I have to admit to you I was the owner and operator of a transmission repair shop from 1982 to 2006, when I sold it. I answered the phone most of the time and spoke with my customers. Lots of questions were always asked. One of the most common questions statements was “I think I need a rebuilt transmission”.
Then of course, the next question was ” how much does it cost”? For me, that’s no different than calling a doctor and saying I have a stomach ache, how much will it cost to fix? I’m not trying to be a wise guy, but if you Think You Need a Rebuilt Transmission, Have it diagnosed First. Period. End of conversation.
Because I am a wise guy of sorts, I would say jokingly, can you bring it closer to the phone please!?
Why do I say that? Well, it’s unethical and inaccurate to quote prices on the phone when the problem has yet to be diagnosed. The patient [vehicle] has to be examined. Here is my story.
I got a call one day from a man with an F250 Ford pickup truck with the E4OD automatic overdrive truck transmission. All he wanted was a price to rebuilt it. I kept asking, or begging him to come buy for free diagnosis. He was very resistant to the suggestion and never came by.
Instead, he went to a competitor down the street who gladly quoted him a low price to get the man to come in. Well, perhaps a month or 5 weeks later he called me and asked me if I could do my free diagnosis. I said absolutely. And within a few minutes he was there.
He explained the competition rebuilt the transmission, and it came out to be way more than the phone quote. Here is the problem though. The truck still does the same thing. The problem was not cured, even with a full rebuild. How could that be?
No diagnosis. Apparently the shop he took it to did not diagnose the problem first and jumped right on the rebuilt bandwagon. Not good thinking. I ran the diagnosis myself. This was interesting. I hooked up my scan tool and we [the owner and myself] went for a ride to collect data in the scan tool and feel the truck out.
When we got back the truck had acted up once, so I knew some information would be stored on my scan tool. Sure enough, there was one trouble code, it was a code for the TECA [transmission electric control assembly] relay. Yup, a 25 dollar part, that helps the computerized transmission work, but is not bolted to the transmission.
I think you get the idea, I’m not saying the transmission out of this mans truck did not need work, or some maintenance, but I am saying it did not need a rebuild to make it operate properly. A diagnosis would have saved a bunch of money, and lots of aggravation and frustration.
I hope you get the idea. If you do need a rebuilt transmission for any car, call the company who can help make sure you get the right diagnosis. The company that sells the best rebuilt Ford transmissions on the market with outstanding customer service. GotTransmissions.com @ 866-320-1182.
