To sell or Part out? That is the question.

[Jo the Explorer]

I know I haven't on the site in awhile, but my 96's tranny finally went out. I have called a few local transmission places and they have all quoted me 1500 to 2000 dollars to rebuild my transmission. It currently has 270,x.. miles on it, pretty much all original. I probably wouldn't get anything for it if I tried to sale as is, but I can't justify paying that much or risking a junkyard tranny just to see her run again.

So my question is try to sell as is anyways or part it out. Although it is a 96 the interior and body are pretty much mint for the age. No paint fade or interior stains or cuts.

Some aftermarket stuff: Flowmasters(been on there for about 10 years), Billet upper and lower grill, K&N CAI, and its rolling on DC1's but the fit my dads jeep so he wants those.

I really hate to see anything happen to it, its been one hell of a vehicle for me. Plus it was my first vehicle so its sentimental.

 

[colintrax]

With it being your first vehicle it's probably a good idea to fix her. Not the best idea financially but you'll be kicking your self for letting her go. If you wanna part it out, I might be interested in the front bumper, grill and headlights (depending on how much $ you want) and if you end up selling the tires and rims I'd take those to.

 

[Jo the Explorer]

Yeh that's why I'm hesitant to sell or part out, but my wife and I are just starting out and I can't swing a repair cost right now and don't want to leave her just sitting at my parents house in their way.

But prices would be OBO with buyer covering shipping.

 

[Jstcruz]

If you have room to part it out it can get you a decent deal of money. It takes time tho. Fixing it to sell it probably wont be a good idea financialy with that many miles on it, but, to fix it and keep it might be worth it. then you know exactly whats in it.

I want dibs on the billit grills if you end up parting it out, and also the headlights if Colintrax decides against them.

 

[RyansX]

Thats a tough decision man. See if you parents will buy it from you then later on when you got more money buy it back. That way you can still see it whenever you want!

 

[Jo the Explorer]

Yeh I have the space to do it, and like I said in the OP its almost all original. The radiator is probably the only "big" part I have had to replace other then just regular maintenance.

 

[Jo the Explorer]

Thats a tough decision man. See if you parents will buy it from you then later on when you got more money buy it back. That way you can still see it whenever you want!

They offered to help pay for the repairs until I found out how much it was going to be, plus my dad just had to have surgery on his Achilles Tendon and will be out of work for awhile.

 

[colintrax]

Sounds like you're in a tough situation. I wouldn't sell my explorer, but its more than just my first car. Idk how much more it is to you than that. Have you thought about a 5 speed swap? Could be pretty cheap if you get everything from the junk yard, but you never know what kind of shape the trans is in. Although it's pretty hard to kill a 5 speed

 

[crunchie_frog]

Okay,

There are junk yards in the south east called Pull-A-Part. You can go pull the transmission and the cost is below (from their website). I do not know if one is near where you are in AL, but there are 3 showing on their website. Okay, so you do not know if it is good but you can sometimes tell why the vehicle is there, (wrecked, trashed, other, but the 4r70W transmission is pretty reliable. You can check the Pull a Part web page and, for each locaation, they can tell you inventory of make, model and year, but you will not know if it has the 4.0 or 5.0 engine so you have to go look and see if it has your transmission. If you find one that looks in good shape, pull it and put it in yourself, might need a buddy to help you. Not an impossible job, pulling is very easy, I have dropped them by myself. You need a good length of extensions to get to the bolts that mount the engine to the trans.

Your other option is to rebuild it yourself, there is an excellent thread by Glacier that I used to help with my rebuild. There are also rebuild books, the Haynes Ford Trans book was actually the most helpful to me. Also, I would get the Ford Factory manual and it also shows step by step, part by part, the Haynes just has some useful tips.

I would try a trip the nearest pull a part and see if finding a good used one is an option. You can also get one at a local junk yard for probably $500 or so, with a warranty, it doesn't work you bring it back and they give you a another one, maybe. I have never had a problem with Pull A Part though on returns. The local junk yard may can tell you the history of the transmission, Pull A Part you are on your own.

TRANSMISSION AUTO W/CONVERTER
$57.36
core
$13.12
warranty -take it back and get another one is the warranty.
$8.57

 

[Jo the Explorer]

I completely forgot about Pull-a-Part. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[crunchie_frog]

I have two 2000 5.0s and the one here in Columbia SC is full of 1990 to 2000 models. Most of them are not the V8 model like you have. The Pull-A-Part here is super nice, all gravel, all the cars lined up... I am addicted to going there. Drive shafts, axles, calipers, disks, sensors, I can't help myself. I have a 5.0 engine that I pulled for a little more than $100, too much fun. Good luck, I guess you know you can fill out a form on their webpage and they will let you know when a certain year and model come in. There are some compatibility changes from 1996 to 2000, you can search the forum and there is some useful info on what will fit with your 96, but I am pretty sure there were changes each or nearly each year (electronic connection type changes).

 

[snoranger]

Like Cruchie said... the 4r70 is a reliable trans... There's a high probability that a JY trans is good.


I like to look for a truck thats in the JY for a front-end collision. I see it this way, it drove good enough to hit another car.

 

[Jo the Explorer]

If the pull a part route falls through I'll look into the junk yard. I don't really want to see my first vehicle gone.