94 Transmission Gone

[CINNALOCKS]

Had a whinning sound was told it was the turbine, about two months ago. Had it looked at and the overwhelming thought was to drive it until it went out. Rebuilds are problematic, used are a crap shoot and a new one is almost prohibitively costly for a 16 yr old salvaged vehicle.

Well this last weekend the transmission went, took it to a shop to be sure and they looked into it all the electronics are burnt out the fluid is brown and there is metal in the pan. This was not the case a six weeks ago, the fluid was looking fairly good as seen by Wes. We thought I would have a lot more time.

I have been doing the services, flushes, had a transmission cooler installed years ago...so have no idea how I could have really avoided this. Had the car since 02 and not sure how it was treated prior but I have been on top of everything.

Found an independent shop with good reviews that I think I want to actually do the work, but also found a few used trannies between $500 and $600 used, one with a supposed 56k on it for 600 shipped.

http://www.engineandtransmissionworld.com/index.php

My thought is I need more time to look into other alternatives, as in buying another car and since I am caring for special needs people we need to have basic transportation on a daily basis.

I could justify paying so 1200 for the job if I can get another year out of the car. But the 4k plus for a new transmission does not seem to be the best decision for me... in my position... at this time.

I think I would rather put the 4k towards another newer Q.

Just looking for some feedback or other alternatives I may not have considered.

[Q451990]

I think it all depends on the condition of the rest of the car and how much you want to keep it.

Heath

[qship96]

how many miles wer on the transmission/car?

[CINNALOCKS]

QSHIP: The transmission has 56k.

Q451990: I see no reason to continue to put loads of money into a 16 yr old "salvaged" vehicle if it was the same vehicle in the same shape minus the "Salvage Title" it would be a different question.

I will keep and drive it as long as it is possible because I do like it (obviously or I would not have bought it back from the Insurance company had the paint and body done a year ago) but the real thought is to buy a newer Q.

If I had unlimited funds I would just put the 94 in tip top condition but what I need is a dependable vehicle.

Any car 16 years old is approaching a point of diminishing returns.

[qship96]

sorry, I meant how many miles are on YOUR transmission that broke, and YOUR car?

[CINNALOCKS]

185 plus.............so I am not at all upset, just had higher hopes

[CINNALOCKS]

I talked with Wes and he kind of hinted that anything less than a factory rebuild is not the best choice. With any used trans you never know where it was stored inside or out, how it was maintained when it was in the vehicle, how long it has been since it was driven and then the warranties are only 2-6 months not to include labor. The factory rebuild is 3 yrs, 100k and is 2600 with the refundable core charge of 400. Generally .... a used one installed is 1700 -1800 vs 3k installed once the core is refunded.

$1300 more for the one time deal is worth it to me. If I had to do labor twice on a bad used one that would be the cost difference between the new and used. So I will be in touch with Joe in the am to order the factory rebuild.....it may take up to ten days to get it here, since it is a special order, but I have come to the reality that it is the best choice for me at least at this time.

[goody90q45]

......The factory rebuild is 3 yrs, 100k and is 2600 with the refundable core charge of 400. Generally I a used one installed is 1700 -1800 vs 3k installed once the core is refunded.......

$2600 seems like a fair price considering I paid $2800 and $2900 in the past year to have trannys replaced in the wife's and daughter's '99 and '02 Accords.

Compared to the cost of a monthly car payment you'll be ahead after 6 months and be able to drive your Q worry-free to the ends of the earth.

[qship96]

While I agree that the factory rebuilt transmission is the safest bet, double, tripple check the length of warranty as I believe it is much shorter than you stated in your above post- if you have one of those credit cards that double your warranty on all purchase you make, use it for payment to add to your total coverage!!!! Let us know the true net cost of the factory transmission please!

[OwnerCS]

......The factory rebuild is 3 yrs, 100k and is 2600 with the refundable core charge of 400. Generally I a used one installed is 1700 -1800 vs 3k installed once the core is refunded.......

$2600 seems like a fair price considering I paid $2800 and $2900 in the past year to have trannys replaced in the wife's and daughter's '99 and '02 Accords.

Compared to the cost of a monthly car payment you'll be ahead after 6 months and be able to drive your Q worry-free to the ends of the earth.

Here's someting else to consider if it will make you feel better about repairing your vintage Q's transmission -- your vehicle could have two transmissions (separate units for front and rear wheels) that cost over $2700 each to replace in addition to taking a $4,500 average annual deprication hit plus the cost of funds borrowed for the purchase over a 60 month period.

Sometimes having a lien free title in hand is a wonderful thing..

[CINNALOCKS]

Sorry it took so long to post. I did the factory rebuilt transmission and it was without a doubt the best move to be worry free. Sometimes it is difficult to depart with the money that was there for a rainy day.I have to say, I did not notice how sluggish it had become from first to second. Now it is smooth and quicker to shift through the gears, runs like one of the new cars I had to rent while the Q was in the shop.
Thanks for all the input from the members, it really did help me to make the BEST decision.

[qship96]

Sorry it took so long to post. I did the factory rebuilt transmission and it was without a doubt the best move to be worry free. Sometimes it is difficult to depart with the money that was there for a rainy day.I have to say, I did not notice how sluggish it had become from first to second. Now it is smooth and quicker to shift through the gears, runs like one of the new cars I had to rent while the Q was in the shop.
Thanks for all the input from the members, it really did help me to make the BEST decision.

Congrats !!!! could you share the current price of the transmission and the warranty length ?

[CINNALOCKS]

Sure, the transmission was $2852.13 from a local dealer, so no s/h and another $918.12 for the install to include fluid at $14.00 a bottle. So $3770.25 with a $400 core deposit that took 6 weeks from Nissan. The warranty is for 12 months or 12K.

[qship96]

Thanks for the update- I take it you shopped joes price before deciding to go get it locally. Kills me Nissan offers such a short warranty on such an expensive part- I think they should provide a 6 year/70K warranty like the original came with when you bought the car!

[maxnix]

Usually the dealer will require you to replace the radiator and external filter also to warranty. Hope you at least did the latter and will add an auxiliary ATF cooler this spring.

[CINNALOCKS]

My radiator is in great shape when I replaced the original, I went with a heavy duty replacement. I have had atf cooler done by Wes when I did the radiator and the external filter was replaced when the transmission was installed last month.

And Qship I did look to go with Joe first but the s/h was prohibitive to Indy. The local dealer dropped it off and picked up the core from the transmission shop. I would have preferred having it done at the dealer but that also was prohibitive, due to the hourly labor rate