Tranny issues --

[spookini]

No, this isn't a Bruce Jenner thread  ..

Just had the transmission on my veHICKle go out.  I mean, it just went.  No warning, no slipping, no nada.  Thankfully I was only 'bout 3/4miles from work, and not on the highway.

Anyhoo, had AAA tow it to my mechanic, and called the next day asking for good news.  He says, "the good news is.. you get to go car shopping!".  Turns out my vehicle/model yr (2006 Ford Escape) is known for transmission failures (carcomplaints.com); sometimes as early as 60-70K.  So it could be worse; I got roughly twice that...

Stopped by a transmission rebuild shop recommended by my mechanic.  They almost talked me into it..  $3K and I could be back on the road in 4days.  I really like the car, it fits my needs very well (SUP / hauling stuff / beach 4WD'ing).  My mechanic says I'd be nuts.  He's probably right.  So I spent the wee hours last night looking for a next vehicle  .

Curious if anyone out there has thoughts/experiences/horror stories on transmission rebuilds.  I  figured for $3k, I could drive the car another 12mos and recoup the $3k in sale/trade-in.  Then again, I could do a rebuild and have the engine go 2months later ...

[lucabrasi]

Car paid for?
Myself......if it was fix it or get a car loan I would fix it.
I have an explorer with 410,000 miles on it. Kind of just an extra car around the house anymore but the trani went out......I don't know......150-200 or so. Lots of those Ford (my chevy 5.3 is amazing too) engines will go forever and the trani or transfer case is the weak link.
Lots and lots of hiway driving out here so that helps extend miles I think vs. city driving.
I don't know squat about trani's other than they are complicated    but I would think to ask him if what went out is the "weak link" in it and if so should you expect more miles on the rebuild?
Absolutely people with more knowledge than me here. 

[spookini]

Yah, car paid for.  Just recently .
135K miles on it.  Transmission rebuild comes w/ 1yr warranty.
Thing is, needs new tires soon also.  And cat heat shield is rattling.  Prob needs bit of brakework too.
So incl price of transmission rebuild, maybe $5K in maintenance on the horizon.
Would be nice to imagine another 100-200K out of it, but my mechanic says he almost NEVER sees an Escape reach 200k. 

As much as I hate having a car payment,  probably gotta suck it up here and go car shopping.
Really gonna eat into my SUP budget!!   

[PonoBill]

Ford had a few bad transmission designs. It's actually the gearsets and bearings that go south, which is very unusual these days. You can probably expect no more than 60-70K miles from the new transmission. Make your decision based on only getting that mileage. 3K for a rebuilt is a pretty decent price, does that include installation?

[spookini]

Well, I'm low-mileage local nowadays, so 60-70K could last me 3yrs.  But I can't imagine having the car in 3yrs.  Most certainly something else will go south in the next 12-15months.  The $3K was ballpark figure incl installation; they said new would be $5K+.  Keep in mind this is not an urban market.  I'm out here in the sticks -- lots of folks wandering around in overalls and barefoot. 
Oh wait, that's just my neighbor StoneAxe... 

[SlatchJim]

I was on my 3rd trans in a 99 explorer, when I'd had enough, and went back to Toyota.  Cut your losses.

[covesurfer]

Weird that this thread just came up....we have a 08 Honda Odyssey and I just cleaned up the engine bay in prep to change out the timing belt at 94000mi. Noticed that we now have a transaxle fluid drip. Grrrrrr. Can't find the exact source yet, but the whole goddamn thing is covered in brown-red fluid slime. Drip, drip, drip.....very unhappy.

[PonoBill]

You live in Maui. Check the transmission fluid every month and drive it until the engine falls out. F%$*ing Haole.

It's almost certainly the mainshaft seal. Ignore it until it gushes (it never will). Odyssey transmissions are a little better than small ford ones, you should get 130K before it goes tits up.

[deepmud]

The Escape is basically a Escort with a taller body.  The Escorts is a Mazda design. Why not expect 200k? V6? I hated working on those  the four was much easier to work on.

[robon]

The Escape is basically a Escort with a taller body.  The Escorts is a Mazda design. Why not expect 200k? V6? I hated working on those  the four was much easier to work on.

