Any experience with purchasing rebuilt transmissions?

[ajackson]

I've found a few online shops that sell rebuilt 915's (with exchange) for around $1500 (don't think pelican does so I hope I am not out of line here).

Has anyone tried something like that? I have heard a lot of quotes that suggest it is very easy to go over that price by taking the car into a shop to get a standard rebuild.

[john walker's workshop]

if they're smart, shops generally rebuild them with all the necessary parts so they operate well, instead of flipping syncros and reusing shift sleeves. exchange for $1500 i can see, but outright is hard to swallow. they provide a complete rebuildable core, and then rebuild it for only $1500 total, eh?

[ajackson]

It is not outright, they require an exchange. I'm just looking at this and thinking I have two options:

1. Buy it from one of these places for $1500 after giving them my old one.

2. Drop it off at a shop and be prepared for a bill between $2000 and $3000.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by ajackson
It is not outright, they require an exchange. I'm just looking at this and thinking I have two options:

1. Buy it from one of these places for $1500 after giving them my old one.

2. Drop it off at a shop and be prepared for a bill between $2000 and $3000.

OR
3. Pull it yourself (like you were going to do for #1 anyway) and bring it to a shop and have them rebuild your own transmission for the same $1500. That way you've got a known quanity and someone you can look in the eye and get satisfaction if it's not up to snuff.

4. Pull it yourself and send it someone reputable like J.W. for a rebuild and get it back. It's not like sending stuff off the machinist for weeks, a rebuild is a pretty quick to turnaround.

5. Rebuild it yourself. For the $1500 you'd pay for labor you can replace pretty much everything. You need few special tools to do it easily but it can be done without them.

-Chris


A considerable percentage of the 915's I've had apart had loose bearing races or worse. A transmission rebuild is pretty quick.
-Chris

[john walker's workshop]

you said outright in your 1st post.
labor is 5 hours here, can't say what others charge. the rest is parts of course, whichcan vary greatly from one trans to the next. it's impossible to give a firm price quote without total disassembly. parts went up probably 30% this year due to the euro/dollar thing and steel prices. the day of the $1000 rebuild is gone, unless you do it yourself.

[ajackson]

John, you're right about my first posted, it is corrected.

Thanks for your comments, that is exactly the type of analysis I was looking for (from people that know what they are talking about).