96 Explorer Auto Transmission Repair cost/options?

I have a 96 Explorer XL with a 4.0 V6 & automatic transmission (I assume 4R55E?) It has 135,000 miles on it, I bought it with 45,000 miles. As far as I know, it has the original tranny. It began slipping a few days ago, I had a shop check it out. They say it is slipping in & out of 2nd gear. They would have to take it apart & rebuild it.. at a cost between $1,400-2,200. They say they can't tell how much it will cost until they take it apart. Of course I doubt it will be at the low end of the price range. I plan to call around & get some quotes. From the research I have done, this price seems to be about average.

I'm not sure how long I plan to keep the vehicle & was considering trading it in on something else. I am considering less expensive repair options. What would be a reasonable price to buy a used or rebuilt transmission & what is a reasonable price to pay a shop just to swap them rather than do a rebuild? Or should I consider shopping for a new vehicle & offering the Explorer as a trade-in without repairing it & telling the place I am trading it to about the problem (it would be obvious on a test drive anyway.)

I would appreciate any opinions or ideas. Thanks...

Reply to
JVC
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If you are really interested in a new vehicle anyway, the trade in route might be your best bet. The dealer can fix it at his cost for a lot less then you would pay for the work and most likely will not reduce the trade-in value as much as it would cost you to repair it. Kinda like the same thing in reverse - if your exp is worth 8000 without a bum transmission, it won't become worth 10500 after you spend 2500 fixing it, it will still only be worth maybe 8750 with that factored in.

Reply to
AZGuy

Well, you might make a "test run " first at the dealer. I doubt you will get more than about 2500.00 for a trade in at the dealer, regardless of the trans. There are a Zillion used explorers avalable at auction, and one with high miles they simply don't want.

I would bet you money that they won't even drive it when they appraise it. It's just going to go straight to auction anyway.

That said, if the rest of the truck is in good condition, and has a lot of options, fixing it may be your best bang for the buck. You could consider a junkyard trans, which you can probably get for around $400-500 + $125 to r/r it or go for the rebuild.

If you are considering getting rid of it, you will no doubt fare better putting it in the paper and sell it yourself. Don't lie about the trans, but just market it as a mechanix special and you will probably get at LEAST double what a dealer will offer as a trade.

Speaking again of trades, be CAREFUL about a dealer "working you " and saying " sure, we'll give you $6,500 for a trade" and then the price of the new car is suddenly $4,000 more than if you had NO trade ! They will work it from one end or the other, but you can be SURE that the DEALER will not be on the short end of the stick, no matter how much he tries to convince you that he's "losing money on this deal and he could get fired ".. LOL!

I say Fix it and drive it !

Good luck!

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

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