will start moving in first. but just over 3000 RPMS slips into (i think) neutral... and remains there until rpms are near null, then shifts back into first. Sound familiar to anyone? Do I have to start looking for a replacement? or fix? and does anyone know the exact part numbers I should be looking for? If possible, a used replacement to get me into mid summer would be most helpful, when I could then spend the necessary for a rebuild. ......any ideas? need any more info from me... would be glad to add more.... I can't handle the thought of driving a normal vehicle for very long...please help. thanks!

[maark]

My Vega was a 71 GT. Great looking car. Dk. green. The mains wallowed out of the aluminum block at 45K. Something probably wasn't very well balanced to accelerate the soft block problem. As I recall that POS alum eng was the basic reason for the car making car of the year. A pioneer in alum tech. My 85 MB has a 5 litre V8 all aluminum. Truly great motor. The GM 3.8 is tops in my book too. Just the freakin throw away tranny that gets my wrath. Why can't or won't we build them as good as the foriegn competition? Beyond me. It is the same story with Briggs and Stratton. Honda has to show them how to build a decent lawnmower engine!!! B & S has been practicing for 50 years and still can't build a decent carburator.<P>Oh well, I'm going for the GM reman. At least another 75K before it gives out again.

[padgett]

Problem with Vega was not aluminum block. are many of the ilk around that are great engines - just from GM there were the 1961 215/215 hp and 1969 ZL-1. The problem with the Vega was that GM tried to avoid iron cyl liners by enbedding silicon carbide in the walls.<P>Now they also had minimal radiators that needed burping or filling on a hill. The real problem came with the drastic change in emissions for 1971. Engines ran warmer, people did not maintain properly, one minor overheat and the carbide particle came loose from the wals. Similar to driving in a sandstorm sans air cleaner.<P>The solution as I mentioned was the to bore the block and fit steel sleeves. Was so common in the '70s that it may have achieved factory status though I thought it was something the machine shops did.<P>As mentioned the '77s finally dropped the Vega engine in favor of the Pontiac "Iron Duke" 2.5l 4 cyl. Not as much power but (relatively) reliable. Kinda weak bottom end so not a lot of potential.<P>Iron Duke was in turn dropped in favor of the Oldsmobile Quad Four which is still in use.<P>In addition to the Astre wagon (still have the "Safari" kit which makes it look like a 50's Chev Nomad), I had a couple of GTs, both '73 which IMNSHO was the best of the Vegas. All of mine had a/c which came with a real radiator.<P>BTW did you know that Rolls-Royces for many years (haven't checked lately) came with THM-400s ? Borg Warner supllied automatics to many european cars in the 60s and 70s. Dunno how many Hydramatics, Powerglides, and Dynaflows are still floating around, they usually outlast the seals.<P>True, GM has had its share of turkeys (Turboglide, RotoHydramatic) but all in all the automatics have been more reliable than any of the manuals.<p>[ 04-24-2002: Message edited by: padgett ]

[Guest]

At the recommendation of my mechanic, I put a Jasper trans (and motor) in my '88 coupe, and I've really pleased with it.

[Guest]

Jasper?? could you elaborate a bit for a green horn such as myself, thanks. I'm looking for options right now... my '88 coupe lost it's tranny guts yesterday...any info on my options would be helpful!<P>Thanks!

[ol' yeller]

Be glad you don't have a Chrysler product. I bought one of their miserable minivans brand new in 1992. I went through 3 transmissions before 80,000 miles. I never had that high a failure rate in any car I owned. Fortunately the first 2 were replaced under warranty, the third bit me for over $2,000. My wife loved her Voyager but i found their engineering to be pretty poor. It is for that reason and their abysmal dealer support, I will never buy another Chrysler product again.<P>Greg

[padgett]

Think all automakers have good years and bad years and which are lemons vs "like a rock" depends on a very few percentage points. For example I had nothing but good experiences with Vegas/Astres and my Sunbird lasted over 20 years - waaay past the sell-by date particularly considering five years of serious SCCA autocrossing (twice state champ, once division).<P>True my experience is almost all GM so tend to be biased (though my gripe with Chrysler was never the engineering - at least until the Mitsubishi years, remember the Sapporo ? - but the tinfoil bodies that rusted out on the dealer's lots.<P>So the difference is really minor in the macro but can be annoying in the micro (had a VW camper, rebuilt the engine three times - every time the temoerature hit freezing it would run for a few minutes then freeze solid - turned out the line bore on the first rebuild got the center main .002 off center).<P>Will note that I do not belive in turning cranks - will polish .001 but if it needs .010 it is new crank time. Tend to replace rather than rework so do not get bit often.

[Guest]

88ReattaneedsHelp,<P>Jasper makes remanufactured engines and transmissions, etc. Can be found on the web at <A HREF="http://www.jasperengines.com/." TARGET=_blank>http://www.jasperengines.com/</A> <P>My experience - about 3-1/2 years ago, my '88 spun a bearing, and the engine needed replacing. My mechanics recommended AGAINST a GM replacement - said I'd get better hardware and warranty from Jasper.<P>Since the car had approx 133,000 miles on it, I decided to replace the motor and the transmission both. Both have been as good as new, with one exception:<P>Each came with a 36-month, 50,000-mile warranty (I think they've actually increased the mileage since then). Last October, at 35 months, this motor ALSO spun a bearing.<P>They replaced it. Didn't cost me a cent. Not pro-rated.<P>So now I have about 30k on the engine, and 60k on the trans. Runs like a top.<P>Knock on wood.....<BR>bjh<p>[ 04-26-2002: Message edited by: BarryJHayes ]