OK, so its come time to replace the ailing 700R4 thats in my 1989 2.8L MPFI V6. Its an original tranny, and has 230,000 miles on it. The car is otherwise good, the engine still running very strong, the rest of the drivetrain is in very good shape. I expect to use this car until I die, or it dies (and when it dies I expect to resurrect it too).

So I'm looking for recommendations: Should I have this one rebuilt, and reinstalled, or would it be better to get a totally different unit installed?

I've had bad luck in the past with a rebuilt tranny. I had a 4 cylinder mustang that I dumped $1200 into for a rebuild, and it lasted 3 months LOL. Just long enough to be outside the shops warranty in fact.

Any ideas on where to go in Broward to have it done (actually I have an idea of what shop to go to, I know a very good honest mechanic that has done a LOT of work for me in the past and its not the same as the one I did the mustangs transmission at)
And where I could purchase a different 700R4 for my V6? The junkyard/rebuild is an option, but I'm not 100% certain I can accomplish taking out the tranny myself. But I could certainly learn, and maybe do it myself... Its one of those things I guess. Its my daily driver so I'm not sure I want to risk it.

 

One reason that many "rebuilds" fail is that they aren't fully rebuilt to the extent that many of us would prefer. I think that's often due to time constraints imposed by both book time and a customer's demand to have the vehicle running ASAP.

I'd be tempted to either get a spare and rebuild it myself (to have ready for a swap) or purchase a professionally bemanufactured transmission with the exchange. Even if you pay a shop to R&R the unit, you can have some confidence in the rebuild.

I'd start shopping here:

http://www.teamtripp.com/index.htm

 

Not to go off topic, but instead of getting a rebuilt tranny for $1200 (BTW, they are ALL rebuilt, you can not get a NEW one from anyone), you can get an engine/tranny combo from Kragen auto part store for $800 (it's a TH-350 with a long block 350 i think)

Anyway, go the cheapest route, it's a 2.8 so it doesnt need to hold much power a basci rebuild would suffice. Get it done locally and you wont have to pay shipping. Just be sure that they install it correctly and check the TV setup and pressures. Also, my 2.8 with 263,000 had a bad rear main, my crank had so much slop in it that it kept breaking the trannies, you may want to check out yours.