Transmission Seal

Replacing the front trans seal can be a double edge sword:

Not replacing it can cause exactly what happened to you.

But, replacing the seal, then it leaks by a worn front pump bushing. The repair comes back to haunt you.

So it was a judgment call that worked out well for the shop, and I don't think he screwed you at all. But, I would have offered a few options, as would have a couple of other regular posters here. The options would have been:

1- Let you make the call to not replace the front seal at all.

2- Given you the option of deciding to go ahead and replace the front seal only.

3- pull the front pump, put a new convertor bushing in the pump and replace the seal. Also, if the convertor was worn at the bushing and seal area, replace that too.

But, all would have had no guarantee on the transmission at all.

But, that was when I was running my shop full time, and I don't do outside repairs that much. Marsh Monster on the other hand, is a transmission specialist. So he can lead you in the right direction.

In many states, if the customer does not authorize the repair by a signed repair order, or a phone authorization. You are not responsible to pay, and could take your truck.

But, I think this shop kind of did you a favor in disguise, the transmission would have failed eventually.

So now you have a rebuilt transmission. With a warranty. (I hope)

I hope this flip flopping advice helps you.

Find out where the transmission is leaking from.

Tell us what year this thing is and how many miles are on it. Your transmission may well need a rebuild. Then again, it might be just the front seal. On the gripping hand, if you have to pull the thing to change the front seal, but it has 150k on it, you might as well get a rebuild anyway whether it needs it or not.

--scott

On Jan 1, 11:43 pm, "Refinish King" wrote:

Thanks for the replys but I seem to be missing my point. My truck is a 91 Chevy 3500 series cab and chassis with a 43 ft. Terex aerial lift, and a Miller Hot Start welder. This truck is my bread and butter so to speak, and since moving to Florida from the Carolinas 19 months ago, it has been one problem after another when it comes to the up keep of this vehicle. I certainly understand occasional break downs and maintenance, but since working with this mechanic I have had

6 major occurrences with my truck, and all seem to be linked together in a very odd since. I do regular 4000 mile maintenance on the truck with filter changes every 12000 miles and belt and hose replacement once a year. I am very anal about the upkeep of this truck, as I rely on it for 90% of my income. But as anyone who is a player in the game of maintenance and repair, I kind of sense when I am being taken advantage of, and now is one of those times. My truck has 200000 miles on it, but the engine was replaced at 70000 miles with a new crate engine, and the transmission was replaced at 135000 with a new crate transmission. I made these replacements not because they were necessary, but because I depend on the truck so much for my way of life, I felt it was a safe play for my future. Now after a simple break change, 3 weeks later I loose the rear end of my truck, and low and behold inside the housing with all the broken rear end gears is a mangled 9/16 socket. $1300 and 4 weeks later I have to replace a drive shaft and the universals, then 2 weeks later the carrier bearing on the drive shaft, 3 weeks later still I begin to hear a knock in the front of the motor, and have to spend $800 more dollars to replace a crank shaft pulley that looked as though someone had torched and melted all of the rubber balance off the back of. Then I develope a massive oil leak and am told it's the rear main seal which will cost me another $900. Now I am stuck with a transmission rebuild less than 4 weeks after the last repair which is costing me nearly $2400. Does anyone see what I am getting at here? I know of a lot of crooks in this world of ours, and I think that I have come across one of the worst yet, and I am highly pissed. Even if all these other things were mere coincidence, $2400 for a trans. rebuild? I have 4 other estimates including one from the highest bastards in the world Aamco Trans. and the largest was $1800. I apologize for ranting, but I have had enough with dishonest people, they don't deserve to be in business, and I work to hard to be taken advantage of.

If your question is are there incompetent mechanics and do they stay in business? The answer is obvious. Yes there are many incompetent mechanics and many do very well because their incompetence generates return business. But the real incompetence here is that you and other consumers keep taking your vehicles back to this guy.

I mean it seems pretty obvious that if the rear end goes out on your truck and you find a mangled 8/16 socket inside that the only way it could have gotten in there is thru the open axle tube when the brakes were done. I don't think the rear end fill hole is big enough to fit a 9/16 socket. What's amazing is that it rattled around inside there for 3 weeks before it got tangled in the gears. But is this guy a crook? Probably not. A crook would have put any old chunk of metal in there. A crook would have put a broken chunk of gear (he would have lots of them) in there and you never would have known what caused it. This guy probably loses sockets everyday.

-jim

Now I can understand your point!

You should have requested the old parts back, and have someone you know with mechanical skills. Look at them.

I'm sorry for your problem. I hate thieves.

With k>> Replacing the front trans seal can be a double edge sword: