- Joined
- February 8, 2003
- Messages
- 9,814
- Reaction score
- 98
- City, State
- Sacramento, CA 95827
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1992 XLT
Well, some of you know I am sort of an E-Bay rat, and ferret out the best deals I can find online. I think I am pretty savvy, but I have learned a few things along the way, and have a couple stories to share. I received a shipment of a 4R70W drivetrain today that exemplifies the bad.
First off, buying ANY transmission part USED on E-Bay is a huge gamble. You need to know what parts MIGHT be prone to being bad, and have some level of trust. Example.... NEVER buy a USED 4R70W reverse drum or reverse sun gear. The ones being sold are guaranteed to be out of limits tolerance wise.
5R55E parts with needle bearings are also a gamble.... was the tranny fragged? Are the bearings 100%? I avoid those.... generally.
I have made some great E-Bay buys.... like a full NEW unused 4R70W gearset for under $200. New pumps of all kinds for about 1/3 retail. If you are buying new, price new and bid accordingly, remember shipping.
Now for some bad stories. First up... a 4R70W Reverse drum.... I learned my lesson here. Maybe once I get my MIG welder working I can make this good as new.... or so the seller told me.
Tonight? I bought a 4R70W gear train, used, but out of an "operational trans".
BS. The planetary had fragged and took everything near it out. I got only a decent direct clutch, a stub shaft, an output shaft and a forward drum that were useable (I never plan on reusing a reverse drum, and though it had not been part of the fragging, it was a POS anyway, they ALL are... used.
The seller says he will look around for a replacement planetary for me, and that I "got a good deal".... but to have shipped that POS geartrain out was irresponsiible. Such is life on E-bay.
Now all that said, I have a number of duplicate tool sets, for trannies and transfer cases I plan to offer here first. I think we all deserve first chance. And this seller you know. <g>
Not sure what made me post this, just seemed like a good time to share. Thanks for reading, join in with your experiences!
First off, buying ANY transmission part USED on E-Bay is a huge gamble. You need to know what parts MIGHT be prone to being bad, and have some level of trust. Example.... NEVER buy a USED 4R70W reverse drum or reverse sun gear. The ones being sold are guaranteed to be out of limits tolerance wise.
5R55E parts with needle bearings are also a gamble.... was the tranny fragged? Are the bearings 100%? I avoid those.... generally.
I have made some great E-Bay buys.... like a full NEW unused 4R70W gearset for under $200. New pumps of all kinds for about 1/3 retail. If you are buying new, price new and bid accordingly, remember shipping.
Now for some bad stories. First up... a 4R70W Reverse drum.... I learned my lesson here. Maybe once I get my MIG welder working I can make this good as new.... or so the seller told me.
Tonight? I bought a 4R70W gear train, used, but out of an "operational trans".
BS. The planetary had fragged and took everything near it out. I got only a decent direct clutch, a stub shaft, an output shaft and a forward drum that were useable (I never plan on reusing a reverse drum, and though it had not been part of the fragging, it was a POS anyway, they ALL are... used.
The seller says he will look around for a replacement planetary for me, and that I "got a good deal".... but to have shipped that POS geartrain out was irresponsiible. Such is life on E-bay.
Now all that said, I have a number of duplicate tool sets, for trannies and transfer cases I plan to offer here first. I think we all deserve first chance. And this seller you know. <g>
Not sure what made me post this, just seemed like a good time to share. Thanks for reading, join in with your experiences!
