Transmission rebuild NIGHTMARE

[ponkotsu]

Looking for some advice. As they say, "if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have none at all"...

My 05 Aviator was starting to show signs of the servo bore issue. Not bad, but with 150k miles I assumed it wouldn't go much longer. I had a used car warranty that would pay $1k towards the repair cost.

Found a shop that I thought was reputable. Had lots of good online reviews and had been in business quite a few years. He gave me a great price and got the warranty company to pay their share.

He rebuilt it in fairly quick time. Got it back in 3 days. I could immediately hear some whining noise that didn't sound right. Called the guy, and he said don't worry, that usually breaks in. I didn't believe that at all.

Drove it a few more days. Coming up the mountain something cut loose. Started making really bad grinding noise and was shifting very slow and rough. Took it back again. They agreed something went wrong.

They got it fixed in 3 days. Claimed the TC had a bad bearing. Claimed they took the tranny apart and checked as a precaution. Seemed to be running just fine after I got it back. Although, there was a couple of shifts that seemed pretty hard.

Got back from a 100 mile trip last night. Pulled in my garage and I could smell something like burning rubber. Looked under the truck and could see tranny fluid dripping from the transfer case. I really can't see where it's coming from at all.

Now the real kicker to this. The guy has been evicted from his building for not paying rent. He's basically shut down now and looking for a new place. My truck was his last job in that building.

My gut is telling me I need to just cut my losses and take it to another shop and get the whole thing checked out. Although he seems to be an honest guy and has good reviews, what's happening to me tells me that he is a con artist who's luck finally ran out.

I could be getting into a lawsuit situation. But I know enough about the law to know that I need to give him every chance to honor the warranty before taking it somewhere else.

 

[ponkotsu]

Took it to another shop to check it out. If was just a cooler line or something, I'd just get it fixed. Had it up on the lift and could clearly see the fluid is coming out of the bell housing. So it's either the shaft seal or the big pump seal. Either way, it's gotta come out of the vehicle again. And it's not a small leak. It's a steady drip. Already lost enough fluid it's not drivable.

Me and the other shop mechanic are both guessing they reused the same seals when the re-rebuilt it.

 

[fusseli]

Sounds bad all the way around. I hope you don't have to find a new tranny at this point, but it might be worth considering since you'll never know what else is damaged in there.

Side note, I think that the tranny has an overflow valve on top somewhere that will expunge fluid when the tranny is overheated and/or overfilled.

 

[imp]

Unlucky

At least the consolation of knowing the vehicle gave a helluva lot of good service is there. Years back, when I cut my teeth on repair, a new car could be counted on to need major repairs well before 100K, sometimes by 50K. Valve jobs were very common, especially where heavy use like pulling a trailer long distances was involved. I burned two exhaust valves in my solid old 390 pulling a heavy trailer full of belongings in my move from Chicago to Las Vegas.

Fortunately, I was taking over a service station! imp

 

[ponkotsu]

Took it back to the shop. He said it was just over filled, and the fluid was running out the vent tube in the bell housing. Got it back and I've been seeing tranny fluid on my garage floor. So I brought it back again. We both looked at it together, and there appears to be no fluid at all coming out of the tranny. The fluid appears to be leaking from the transfer case cover. Don't know if its coincidental. I can't imagine they did anything to make the t-case cover start leaking.

So the guy apparently has found a buyer for his business. He said bring it back in a couple weeks after the new guy takes over and they will fix it for me for free, or really discounted price. He said the new owner will honor his warranties, because he has so few that not worried.

So I guess the guy is honorable after all. Rare thing these days.

 

[ponkotsu]

Looks like I'm screwed. The ahole at the tranny shop won't return phone calls, and the place is dark. Done.

Took it to another tranny shop that has great reputation and really seems like an outstanding place. The t-case leak turned out to be the vent hose. Idiots that rebuilt my tranny lost the vent hose so it was trickling out the pipe.

The torque converter (maybe the pump) is too noisy. Definitely not right. Tranny was at least 1 quart over filled, and that's after leaking for a month. They threw a pressure gage on it and found that the pressure is really erratic. Probably bad valve body, but no way to know for sure.

So, looks like I have to spend another $2500 rebuilding again. I've already contacted the DA and am going to file a complaint for fraud. They guy gave me a 12 month warranty and locked his doors the same day. That's not poor workmanship, its fraud. Next I'll be filing a lawsuit for every penny I can think of. I may have to wait 20 years to collect, but at 18% interest per year, I'll wait. He screwed the wrong person.

 

[fusseli]

Sorry to hear it and good luck with the battle

 

[ponkotsu]

After getting tired of seeing ATF on my garage floor and getting some codes, I decided to pull the tranny. What a f'n mess they made. Bolts stripped out and missing. Tcase hose cut and left hanging.

The noise turned out to be the torque converter. I brought it to a local shop and he recognized it right away. It's rebuilt by some local guy in his garage or something. They are all bad he said. So I bought a Transtar rebuild from him with the upgraded Sonnax clutch. It was expensive, but will last the life of the truck and is supposedly silent compared to the stock TC.

The leak was most likely a weld on the POS torque converter. I couldn't find any other potential leaks. I'll be replacing the front seal so if there still is a leak at least it will be accessible without pulling the tranny.

Inside the tranny I found more horrors. One of the valve body bolts was loose and was about 1/2" from driven home. Just a matter of time before it would have fallen out. Rear servo pickup screen was ripped out. Pump gears installed upside down. Didn't change the filter. Didn't change the valve body gasket. Pump gasket torn. Bands were so loose they were flopping around in there. Solenoid body was a used one, not new. What a joke. I was lucky the thing ran at all. They did install the good brass servo bore sleeves, so at least I got something for my $2500.

I did sue the tranny shop and he was served today! Can't wait for my day in court with the ****** rocket.