Yet another entry in the never ending saga that is my transmission story.
Well, the shop was supposed to have called me back wednesday to address what they were going to do about the torque converter reimbursement and then "hopefully" by end of day yesterday after speaking with transgo. Have not heard from them yet (its friday now)
I went to another shop yesterday....one that the tech at Transgo (Transgo is in California...I live near Pittsburgh, PA) highly recommended , saying this guy "has integrity" and will do it right. My father-in-law had some work done at the same shop on his truck's rear end and was very pleased (other shops were talking about charging him twice what this guy did).....also recommended by someone on another forum as having done some of his TFs. Shop is immaculate and well organized, lit, etc.
He was on his way out for a soda so we jumped in his truck and we took a ride where I laid it all out....
I explained the situation and the guy basically said that while he does do some bench builds, he prefers to have the whole car so he can make sure EVERYTHING is right...levers, linkages, etc.
He said that he wasn't going to lead me on...that he would want the car and that he would need to basically open it up to see what the other shop did.....check for the right parts, see if they drilled holes where they shouldn't be or too large, etc....he would also want to check to be sure that I have the right levers on the tranny (pressure and shift) and that the kickdown is working right.
Quoted me $550 to R/R, open it up and make it right. Any parts I would need would be extra. He said he charges $55 an hour and figures he would have 10 hours into R/R and tearing down,checking, reassembling.
He never drove the car...just heard what I described and said that it sounds like an internal pressure loss. (Like you guys have been saying all along). I forgot to ask about his warranty (although the warranty at the first shop seems to be a waste). Said he would need the car 3 or 4 days so he could take his time, and could start next week. He said that when I get the car back it will be right.
I don't know what to do here.
My wife doesn't think I should spend another $550 .....maybe just buy a "new" tranny...but I explained that plenty of folks here have relayed bad feedback on those too and that they run about $1,000....then she suggested buying another used one and having it redone......thinking that its the tranny itself that cannot be fixed.
She says "what if this guy can;t fix it either...you are out even more money."
I would think that unless the case is cracked, etc that that wouldnt be the issue.
In any event she isn't happy.
Nor am I....if I go to this second shop and shell out the cash again, i will either have to eat the extra cost or go after the first shop for it......do you think that by giving them two chances with it I have done all I need to do?
I mean, how many times should I remove the tranny, take it to the first shop, have them tinker with it and reinstall, paying for fluid etc out of my pocket, before I say enough is enough?
I would have thought that someone knowing what they are doing would have done it right the first time.....but still not right after the SECOND time? Seems to me that a third time could end up being a waste too.....as many of you have suggested, I don't think the first shop is going to get it right.
I hate to think of someone else pulling the tranny and doing the work I can do, but maybe it would be worth it to finally be DONE with the trans issues . He asked about if the trans can be dropped without pulling the headers (I never told him the car had headers....he musty have observed that just by the minute he looked at the car from his shop...so, observant I guess) He seemed to be saying the right things and asking me the right questions.....
One side benefit would be that he could verfy that the new parts I paid the other shop are actually in my transmission and give me that peace of mind.
What would you guys do now?
