HeavenlyOne

Ok guys, I had my '89 Maxima brought in to an Aamco yesterday to see if the transmission was out. I called a location last month to get an overall quote on how much it would be. They told me between $1250-$2050. Okay I thought. I am in that range moneywise. So I called a closer location ysterday and had them pick it up. A couple of hours later, they called to tell me it WAS my transmission and said it would cost anywhere between $1800-$2500. They haven't torn down the tranny yet. Well, that goes way over my range of funds. So I told them I couldn't get it done because its too much.

Well, this morning, the guy calls me and says he found a '90 transmission at a junkyard and would put it in for me for a total of $1700. He would give me a 6 month warranty.

What should I do? I am scared at the thought of it being from the junkyard. I can see me getting it and it would go out after the warranty.

I was told that a '90 is the same as an '89 and I know how bad the trannies are in the '89's!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


^i^

block

I would go with a rebuild. 90 junkyard tranny is the same as yours. put in a tranny cooler also

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Exactly as Block said... there's a very good chance the '90 tranny will be in the same shape yours is now.
I recommend biting the bullet and rebuilding it now, rather than to pay $1900 now and AGAIN in another year because that tranny dies out of warranty.
borrow some $$ from your parents ot put it on a credit card if you have to, but I highly recommend NOT going with the junkyard tranny.

Adam92SE

Before you hand over a bunch of money, take your car to at least one other shop, just to see what they say. Some shops define a "bad" tranny differently that others

Just my 2 cents...

matt petrilla

i'm putting in a trans now. can you do the labor yourself? it's all monkey work to get the engine and trans out then take it to a trans shop and they build it for you. if you have more time than money -it's the way to go , I used the rafters of my garage to hoist it out (no need to rent a cherry picker, it would be nice to have a garage but i've done enough out in the cold. it's all by the book - haynes manual is all you need -while the engine's out you certainly want to change the timing belt and probably the cam shaft seals ($4 a piece)it's not hard at all just time consuming, must be careful to label the million hoses and wires but again, not rocket scientist stuff if i can do it, you can do it. while the motor's out waiting for the tranny and new torque convertor to get done, it's very easy to drill out/extract the broken exhaust studs that everybody seems to have trust me - it's just monkey work. sure, a real mechanic can probably do it twice as fast, but $ is $ , right? my rebuilt trans, with all new electrical switches and a new torque convertor cost $900. had to buy a $14 socket to take the spindle nuts off when you pull out the axles to free the engine/trans combo - if you decide to do it yourself -i'll send you the socket, on a lend. I'll also be a phone call away for any questions - but believe me it's just not that bad .tedious, frustrating, bloody knuckling,little hairy(when your're raising the engine over the front of the car to clear it so you can roll the car back), but very rewarding to save all that $ and then tell your friends on the net you had the ***** to do it yourself. if you want me to get the same shop to rebuild yours- maybe the freight wouldn't be that bad -let me know? i enjoy helping car people. there's a place i saw - i think on ebay- that sells them for 900 but they need yours sent to them for a core and then freight back to you is another 100 so i think the final price is like 1100 and they give a good warranty - they're in arizona, i think. if i can help let me know. 931-598-0620 sewanee, tenn (near chatanooga) name's matt