Tranny front seal leak, end of the road?

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Nov 29, 2012 | 06:12 PM

#11

dodgeramguy85

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From: Houtzdale,PA

I got quoted from amcco to pull the tranny and full rebuild with 18 month warranty and new torque converter for 1,500. If I pulled the tranny and brought it in they would charge 1,200.00. Have you ever thought to find a used one with low miles on it? I can pull a tranny at my local junk yard for 185.00 with 30 day warranty

Nov 29, 2012 | 08:23 PM

#12

magnethead

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From: Fort Worth, TX

Quote:

Originally Posted by III%

It's shifting fine, but I don't go far. The seal is leaking. I keep checking the level and see no FOAM. The WIFE of course has "input" going on. She's wanted me to buy a new truck for a few years now. I hate hearing the "I told ya so" from her. Like when I said cancel the collision insurance on my Toyota, and some ditz came over the center line head on, totaled my truck, and she had NO insurance or license , and was on welfare and owned nothing. I have no reason to think the tranny will fail. I purge it every 2 years and have had the filter changed twice. I'm thinking maybe $600 is worth it for the seal and just baby it til I see a good deal and trade it in. Sometimes when I'm out fixing hail cars I see new trucks I can get $2,000 or $3000 off because of the hail damage, and I can fix that all day long at home. You guys have some sweet looking rides! If I keep mine, I'm painting it red. I fixed the big dent I put in the door a few weeks ago. Got it in primer yesterday. I'll be in a tree stand tomorrow morning at 6 AM. This will give me something to think about up there all day besides how cold and snowy it will be.

How much more than 185,000 miles can I expect from a transmission? That's the BIG question now.

That's a weighted question. We had 298,000 on our ram before we sold it and it was just fine. My dakota, trans first went at 130K. Heat and stress kill a trans, so if it's alot of highway miles, I think you'll be fine. If it's all city/stop-go/towing ect, then your dues may be shorter. Ask around to trans shops specifically (not just general 'we do it all' shops...bad juju there) and see what they'd want to do all new soft parts. The transmissions come apart real easy, $100 worth of soft parts, maybe another 3 hours of shop labor (90 minute teardown, 90 minutes back together). So $1000 total. Torque convertors are what I keep having problems with. I had one come apart externally (covered by warranty) and another come apart internally (that was the second $1500 repair). If they reuse your stock convertor, I think you can escape for 10-1100 dollars.

Nov 30, 2012 | 08:09 PM

#13

III%

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Well, I thought about it all day, and if no shifting problems arise by Monday, I'm just going to have the transmission shop change the leaking seal and keep driving it. If a SUPER deal comes along I'll trade it in on a newer Dakota or a Ram. I just want to say, I really appreciate the input from everyone, and did take everything into consideration. Thanks so much.

Dec 3, 2012 | 05:18 PM

#14

III%

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Went to a different transmission shop and the owner said seals don't just leak for no reason, SOMETHING must have caused the shaft to wobble, so he wouldn't just replace the seal because he was confident I'd be back and unhappy somewhere down the line. Anyhoo... he gave me the same price as the other shop, $2,000 and I left it with him. Same time frame, 3 days. I'm married to this thing now. When it comes home I'll be doing all the body work and sending it out for a paint job. Might as well get the new 8" rims and 32" tires and enjoy the thing.