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Reply submitted by Tanya:

My husband has a 1996 Chevrolet extended cab the transmission tore up last year bought one from junk yard no good then bought a brand new rebuilt transmission from Autozone it still slips in 2 gears – 3rd and overdrive since my husband put in the transmission the warranty is no good your suppose to let a professional check it out to make sure it’s working good but since my husband put it in the warranty is no good. $1300 down the drain it’s been sitting for a year is there any place cheap that will fix the transmission around Cleveland tn?

No matter how brave you are, it’s not safe to be driving a car with this problem.

From what you described, it sounds like there’s an issue with the shift linkage, and/or the bushings. When move the shifter to the desired gear, a cable connected to the shifter moves a lever on the transmission, putting it into the desired gear. If the cable / shift linkage, or bushings are worn, you won’t be able to easily select gears. And it may come out of gear unexpectedly, like it does when you come to a stop. This is a relatively inexpensive problem to fix, and you should do so, before it slips out of gear and causes you to have a wreck.

I’m glad to hear you found the article helpful!

What sort of problems are you experiencing with your car? Trouble shifting? Noises? Warning lights on the dash? I would suggest doing your best to diagnose the issue by searching Google and maybe even paying for an hour or two of a mechanic’s time in order to get the diagnostic codes from your car’s computer and determine what the cause is. That said, I assume you know that your tranny is on its last legs since you’ve been adding Lucas to it.

Buying a used transmission from a junkyard is definitely one of the cheapest ways to get a replacement transmission and as you said, since the model was so popular and given its age, there should be a good number of them lying around. You’re right that it might be risky (it might fail not long after you have it replaced), but if you can find one that has been tested by the salvage yard and is in decent condition with low mileage, then it’ll keep your car on the road a lot longer than a few infusions of fluid ever could. I would also try to avoid one that has been in an accident (if possible).

A possible difficulty with this approach is finding a mechanic who is willing to install a transmission that they don’t provide. A local independent mechanic is probably your best bet as most dealerships and chains won’t use parts provided by their customers (for both liability and profit reasons).

If finding a transmission or a willing mechanic proves too difficult, your next best option would be to ask your mechanic to find and install a used or rebuilt transmission. This will possibly cost a bit more due to markup (“finders fee”) and/or the transmission having some kind of mileage/quality guarantee or warranty.

Quick comparison of cost and reliability:
Junkyard – $800-$1500. most scrap yards give a 90 day to 1 year warranty, but most people only expect it to last a year at best and are planning on unloading the car soon or done have the money to pay for a regular rebuild.

Rebuilt – $1500-$2500. last another 2 to 3 years or so. Usually has 1-2 year warranty.

New (Remanufactured) – $1300-$3200+ 3 year warranty

Hope this helps!

Alex

Okay. Well I did happen to replace the clutch master cylinder. Did all the work myself. Bled all the brake lines and from the slave cylinder. Got all the air bubbles out and to the point that new fluid was coming out strongly. Got the clutch pedal all firm and the brake pedal the same way. But turned out it was the clutch. It’ll start and everything. The linkage and everything is fine. But it must be the clutch. But it was worth a shot for sure. I appreciate your help. It was a lot cheaper then the clutch. Was worth a shot. But turned out it wasn’t that. But thanks again for your help and your time man.

Well today I just had the guy who sold it to me. To come out and check it out. He said it could be and looks like its just the clutch master cylinder. And there is brake fluid liquid leaking into my car from it. So as he said it could just be that. Since the clutch pedal itself is really soft or even spongy. As we did a week ago replace the brake lines. Only bled the front two because those were the ones needing replaced and bled again. Thought the back ones would be fine. But we also left the cap on the reservoir.

As the guy told me today we needed to bleed all four and possible the clutch master cylinder to get it to work again. I mean all the linkage and bushing and it was going into every gear but maybe it just wasn’t engaging/ disengaging since the clutch pedal itself was bad and everything else was fine to him. But as he said there must of been an air bubble somewhere and it must have gotten into the clutch master cylinder, as I pushed/ stepped on the clutch pedal in which wouldn’t let me shift or engage/ or disengage the gears letting me move/ or go.

So in which I mean everything else seems fine. But I mean what is your opinion on the matter? Could it just be the clutch master cylinder? Since it is leaking into my car and the clutch pedal itself is really soft or loose and being able to push it all the way to the floor?

