Does anyone have any idea the cost involve in rebuiding a 89' SE transmission? I got quoted for $1500.
Currently I have 133,000 miles. It it normal for the transmission to go bad after such a high mileage?

 

I think the manual tranny's just aren't suitable for such a large car. I was told that it usually just involves the main shaft going bad, which can sometimes be caused just by resting your hand on the shifter and putting pressure on it, thus putting some strain on the gears as you drive. My tranny mech. told me that, I don't know! $1,500 sounds high to me considering that I had mine replaced, labor, and clutch for right at $2,000. Then again, this is Tennessee and the prices I've got are much cheaper than what everyone else on this board have been reporting!

 

Basically our 3rd Gen tranny suck (more of the 89-91 tranny's though). Mine cost about $2100 to fix. MY TC, hard steel plates, solenoids etc...all went bad. Plus I had a recalibration kit & tranny cooler installed. GET THE TRANNY COOLER!!! It will help the new tranny last. Oh & my tranny went at 134K. That's about average. Some people have 150/160K + mileage & have never had a tranny problem. Just depends on the car.

 

Ah.. first of all, is it the manual or auto? Both transmission's life is greatly dependant on how you treat it. Drive them like a granny and they should live 300k. Drive it hard and then things could go wrong. Saying this tranny is not suitable for such a large car? I don't know what you mean?

For cost, a manual should be about $1k depending who is rebuilding it. $1500 doesn't seem out of the question though. Especially if the shop has to take it out(labor)

 

how much is a tranny cooler and where can i get one?

 

Check car parts.com and your local car parts store. Most of them are universal and I think they run around $40.

 

for a 3-liter engine car. Also reliable enough.
You've paid for the powerful engine, waste $$$ for gas, and have a slow tranny (+1 second 0-60 mph)? It doesn't match...

DDD