Anybody know a good tranny shop???

Andyman

Scroungus Stereophilus
Subscriber
Cindy's 2002 Taurus has developed an intermmittent tranny leak and it's way more work than I care to deal with so, I'm thinking I might want to look into getting it fixed. Problem is good honest tranny guys are hard to find.

I posted another thread and it looks like it might just be a leaky seal which is like a $10 part that takes $600+ in labor to get to. The car isn't worth a whole lot, but aside from the leaky trans it probably could last use more than a few more years if it doesn't rust away. I'm not looking for a $2200 tranny job in a $2000 car...:no:

Any and all tips and help is appreciated!!

Original thread link below. I posted here for help in finding a local shop.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=595101
 
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I dumped some in with questionable results. Today it didn't leak, but yesterday it did. I'm going to add more as part of the initial 500 ml added may have leaked out. The AX4N holds like 13+ quarts, so I really need a second bottle to add.

It seems OK if I don't fill it too much into the crosshatching and run it a wee bit low??? Maybe a filter change would help it run easier too???

FWIW, the car runs pretty well and I added less than half a quart of fluid to fill it after the leak was diagnosed.
 
You can unhook one of the tranny cooling lines & pump some fluid out.you have to figure out what side is gonna push,the rad or the line.then find a piece of tubing over it & pump it into a jug.
 
You can unhook one of the tranny cooling lines & pump some fluid out.you have to figure out what side is gonna push,the rad or the line.then find a piece of tubing over it & pump it into a jug.

????

It's not overfull? It's just under the crosshatching, not above it.

I was thinking a clean filter might make it flow better and maybe reduce some pressure in the system??? :dunno:
 
not really. The filter is on the suction side. If its never been changed, doing it would be a good idea just for general maintenance reasons but I doubt it'll help much with leak issues.
 
Those transmissions in the Sable and Taurus were not as durable as most Ford transmissions . I would recommend a flush every 50000 miles . The leak could be anywhere from the cooler , lines or pan . Does the fluid look bright red or is it closer to brown ?
 
Those transmissions in the Sable and Taurus were not as durable as most Ford transmissions . I would recommend a flush every 50000 miles . The leak could be anywhere from the cooler , lines or pan . Does the fluid look bright red or is it closer to brown ?

I've been under the car and the red drip is coming out of the flywheel area so I certain it's not something easy like the pan. My last two Tauruses got 186,000 and 199,500 so I know they can last.

I talked to a guy today and will probably sell the car as is as he doesn't want to do the job and the prices he quoted were close to my limit, and could go higher if more comes with to loght beyond a simple seal.

I guess I knew that, but was hoping a fix would get me a few more years out of it. Looks like its a fill up and drive until it gets too bad or we find something else.
 
An old trick is to fill your windshield washer reservoir with tranny fluid and run the squirter hose into the tranny fill tube . When it starts to slip , push the windshield washer button . :D

OK , I wonder if another bottle of tranny stop leak would be valid at this point ? If you are just gonna trade it or run it till it stops , what can it hurt ?
 
Aside from the obvious mess in the driveway/street...you can buy lots of tranny fluid for the potential cost of the repair.
 
You can unhook one of the tranny cooling lines & pump some fluid out.you have to figure out what side is gonna push,the rad or the line.then find a piece of tubing over it & pump it into a jug.

I've done that.

The trick is to run it for just long enough to feel which tube starts heating up first. That's the "push out" side.

Oh, and when you put the hose on and put it in a jug, be sure to have someone hold it, or strap it in place. Don't ask how I know... :nono:
 
OK , I wonder if another bottle of tranny stop leak would be valid at this point ? If you are just gonna trade it or run it till it stops , what can it hurt ?

I picked up bottle #2 today. For the record, the AX4N holds 13+ quarts and I don't know if 1 bottle of stop leak was enough, especially when some may have leaked out right away. I'm going to fill the trans with the next bottle to just under the crosshatching and see how it goes. It didn't leak today driving around the hood, but going to work tomorrow will be a tougher test.
 
Frank's Transmission in Richmond. He's excellent. My dad never takes mechanical work anywhere, unless it's transmission work, and then, it's only to Frank's. It's a hike, but you'll know you are getting high quality work at a fair price.
 
Nothing to add, just cracks me up seeing this....

Screenshot2014-06-13at45714PM_zpsd189bbb6.png
 
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I've had a good luck in Novi at USA Transmissions, Dewey Gregory had one his older experienced mechanics reseal my 69 Vista Cruiser, the job was amazing and at a very fair price, they said it was a pleasure to work on an old car? I don't know about any other USA locations, I've been dealing with Dewey in Novi for over 20 years. Dewey did a replacement on one Taurus for me, he said that Taurus/Sable tranny's paid for his kids college, that's when I stopped buying Ford's!! After 8 Taurus's I heard it was a lousy few dollar tranny part made of aluminum and the replacement piston is steel that causes the catsrphic failures around 128k. Ford never wanted to fix the problem at the factory, I heard there was too money in remfg tranny work at dealers. Sorry about the rant but I really loved all my Taurus's, but after expensive rack and pinions and tranny failures it will be a long time until I try Ford again.
 
Well, it stopped working Thursday and now won't drive at all forward so we're moving on. We did talk to one guy out car shopping and he grimaced a bit too when we mentioned the tranny. They are a lot of work to pull as the entire subframe has to come out and the seal js usually just thr start as stuff upstream usually has issues too.
if the rust wasn't so bad on the rocker panels, I'd probably get it fixex as the motor is good and it runs well, but after 9 years we're just going to move on.
 
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