2000 VT Wagon Auto Gearbox

[Goo]

Hey guys

I noticed my gears was starting to slip during changes (very minor), so i mentioned it to my mechanic and he serviced it for $225. Not sure what he did but it was fixed and the gear changes were much smoother.

Travelling at about 95km/h on a highway in rural NSW the other day I heard a grinding type noise and i stopped. I eventually determined that it was only happening in 1st and 4th gears, so i limped the car back home in 3rd gear (~ 350KMs) based on the decision that getting it back to Sydney by another means would have cost more than anything else.

I got my mechanic to have a look at it again, reminding him that he serviced the gearbox about 1.5 weeks prior , and he has just informed me that something to do with the planatory gears has gone and the gearbox needs a complete overhaul. He advised me that it will be $2000 which seems OK but i thought i'd seek advice from alternate sources. This mechanic seems nice but i also want to make sure i'm not getting rorted.

Does anyone know good places to start? Is it worth paying a bit more and converting to manual gearbox? Is it possible?

Thanks in advance

 

[accentstencil]

$2000 is about what it costs to recondition the transmission, or so I've heard. I have seen brand new ones on ebay for $1300-1400.
Here is a thread discussing manual conversions.http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/showthread.php?t=33206&highlight=auto+to+manual+conversion

 

[holden007]

$225 for service is a rip off, but $2000 for a recon sounds about right, I have seen complete overhauls for around $1600 aswell.

Suggest to go around to other workshops and get ideas on price and the problem.