Transmission Mechanic

[Dignan]

Does anyone know of a good yet cheap mechanic in the salt lake city area that would be able to swap a 700R4 into my explorer? I've called a few places and they either don't do custom stuff or the charge a lot to do it. I thought about doing it myself, but if it can be done for a reasonable price, I would love to save the down time of trying to figure it out myself.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Gremlinstien sells adapters. Look at the sticky thread on the top of this forum. A good place to look for a transmission shop in your area is on WWW.ATRA.Com. They only list shops that have the Automatic Transmission Rebuilder's Association membership, and training.

 

[Dignan]

I was actually looking for more of a local guy that would do it cheap. I am going to buy the adapters and a rebuilt transmission, so I don't need a shop that is certified to rebuild it. I just need someone with more time than I have that will through it in there. It shouldn't be hard so I don't want to pay a lot, but the shops I've called freak out at the thought of putting a chevy transmission into a ford, and therefore think that it should cost a lot of money. Maybe if I take some information from this website about the available kit they would be more comfortable with it and charge less.

If anyone knows of more of a backyard mechanic that could do this, that would be helpful. Thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

These shops consider a swap to be like a custom modification. They don't want to waste time experimenting with something that they have never done before. Maybe you might be better off looking for a speed shop, or a shop that restores old vehicles.

 

[Dignan]

I have called or emailed every place on that list and they all charge way too much. The cheapest one is $1400 (and that was a minimum, he said it might be more). That doesn't even include parts! And he said it would be about 6 months! I was worried about not being able to do it over the weekend. I guess going to a shop wasn't the answer to that problem. I had to replace an engine in a car last year and I had a cousin that does some work out of his garage. He charged me a few hundred bucks to swap out the engine. It wasn't a rebuild or anything, just disconnect, lift out old engine, drop in new engine, reconnect. He was injured at work and can't do this transmission for me, but that is the kind of guy that I am looking for. A transmission swap should be a LOT easier than an engine swap. If he only charged me a few hundred bucks for the engine, I certainly dont want to pay $1400+ for the tranny swap.

 

[Dignan]

Ok lets broaden the search area. I am willing to go out of Salt Lake City. I don't have the time to go too far, but if anybody knows of a mechanic in the surrounding states, I'm all ears.

 

[glfredrick]

Dignan, how's it goin' man... Haven't seen you since we were out to Moab a couple of years ago.

Anyway, if I were you, I'd look at doing the swap myself. It is mainly a bolt on proposition, and though you might have to do some driveshaft cutting (and that IS a job for the pros) the rest is just nuts and bolts.

For what you'd have to pay a shop, you could invest in a good tranny jack and a few hand tools and have at it.

 

[Dignan]

Ya its been a while since then, we should do it again. You have a good excuse living so far away, but once I fix my explorer, I will have to either go to Moab or consider myself a jerk for being so close and not taking advantage of it.

Well I did almost give up on finding a mechanic until I received the list of requirements to keep my warranty with bowtie overdrives. Although that is a tough list, I think I can do all of that, but I really want my explorer back quick too. As soon as the parts come in, it would be nice to have someone do it in a few days instead of me fighting with it for a few weeks. And in the mean time, I am stuck driving a POS '90 Ford Tempo. Its good on gas, but a good reminder of why I like my explorer. Today I took my wife's Powerstroke so its not so bad, but I feel bad that she had to drive the Tempo. That and the fact that I sold my house and haven't found another one, which means I don't have a driveway, makes for a difficult situation. If it comes down to it, I'll do it myself, but if its supposed to be so simple that I can do it, I would think it would be very simple for a trained mechanic and therefore relatively cheap.

I found one shop that said it would be about $500. I was hoping to come in a little lower, but I guess that is better than the $1400 and six months I was quoted from the other shop.