Maybe this will help a little more and give you a little more info.
Thanks for your time man. I really need this fix. And i don’t want to have to go out and buy something if i don’t need it or it doesn’t need to be replaced yet. Or spend money out my already dry pockets. You know?

I hope this helps maybe diagnose it a little better and gives you a little more information to work with.

A transmission rebuild (or any car repair for that matter) should never fail after only 20 miles of driving! Based on the list of parts they recommended you have fixed (that you said no to), the spark plugs are the only one that would cause an engine to stop working. There is definitely a chance that they made a mistake. The problem most likely has something to do with the rebuilt transmission in which case, it is the mechanic’s responsibility to get your car running again.

The first thing I would do is go back and discuss the situation with them. Ask them to repair your car and get it back in working order. If the shop is honest and has a good reputation, then they should be willing and happy to take another look to see what the problem is and fix it.

Did the shop offer some sort of warranty or guarantee on their work? Most reputable shops do. A typical agreement will state how many miles they guarantee the rebuilt transmission will work properly. If the shop refuses to help you and only offering to buy your car for pennies, they could be trying to scam you by taking your money for the repairs, making sure your car failed shortly after and then offering to buy it for far below it’s value. In this case, I would contact the authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the scam.

If the first shop won’t help you, I would get a couple of other repair shops in your area to take a look at your car, tell you what’s wrong with it and give you a quote. You might be able to get the engine working again for the same or less than you paid the first time.

If worse comes to worst, then you can definitely get more for your car on a classifieds site like Craigslist or by contacting a company that buys junk/scrap cars.

Thanks for the update. Did the mechanic end up calling you back? Did you tell them that it’s slipping and that you’ve “started having problems with it”.

Are you low on fluid? If you are it could be due to a leak and is probably the cause of the slipping. Check the fluid level and top it up if it’s low.

There are two opinions on whether or not you should change the fluid on a high mileage (possibly neglected) vehicle:

1) Changing it will not cause the transmission to fail because it was going to anyway.

2) If you wait too long you should not change the fluid because it could cause the transmission to fail.

What is the mileage on your Odyssey and how long has it been since the last fluid change? What does the fluid look/smell like? If the fluid is very old or never been changed, burnt and contaminated, the damage might already be done to the transmission and you should just keep topping it up as it is only a matter of time before it fails. Changing the fluid won’t work miracles on an already damaged transmission (which yours probably is since the gears are slipping).

That said, there is an opposing opinion that says new fluid cannot harm a transmission/cause it to fail and that the “don’t change the fluid if it’s high mileage” is an old wives tale. If the tranny does fail after the change, it isn’t the fault of the new fluid, despite what the shops might say or what you read online. The transmission was going to die anyway as a result of the damage done due to long-term neglect. The shop and mechanic you have been talking to probably want to avoid this situation, as most people would blame them for “killing” their transmission.

Try asking them if they are speaking from personal experience (they’ve changed the fluid on a number of high mileage vehicles which have broken down shortly after) OR if they are simply reciting something they *believe* to be true. Ask them to back up their answer with good reasons.

If you do choose to have the fluid changed, make sure it is a CHANGE and not a high pressure FLUSH and that you get a new filter put in at the same time. A flush forces the old fluid out with pressure which could cause sludge and particles to get lodged in places they shouldn’t be and cause the transmission to fail or breakdown faster. As always, be sure to follow the recommendations found in your owner’s manual as the the type of fluid to use, etc.

Hope this helps, and keep me posted!

First of all, I highly suggest you get the problem diagnosed by at least 2 other mechanics/service centers. This will give you options to compare and verify what the problem is. Dealerships are typically overpriced (you are paying for the brand name) and usually unnecessary for a 10+ year old car. Simply saying that “do not” open automatic transmissions should be a warning sign that they aren’t willing to do smaller, lower cost repairs.

If the problem is indeed just a bad bearing, then a full replacement isn’t necessary. The cost depends on the type of bearing causing the problem. If it is a differential bearing for example, you should be able to get the repairs done for around $1600 give or take a couple hundred. That said, if other problems are found within your transmission during the process, the final cost could inflate significantly.

Have you (or the dealership) tried changing the transmission fluid? Doing so could solve the problem or at least make driving easier on the transmission until you get it fixed.