Automotive Batteries, Engineered to Fail Just Passed the Warranty date!

[Larry]

After towing my new sawmill back from KC strange sounds started to emit from my transmission area.  Two opinions...one said a bad tranny, while the second said possible bad clutch/throw out bearing.  I pulled the inspection plate on the bell housing and springs/parts started falling out.

So...my mechanic said this might be an expensive repair and wanted to know if I wanted to put big dollars into a 97 F350 PSD.  Told him heck yes, cause I don't have an extra $50,000 bill laying around...I spent all my money on a sawmill. :D  Shoot my truck is increasing in value these days.  Don't pay that expensive insurance, taxes, and it gets good mileage.  Few years, I can get one of those cheap antique license plates.  Drives just like a new one...with a missing clutch. :(

Who knows, I might even have to spring for a new battery one of these days.

Suppose I would have went to the new truck store iffen I was still working but those days are long gone.

[SwampDonkey]

I've never yet seen one of them trucks gain value, just cost of maintenance. Try and get it back. :D What expensive insurance? It's all expensive. Cost as much to insure a $2000 truck as a $50,000 around here.  Unless your talking about all the add-ons for financing, which isn't that much difference in price maybe $100. We get lots of people driving without insurance in those old beaters, high insurance for a low value auto. My house insurance about doubled last year, no explanation. Depressed economy and all don't apply to their formula, nothing drives the cost to build a house down. Yet house prices have dropped. It's all BS. House has been standing here for over a century, so I guess I don't need insurance that bad after all. :D Lumber from the mill yard costs me more than you buying it from another country from same mill. Something has to change, don't you think? :

[Jeff]

I'm saving up to fix mine.  I like my truck.

[Jeff]

Well, I may be getting my truck fixed this week already. If I get some checks promised to us this week, it might happen.

Turns out Tammy's boss at the bus garage, who is also the mechanic is schooled in automatic transmissions and also works part time for Cadillac transmission.  He told her he was pretty positive what was wrong with it after hearing the symptoms, and that if we could get the truck to his house, he would only charge us $200 for labor plus parts to take it out, rebuild it and put it back in.  I know the guy and trust him as he has done some little stuff for us before. The parts will be between $800 and $1000 so it wont be cheap, but at least I have a chance to get it fixed.  Just gotta pay for the parts first to get it started.

[Kansas]

We get blem batteries off of a battery truck. Some our equipment sits around a bit, so there isn't a reason to get expensive batteries. We do pony up and buy the more expensive batteries off the truck for something we use all the time. Still the price is far cheaper than going to a store. And, he happens to like woodworking. More than one time, he left a few batteries and walked out with a few boards. But don't tell the government that.

[isawlogs]

Glad to hear that Jeff, nice that you can get help when down  8) 8)   

[Chris Burchfield]

I'm beginning to not feel so bad about my $184.86 for my batteries now.  Sorry Jeff.

[Reddog]

The parts will be between $800 and $1000

How much for a rebuilt from an auto supply or a factory rebuilt?

[Jeff]

$1395 to $1995 with exchange not counting installation from what I found over the weekend and this morning.

[Reddog]

Does he pressure bench test when done with the rebuild?
Flush the oil lines and cooler?
New torque converter included?

Trannys are a fickle thing to get right.

[Jeff]

He's an automatic transmission technician, I'm guessing he knows what he is doing. He's the school transportation superintendent in charge of keeping all the buses running. He's the chief certified mechanic for all the school system's vehicles. Plus he does part time work for a transmission shop in Cadillac during the summer. Plus he's a friend.

How could I not trust those credentials anymore then someone out of the phone book?

[Larry]

The price sounds right in line with what my new clutch cost.  Estimate for labor to remove and replace the transmission was $400 but they had to do it twice to find all the bad parts.   Guess that equates to $200/repair. :D :D

[Troublermaker]

Jeff I can understand about your transmission problem. 2 years ago I was in Indiana to see some friend when I pull up to a stop sign just from driving 700 miles and my van wouldn't move. I was lucky I wasn't but a mile from where I was going. Short story of this is the dealer said that the transmission look like it had blow apart and all it took was $3,330.40 fix the problem in a couple of days but it clean out my bank account. In that case I didn't have any choice. I had to have something to get back home in.

[Reddog]

How could I not trust those credentials anymore then someone out of the phone book?

As long as he stands behind his work. 

[Jeff]

Some guys just have to do the best they can with the resources at hand.

[Captain]

Reaction Sun Shell Jeff. 

Captain

[isawlogs]

 ???  reaction sun shell   ???   :P

[Jeff]

Yea, got me too! Reaction Sun Shell?

[isawlogs]

 Glad to not be alone , he is way to young for it to be medication issues  ;D

[Jeff]

I googled it. Gotcha Captain. 


I just said it out loud to Tammy and she said YES! That's what Brad said broke. (Brad's the mechanic)

[Reddog]

Most likely the reverse cone broke

Never new what the technical name was.

[isawlogs]

 I am trying hard to figure out how they came up with that name, it worries me  :-\

[Mooseherder]

"Reaction Sun Shell"
The Service Manager named it after saying to his associate, "watch this Son's reaction when I tell him how much he'll have to shell out for this piece." ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I was to the transmission shop twice with the Dodge and they never could figure it out. The only transmission shop within 100 miles. It had a mind of it's own and from what I could tell, lots of shotty engineering. Warn out on low mileage, what else could I conclude?

[Coon]

Swamp, that truck musta been made on a friday afternoon just before quitting time.  :D