Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 18:47:29 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: WTB: Transmission (good or bad) that fits in an '87 Vanagon
2.1L
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fwiw..
I consider 10 hours total labor charge *very* reasonable.
some transmissions shops don't even charge for the removal and
re-installation of the trans from the vehicle ...
I know if I was doing it ..
I'd have two hours into removing it ..
whatever the bench time is ...
and two or three putting it back in ..
but then I get distracted by dry CV joints or little areas that need
attention in the area ..
plus very careful fine tuning and sorting out ..
and I don't leave any metal bare and unpainted on anything I rebuilt or
assemble.
I have not seen any transmission shop that does any corrosion prevention
work ever..
it's always bare metal axle flanges ..
sometimes even pre-rusted when you get the rebuilt trans back ..
doing a really good job takes longer.
10 hours is way low in my book.
no complaints there.
a rebuild runs as you know ....roughly $ 1,200 to 1,600 ..
I recommend Royal Purple Synthetic ATF in it btw.
and ............the oil cooler is 'probably all right' ...something to think
about at least.
Can't really comment on the torque converter price...does seem highish
though.
What really matters is the out-the-door final price ...and The Results .
I'm going to be doing my own one of these days.
I'll buy a kit online for the wear parts ..
for a Valve Body I will probably buy a rebuilt and dyno-tested one from
German Transaxle in Bend, OR.
One guy I know had his vanagon auto trans rebuilt.
After about two years it just would not shift up into 3rd .....
and nothing wrong was very apparent dropping the pan and valve body.
The one-man-shop that did the job had left town by then unfortunately.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fuzzy :philippe" <fuzzmeister@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2011 10:55 AM
Subject: Re: WTB: Transmission (good or bad) that fits in an '87 Vanagon
2.1L
Cool!
Thanks to everyone for your feedback. So it looks like the total for
rebuilding the transmission locally will be about $1600. So not cheap
compared to a lot of the other quotes I've heard. Maybe it's a
California thing (I'm in Berkeley). But the shop is reputable and well
reviewed on Yelp and the guy (Jack) at Wholesale Transmissions is
about as by-the-book as I can possibly imagine it and broke down all
the charges clearly.
Couple of questions I have:
- The number of hours quoted is 10h. Is this a normal number of hours
for this sort of job? From my conversation with Jack, it looks like
he's lifting the number straight from the book rather than charging me
for the actual number of hours worked. Is this normal?
- The price quoted for the new torque converter is $325. Is there a
better price somewhere else where I could order it from?
Thanks!
Philippe
On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 8:30 AM, John Rodgers <inua@charter.net> wrote:
> That price seems pretty chunky for a used auto-tranny - tested or not.
>
> Granted, it comes with a warranty(however good it is). But given all the
> trouble to remove the old and replace it with the new one - and if bad -
> remove and replace it again to return to the supplier - I would think you
> would be better off taking your own to a reputable auto-tranny repair shop
> and have them do the job locally. I'm all about using local folks, for the
> most part, because if all else fails, and you can't get satisfaction, the
> local shop is right there, and you can run over with your chainsaw to
> achieve satisfaction. On the other side of the coin, the local shop is
> close
> enough you can run over and keep them tweaking on it until it's right, if
> there are problems. But likely not necessary. If your trans-axle is good,
> the local transmission rebuild will probably be OK. The tranny is simple
> enough, that If you are careful, with a standard toolbox you can rebuild
> it
> yourself at home in your garage. That being the case, a competent shop
> should be able to do a decent job, given their experience and facilities.
> My
> local guy who rebuilt my engine (now with 140,000 mi on it since that
> rebuild and no troubles) recently quoted me $900 for a rebuild of the
> tranny
> on my Carat. Haven't had it done yet, but it's coming this spring. The
> price may change a bit by then but it won't be much. So for around $1000 I
> will have a newly rebuilt tranny with new parts - not a certified(?)
> tranny
> with used parts that would be questionable in my mind from the get-go.
>
> Just my $0.02 this morning.
>
> Good luck.
>
> John
>
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com
>
>
>
> On 12/7/2011 12:38 AM, Fuzzy :philippe wrote:
>>
>> Anyone with experience with these guys?
>>
>>
>> http://www.a1partsdepot.com/1987-VOLKSWAGEN-VANAGON-Transmission-P347136.aspx
>>
>> Philippe
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 8:15 PM, Fuzzy :philippe<fuzzmeister@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi!
>>>
>>> Looks like my automatic transmission is going bad. My options are:
>>>
>>> - Get the old transmission fixed/rebuilt
>>> - Get a working used transmission and replace the old one with it
>>> - Get a non-working used transmission and pilfer parts from it
>>> - Convert the automatic transmission to a manual transmission
>>> (used/rebuilt and working)
>>>
>>> Can anyone help with any of the above?
>>>
>>> Let me know privately to fuzzmeister@gmail.com
>>>
>>> Thank you so much in advance!
>>>
>>> Philippe
>>
>>
>
