Transmission Advice

[Subway]

Hi all

Just after some advice, my transmission started to fail on the weekend. It wouldn't change gears correctly, seemed to change once I took my foot of the accelerator. I turned around and drove it a few K's home and called the RACQ. He said it sounded bad and there wasn't much he could do with it, he said to have it towed to a recommended repairer in the area. He thought it was the Torque Converter as he said it was rare to see the transmission go in a VS with low K's like mine (123,000).

I called the repairer today, Envirocool, they said the transmission is stuffed and he is pricing around a new one for me. I had a quick search on the forum and it looks like a reconditioned transmission will cost around $1500-2000? I hoping it won't be over $2000 but just wanted to get an idea of what the current cost of such a repair is. Any other advice or tips would be appreciated.

Car is a 1997 VS11 HSV Senator 185i.

Thanks,

S

[wickann15]

Had a similar problem. Was pretty bad when the engine had been sitting overnight, would go to put it in Drive and the bloody thing wouldn't move just sat there and revved its tits off. Had to put it in reverse then back to drive to get it to move. Plus it would hit high revs before it would change gears. Turns out the seals are starting to harden and will need an overhaul soon. But until then I've had it serviced and the problem only occurs very rarely now.

[Subway]

Just got a call from the repairer, $1750 for a 2nd hand Transmission (3 month warranty) or $3150 for a Reconditioned Unit with 12 month warranty!

This is a bit more then I expected. Does this sound pricey or is this the current market value?

[wickann15]

Not really sure what the transmissions for the Senators are worth. Do you know much about the mob it was towed to? I find it strange that a car with that amount of KMs needing a new transmission already. I'd be asking how much it is to get your own transmission overhauled by a transmission specialist as it is most likely just the seals that need replacing not the entire thing being stuffed. Just make sure you get a few quotes!

[BlackVXGTS]

When you took your foot off the accelerator and it changed gears, did it then perform OK in that gear or did it seem to slip? Just looking at the Envirocool web site they are not transmission specialists and will therefore only be able to provide you with replacement options. My advice would be to get it checked out by a transmission specialist. You haven't provided enough information on the problems that you are experiencing to allow for proper diagnosis. Gear changing problems can result from a few things such as shift solenoid issues (which don't require a rebuild) and even a bad throttle position sensor can cause gear changing problems (such as holding on to a gear too long, hard shifts etc.).

[moff_man]

Wholesale Automatic Transmissions

try this mob. highly recommended

[Subway]

@ Red - No, don't know much about them. They were highly recommended by a mate who is in the RACQ. I searched them on here and found one thread with a good comment. That is exactly what my mate said, he would be surprised if it was the transmission with only 123,000k's on the clock. I can't remember if the guy said that quote was to re-condition my transmission or for an already re-conditioned one. I might call back and ask.

@ BlackVX - Yes, when I took my foot off the pedal it 'clunked' back into the next gear. I didn't sound good and I could hear a 'whirling' noise, this noise was louder when the revs were low or the car was idle. It went quiter when in high revs.

I was only a few k's from home so I decided to drive it back home. When the RACQ came out he was going to take it for a test drive but couldn't get it into gear. He did say it didn't sound good at all and warned me it may be the transmission, but also felt it should just be a torque converter issue due to the low k's.

Thanks for the advice,

S