What Would You Do?

[ChevyHDGert]

The dealer told me my transmission was gone and they recommend replacing it with a new one for $3400 instead of repairing parts which may likely cost more than just replacing it.

 

I've called Chevrolet to complain about my transmission going out with only 49,000 miles on it and this woman has contacted the dealer and says that before she can contact the district Chevy office for assistance, she needs to have the transmission diagnosed to identify the problem.

 

The cost of the diagnosis would have to come out of my pocket which may cost between $300-500.

 

Should I spend that extra $300-500 to have it diagnosed with the hope of having GM pay for part of the $3400 or should I just save that extra $300-500 and just pay the $3400 myself and be done with it?

[StoneyPgh]

The estimate of $300 - $500 for a diagnosis seems unrealistically high.

 

Does the diagnosis have to be done by an authorized GM dealership?

[ChevyHDGert]

Yes at a GM dealer.

 

They have to take out the tranny and take it all apart so however long that takes X $75 per hour.

[StoneyPgh]

Sounds like a tear-down is being called a diagnosis.

 

Glad my doctor doesn't recommend that type of diagnosis when

I see him about an ache or pain in my abdomen or chest.

 

If the tech decides there is nothing wrong due to materials or

workmanship, you are not going to recoup anything from GM.

In this case, there would be no reason to reassemble a bad tranny,

meaning you should only have to pay for the tear-down and inspection.

 

On the other hand, if they cover it, your're home free, and they

should cover it, including the tear-down. Don't expect this to happen.

 

In my case, I had a tranny go out on a previous truck. I had a

transmission specialty shop rebuild it for $2450, including the pull

and install.

[thecraft]

$3400 is extremely high, mine was replaced by dealer for only $2200.

[dewhite]

I blew both the forward and rear planet gears on my '00 1500 (4L60e) at around 60,000 miles and got it repaired for under $1000 by a local guy who does all the repair work I feel uncomfortable doing myself. That was almost 3 years and 30,000 miles ago - haven't had issues since...

 

Call AAMCO and ask how much for a lifetime warranted rebuild on your truck. That should be the absolute most you'd be willing to pay anybody to rebuild your trans. After all, you could definitely find someone else to do it cheaper, but why would you pay anyone more than AAMCO if they'll repair future melt-downs as long as you own the truck?

 

If memory serves, I think AAMCO wanted like $2,500 to do a lifetime job on my truck, but I figured with the local guy giving me 1yr/12,000 miles warranty for under $1,000 I could afford to run it till it blew up, and then have him rebuild it again before I'd be ready to sell it (I ended up keeping this truck about a year longer than I intended to).

 

As far as "good will funds" from GM to repair your truck outside of warranty - I wouldn't count on it. My understanding is that those funds are much more accessable to a caddy dealer than a chevy dealer. I really don't know that much about it though...

[jefftb]

Wow that seems high to me as well. My brothers 2003 Suburban transmission went out at 101,000 miles and it was $2,600 at a local, well operated independent car care/repair facility. They gave him a 12,000 mile warranty as well.

 

The $300-500 is just "gravy" in my opinion to the dealer, but in real world financial terms this is called the "option cost". Your're paying the money for the option of pursuing some action in the future. The question you should ask yourself is what chance (read: probability) if you spend the $300-500, that Chevrolet will take some responsibility for the repair-whole or otherwise. If you think that probability is low then then you just paid maybe $3,900.00 for a transmission repair.

 

It would seem unlikely that GM is going to pay for anything and to me that's just plain wrong unless you been towing mobile homes with it.......

 

I'd start calling places in the morning and begin to get estimates for someone else to do the work. If someone prices the job in the ranges discussed here, then you just saved yourself potentially $1,500.00

[trever1t]

I bought my built FLT 4l65e trans for much less than that and its twice the trans that gm could ever sell you. Go somewhere else or call FLT.

[ChevyHDGert]

A few months ago, I would take off but the truck wouldn't move. And then after a few seconds, it would lock in and really jerk forward. I recently changed the rear end oil hoping that would solve it.

