I'm sorry this isn't an f-body, but my grandma's tranny in her '96 Mercury Sable(auto) puked all the fluid out of a seal or something. Bottom line is that it was run until it wouldn't move anymore, so I'm assuming she needs a new tranny. She said the local Ford dealer want's to pick it up tomorrow and tear into it, then they will tell her how much it will be. I told her to wait and let me talk to them tomorrow. Do any of you guys know what it costs to order a new or rebuilt tranny for one of these Sable/Taurus cars? I figure the best way to approach this is to have them quote putting in a new tranny and also maybe quote a rebuilt tranny. That way she will know what the max cost could end up being. I'm worried that they will pull it apart and try to fix it on the bench themselves and end up charging as much as a new one. I have know idea what tranny comes in these cars and what the R&R should run either. Sorry for the non f-body, but I hate to see her get taken advantage of, and I thought I would be a fool not to use this resource

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'87 Formula WS6 - ZZ4 Crate TPI, ported heads, LT4 hot cam, 1.6RR, Accel runners, Accel lower, ported plenum, Edelbrock 58mm TB, pulleys, SLP cold air, headers and full exhaust, gutted cat, Walbro 255, Koni yellows, aftermarket panhard & LCA's.

 

Off the top of my head, a new one is about $1600, I can't remember if that includes R&R costs. I could be wrong, but I do know that my friend that owns a tranny shop hates those cars. He says they're one of the worst to have to pull a tranny from.

Whatever you do get a written estimate before they do anything. Always get everything in writing. That way you have proof of what they are supposed to do, not do, and max cost.

 

Your $1600 is probably NOT R&R. If you do decide to put a new one in, DO NOT let them tear the old one down, or they will charge you for teardown and assembly of the core. Unfortunatly though, you can't get an accurate estimate w/o tearing it down. If it just puked fluid, you probably didn't break any hard parts. Either a seal came out, cooler line came loose, or it overheated and shot out the vent. Rebuilds get expensive when "hard parts" break (reaction shells, planetaries, input housings and the like). If it just needs some clutches and resealed, its usually no biggie, but if a new one is relativly cheap, and it comes w/ a good warranty, you may want to just pass on the rebuild.

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'97 Bonneville SSE

 

First off there is no such thing as a new tranny. Unless it is a new car and there is something special about the core, you will ALWAYS get a rebuilt, even from the factory (you didn't think that they just throw those trannies out did you?).

The price range could be anywhere from $900 from some hack, who then has to either raise the price when it needs more hard parts(common) to $2200+. These units like to take out the geartrains. Too bad you are so far away as I do allot of these. An accurate estimate W/O the unit being torn down is not possible unless they have some set price but even then get it in writing and beware that if they are not allowed to charge for needed extra parts that they may try to reuse parts that should be changed. Think of it this way, if you had tires all torn up you know you need the tires replaced but you also need an alignment most likely and possibly even a tie rod end, etc. There is no way to say what it cost W/O looking at it and with a tranny, those parts are INSIDE the case, in the car.

I would insist on three things. One is that either the radiator is replaced or an external cooler (TruCool only) is added and you bypass the radiator. Second have a TransGo Shift Kit installed. This is NOT to make it shift hard but to fix BIG problems such as the lack of lubrication that leads to the meltdown of the geartrain, etc. Lastly fil it with either Mercon V or full Synthetic. These have a rough time with cooling and lube and you are in Texas.

One other note: I see and fix Reman units from all of the major manufacturers and some of the foreign ones too. All I can say is when they are built at the factory the quality control is near perfect. When it is reman you have minimum wage people who know nothing about trannies doing it to keep costs down (for them) and I have seen some really shoddy work. Thrust Washers missing, clutches installed wrong, etc. Also you do not always get the sought after updates that you are promised. I would suggest finding someone who has been referred by people you know and trust and that back up their work. I would rather pay more than I would like for something ONCE than have to pay bargain prices over and over again.

[This message has been edited by transfixleo (edited August 08, 2001).]

 

If you want a recommendation for someone in your area that will do it right and install the the Trans-Go Shift Kit and other recommended updates call Trans-go. Tell them where you live and give them the zip code of your town and they should be able to tell you of someone to help you out who is near you. Their phone number is 626 4437456.
Hope This Helps!!!

 

When my 91 Sable crapped out, i shelled out 1700 for a rebuilt trans with installation.

 

did you try to fill it up with fluid and see if the trans will engage or shift if not probably burnt it up advise that a reman from ford is about 1500 to 2000 depending on the reman builder advise that these are one of the easiest fwd trans axles to remove did them in the dealership takes about 40-45 minutes on a hoist if you know what you're doing to take out and they are not that bad to rebuild advise who ever does the r&r to make sure they flush the trans cooler and lines. advise that she problably burnt up the forward and intermediate clutch.