Typical cost for new converter and trans seal replacement

L

livelotus

Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
11
Location
White Plains, MD
Greetings,

My mom's pace car has developed a bad trans leak. It appears from the description that its either the front seal on the trans or the converter is cracked. Pan gasket, cooler lines is ok.

Symptoms are fluid seeping (niagra falls) from bottom of bell housing. Takes about a day for the fluid to drain.

She is going to have it flatbedded to a shop to get it fixed. What magnitude of cost involved here... I just need a reality check so the shop doesn't take advantage of her.

Thanks!

Howard
 
Rebuilt converters run about 135 bux here in Florida, I suspect the same in Maryland.....converter seal about ten bux, now here is the gig, if you have a internal problem involving a front pump seal or O ring seal, you start getting into actual trans disassembly which requires dropping the pan, at that point, you into it pretty good.....

you MAYBE ok with just a front seal and converter....in which case, I would expect to be outta there for about 400 bux, maybe less.....

if you get into it, maybe as well hold your breath....1500 bux......


but here is the gig, you have to pay the Maryland surcharge.....

go to a good independent shop, not some overpriced chain like Amco.....

you maybe want to take it to Tony's Corvette Shop, in Gaithersburg Md.....

he was club guru for my old vette club years ago....good man there....


:nuts:
 
Thanks,

Forgot to say my mom is in El Paso TX. If she was here in MD, I would be tackling the job myself. I'm a shade tree mechanic, so I have no clue what a typical shop charges for work. Four hundred bucks sounds good. The trans shifted well before the leak...but she also does not drive it very much. I drive it around the neighborhood when I visit her during the summer. The seal probably dry rotted....
 
It's a totally rough guess without looking at it, but it may be a converter seal, from what you saying.....of course it could be a damn pump seal also...

knock off about 150-200 on the labor for the Md. upcharge....:1st:
 
Don't know the shop rate in Texas, but it's 3.5-4 hour job to R&R a transmission (75/hr here - $300), plus fluids (12 quarts at 5/quart shop rate - $60), plus converter - (at least $150 @ shop prices), plus tax and disposal fees.... you'll do good to get out for less than $600.

My mechanic friend charges 75/hr and has a book which determines the cost. Don't let them time and material it!

And seals don't just start gushing.... my guess is the pump is cracked.
 
SOME transmissions have a overfill tube way of dumping excessive fluid, I wonder if maybe someone overfilled it??? maybe check that first???

:banghead::beer:
 
mrvette said:
SOME transmissions have a overfill tube way of dumping excessive fluid, I wonder if maybe someone overfilled it??? maybe check that first???

:banghead::beer:
Click to expand...

good point - I've had plenty of transmissions (they're all chinese made, of course) where the dipstick tube seal 'suddenly' fails
 
I'll see about an overfil tube. But the leak does appear (my brother description as of today) to come from the bottom of the bell housing.
 
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