 

I was cruising on the highway 65-70 mph and had to slow down for a traffic light. I came to a stop at the light, but there was this horrible loud noise eventhough I was stopped. It did this for about 5 seconds, and then all of a sudden something locked in and made a loud noise and jerked the truck forward and I initially thought the car behind me tapped me.

 

I'm fixing to take it in to the dealer and see if they can figure it out.

 

Can anyone give me any ideas?

 

 

The dealer drove it and couldn't feel or hear anything. Well no ****, I told them that it doesn't do this but maybe once a week.

 

Update...

 

Driving home from work Friday, my truck quit on me 3 times but I was able to make it home. Then Saturday morning as I was taking it in to the dealer, it gave out for good and had to be towed in.

 

You can give it gas and the engine will rev but the truck won't go forward and I can hear a noise under the cab. It almost sounds like a loose chain that is just rattling inside a housing, so if the transfer case is chain driven, then that could be it.

 

Update...

 

Dealer called and found bits of metal in the transmission pan and recommends replacing tranny for $3400 with 3 year warranty or repairing it for an estimated $2400 with 1 year warranty.

 

Ridiculous...I'm calling Chevrolet customer service to tell them that there is no way a transmission goes out with only 49,000 miles on it.

 

They're telling me that it could be the planetaries and it would be more expensive to repair what is wrong than it would be to just replace it with a new one.

[2017HD]

I had an 89 astro whose tranny lost the front bearings - the balls all went backwards through the gears. The rig was out of warranty, and I could prove regular fluid changes. I contacted the GM training center through a friend of mine that did GM fleet repairs and talked with one of their experts who had seen the problem before, but not with the kind of mileage I had. Usually it occurs at a much lower mileage and is caused by low oil or overheating. The dealer also wanted to charge 200 to do the teardown to determine the cause, by now I was on the phone to GMs customer care center and had the zone manager come in to look things over. They tore down the tranny for 200 and found that there was no signs of abuse so they paid half of the new tranny - less labor and refunded the 200. I was only out about 1600 or so. But this was back in 1993 or so.

[TBY]

FIGHT IT TOOOOOO THE END HOLD EM DONT FOLD EM

[Daubs]

I've heard that service managers can "override" the factory warranty if they feel part(s) have failed prematurely. Meaning they can fix any part regardless of your mileage / years. It's at their discression.

 

If you have worked the truck hard (i.e., abused it), then take your lumps and pay the $$$. If you are doing the "normal wear and tear" thing, then become the squeeky wheel and look for some grease. GM (and ford, dodge for that matter) are really looking to keep customers, not piss them off and send them running towards Toyota / Nissan. It's all about customer service these days. Help them understand that you are a loyal customer and would like this situation solved in a way that will benefit both.

 

By the way, GM's offering new program where dealerships can get certified to offer used vehicles with 2.9% financing AND a 5 year, 100k mile powertrain warranty. I believe they must be newer than 2002's and have fewer than 60k miles on them.

 

Again, if you've beat the heck out of your truck then just pay the $3,400 and be done with it. Good luck.

[2017HD]

Elsewhere in this thread, there was talk about the difference between a crate tranny and rebuilding the old one. When I had my astro problems, a rebuild was done local and took more time and had a lower warranty. The crate tranny was quicker and had a longer warranty - I don't remember either of the warranty terms. I also posted earlier the 1600 price figure - that was close to the total bill as the tranny was 1400 and there was also labor - I paid 700 for the tranny and about 200 or so for labor.

[superbee]

You should consider a performance rebuild from a reputable shop. I had mine done in my old '88 for around 1500 about 3 yrs ago. It was much heavier and bulletproof when it was done. There are kits from B&M and about 10 others that will make you smile. Also try calling suncoast and see if they have a crate unit available, they do amazing things with Allsons. Another thing of note, the remanufactured units that the big chains offer are typically built with the lightest and cheapest parts available, the reman that was in my 88 lasted 60k miles and the sprags and servos etc that came out in the teardown were about 30% as heavy as what we put in. I'll dig around and see if can post some links on another post. All in all, I would no chance spend 2-3k on a stock rebuild, just end up with new junk. Get new quality gears.

[superbee]

Which trans do you have?