Kinda, sorta. Ford and Mazda collaborated on the first generation with the 4 cylinder offered by Mazda and Ford built the optional v6. Stayed this way up until recently with variations on the power train. I have a 98 Mazda b4000 and the only thing Mazda on that truck is the body styling and entry level options. It is the exact same as the Ford Ranger down to the engine and transmission. Truck has been good to me..knock on wood. Odometer stopped working at 160,000kms about 4 years ago. It has to have 300,000 miles now. Still on the Original engine and tranny. A lot of people haven't been so lucky with their Rangers.

[covesurfer]

Pono, I jacked it, safety stood it and crawled around for a while. Removed the crankshaft inspection port (not the source) and cleaned up the filthy seal on that. Looked like seepage from where the transaxle case is split. There's about 6 or 8 14mm head bolts that hold the case together. Factory spec is 47 ft/lbs on those bolts. I retorqued all of the bolts and the leak seems to have dried right up. I couldn't get my big assed torque click wrench in there so I used the 47ft/lb means pretty damn tight guesstimate.  Looks like a metal gasket between the halves and it seemed to be oozing before I tightened the case bolts up. I won't really know if I did anything until I get it hot and cold again. But, I'm thinking that was it. No other source is likely.

[PonoBill]

Cool. Unusual for that to be an issue, but nice if something that simple solves it. 47 ft/lbs for a 14MM is mighty tight with just a wrench. It's a firm shove with a 2' long torque wrench. The shop manual for Rolls Royce once specified that bolts should be done up by a reasonable man with a standard wrench. In fact the length of the wrenches in a typical wrench set was intended to apply the likely torque for that fastener.

[starman]

Hey covesurfer good luck with that timing belt. I waited until the wife's Sienna hit 120K before swapping ours out. It was the most painful exercise I've ever done on a car. Trying to loosen the crank pulley bolt was near impossible. OK, so I didn't have the factory tools to hold the pulley but I did manage to create a Baja version. I sheared off a couple of bolts on the Baja clamp before that bitch came loose. It took days to get it off. For sure buy the kit with the belt, water pump, etc, well worth the extra cost. Good Luck.

Spookini's transmission sounds more like a 6th grade math problem. What's the car worth now? What's it worth with a rebuilt transmission? What other repairs are needed and for what cost to make the car last another 50K? How much to just buy a used one that already has a new transmission and without the current other problems? $3K is a lot to spend on a car that's got one tire in the scrap yard.

[covesurfer]

Of course, once I got the car good and hot, driving up and back to Maliko to shuttle for our run, the leak returned. I'm not even sure it's tranny fluid, could be oil which I think would be the rear main seal since it's oozing down on the transaxle case and the engine is transverse mounted. I knew when I wrote that post that I would still have the leak. It is never something easy. Never.

PonoB, do you know a good indy shop on Maui that works on Japanese? I don't wanna be hostage to the dealership here but I don't know where to go or who to trust. I have the same problem with a dentist over here. I may just wait on that for a Hood River trip to go to my DDS of 20+ years.

The timing belt looks like a royal PITA. I've been through the procedure 4 or 5 times. I was going to buy the tool to hold the crank pulley and the full kit, including water pump, new serpentine belt and timing belt tensioner  but I really, really don't want to do the job. It just looks miserable. The stealer wants $1500 to do it and I'm not sure if that includes new water pump and timing belt tensioner but I will find out. Getting the belt properly seated with everything aligned looks like it can be a little tricky. I'd rather let someone that does these routinely do it.

If I've got a rear main seal leak, I have no choice but to take it to a real shop. All this is probably the result of you tapping my bumper PB! Hahaha!

[PonoBill]

the guys up in Makawao (might actually be called Kula) are pretty good. Not great, but good, probably up to doing what you need done.

First step is to find where the leak is coming from. Get a UV dye kit and trace it. Start with motor oil if you really think that's the source: http://www.tooltopia.com/tracerline-tp8621.aspx  Also get an electric pressure washer (if you don't have one already) and clean off the mess.

Seriously, if it's just an occasional drip on your garage floor, get over it. Statistically, you'll do more damage repairing it than ignoring it. You can definately do the timing belt yourself, but plan on two days.

I did the belts on my Ferrari 360 Spyder. Halfway though I was seriously considering calling for a flat tow to the shop. But I bucked up and saw it through. I checked everything three times and was still sweating gumdrops when I started the engine but it came out fine. The next time I had the shop do it, and they broke off a bolt in a tensioner and charged me to have the engine pulled the the bolt removed by EDF. I was not amused.