My ford ranger’s transmission is shot. I was quoted $1500 to rebuild it, but I know a mechanic in town who will take it out and install a new one for $250. And online I have found a few transmissions for my truck for $500, so I might do that.
So having said that, where do people go when they want to buy auto parts like a transmission?
But I am a newbie. getusedparts has something called a transmission assembly, but I don’t even know if that is an entire stand alone transmission. I assume so.
Since I am on the subject, what info would I need when buying a transmission?
Make, model, year, engine size (2.5L), transmission type (automatic), wheel drive (2wd). Is that it?
Is there anything else I’d need to know if I buy a used transmission? I don’t even know how to distinguish a good used transmission from a bad one.
Don’t you have any local salvage yards? Shipping’s gonna kill you on a used transmission. Find a paper phone book and look under “Auto parts-used” in the yellow pages.
Make, model, year and engine type (number of cylinders and displacement, e.g. 2.4 liter) should be all the info you need for some local phone shopping.
If the used part’s $500 and installation is $250, the warranty on the $1500 rebuild may be worth it. Used parts usually have short (maybe 30 day) warranties if any, and that doesn’t include installation. I installed three different used transmissions in my Chevelle before I got one that lasted longer than six months.
I agree with C.J; $1500 to rebuild an auto tranny is worth it if the mechanic will offer any kind of realistic warranty. Auto trannys are way too hit and miss (mostly miss) at salvage yards. My answer would be different with a manual.
For some Ford models, “automatic” may not be enough info to get the right transmission. There might be two (or more) different designs of automatic trannies used, and there might be problems if you get the wrong one.
Used automatics are problematic in that the salvage yard has no way to drive the vehicle to see if it shifts properly. They – and you – are hoping that it does, but they only have a concern about it working for the warranty period, usually 30 days. And if it fails, even if they provide another under warranty you are responsible for the labor to replace it again.
There’s also the concern of whether the trannie comes with a torque converter, and if so what condition it is in.
Sometimes it’s the customer who’s trying to find the cheapest repair who ends up paying the most.
www.car-part.com is a pretty good source for used parts. It’s basically just a searchable inventory of junkyards nationwide, including (hopefully) your local one.
There are rebuilders out there who sell online. They tend to be more specialty than daily-driver, but you might find someone who rebuilds 1,000 trannies a day and sells the results for half what local retail gets. I bought a custom-built differential for my Mustang - replaced a 2.75 open with a 3.35 posi - from a highly regarded online builder for about half of what a local shop wanted in parts and labor. Don’t let the idea that it’s hard to ship this stuff throw you; for these guys, and things like appliance dealers, shipping an engine, tranny or refrigerator is no harder than Zappos shipping you a pair of shoes.
ETA: Didn’t quite make it clear - I’d buy rebuilt and guaranteed over used, period. The only good used deal is likely to be a U-Pull-It option where you can see the vehicle it came from and make some judgment about condition, and that assumes you have the chops to pull a tranny in a gravel wrecking yard.
