Well.... its decision time.

Well, the saga continues. I don't need any shitty comments here, but I do need some advice. I would appreciate it if all the hate was left outside this thread. That being said.....


We picked up the SHO from the repair shop last Friday, and everything ran great. no oil leaks, and we drove it home. (home is 10 miles away from the shop). I pulled into the driveway and all of a sudden the transmission slipped bad. I stopped the car, and went to go again, only something felt like it was binding..... and the car would only jump forward slightly and then stop. I tried to put it in park, but the car just rolled.... In neutral, the car actually drives forward.

I drove it back to the repair shop VERY slowly, and parked it. Fluid level in the trans was absolutely fine, no hint of burnt fluid or any leaks. he told me at that point (after driving it himself) that it seemed like one or more of the clutch packs was seized together, and not releasing. After putting it up on the lift today and messing with it a bit, he says that the 3rd and 4th packs are seized.

Obviously to repair this, it would be a complete R/I plus a rebuild. I asked some details about the rebuild and he told me this:


Rear main that is weeping would be replaced.
All update parts in the trans changed. This includes the froward drive piston (aluminum from the factory)
all aluminum parts from the factory replaced with steel
New steel clutches
All shop supplies needed (fluid, cleaning, assembly lube ect.)
New torque converter
Aftermarket (and 2 additional) gears around the sun gear (for strength)
and a 3 year 36K warranty on the trans and installation.
Everything above plus R and I is a grand total of 2200.00 And they have experience rebuilding transmissions, and specifically this AXOD. everything would be done In-house.

Now.... we spent a total of 1900 on the car (purchase price) plus the 635.00 repair for the oil leak. We know the re-sale on the car is never going to equal what we have in it NOW, since the trans is shot. We ALSO know that if we rebuild the damn thing, we still won't ever get our money back out of it.

Here are the choices:

Re-build the trans for 2200. We now have a total of 4700 in the car total. car now has a 3 year 36K warranty on it, and would be good to go (reliable)

Don't re-build, sell the SHO for whatever we can get out of it (likely little more than scrap value, so about 800 bucks or so) take that plus some additional money and buy another car. Possibly run into additional issues with new car, no warranty on new car. Also, until the SHO would sell, we either pay storage fees or piss off the apartment complex management by having another car parked outside... and one that doesn't move.


So...... I really don't know what to do. Part of me wants to just say fuck it, buy a different car and move on.... part of me wants to bite the bullet and do the rebuild and have some piece of mind that the car is not going to crap out again.

I appreciate anything constructive here, again though, please leave the shitty comments outside.

it all depends on how much you like the car. Is buying a used trans an option?

It IS.....but I'd pay about 5-700 for a used one. that's right around the cost of the actual rebuild. Most of that 2200 is the R & I. Ive never dropped an auto trans before, nor do I have the garage space to do it. I would have to jack the car up in the parking lot, and work on it in my spare time, which with school is pretty non-existent. I like the car.... but another 2200.... im not sure I'd want to throw that much at it. I'm really not sure what to do at this point.

Plus, a used one has no warranty.... and could fail 10 miles into driving it again. I;m not sure I want to take that risk.

sell the piece of shit that everyone told you not to buy. and get a normal car like a accord or civic or camry or corolla or a nissan maybe, or just something thats just not a huge pile of shit.

that will solve 2 issues. one issue will be that you wont have a broken down oil squirting piece of shit and you shouldnt have bought in the first place.

issue two will be not everyone will have to hear about every shitty problem one of your shitty cars has. if you cant afford to buy something newer/nicer, fine, but its not hard to find an older reliable car.

thanks.

3vs197 wrote:

sell the piece of shit that everyone told you not to buy. and get a normal car like a accord or civic or camry or corolla or a nissan maybe, or just something thats just not a huge pile of shit.

that will solve 2 issues. one issue will be that you wont have a broken down oil squirting piece of shit and you shouldnt have bought in the first place.

issue two will be not everyone will have to hear about every shitty problem one of your shitty cars has. if you cant afford to buy something newer/nicer, fine, but its not hard to find an older reliable car.

thanks.

this

Thanks for leaving the hate outside, like I asked

I don't know why I expected anything different from this place. I should never have posted anything about this.

I know I made a mistake with this car, so i don't need to be reminded of it every 5 seconds. The question was if I was already too far into it to turn back now.

Whoever the current powers-that-be ARE around here, go ahead and remove this entire fucking topic, since people obviously can't keep their shit out of here. If you don't like the topic, don't fucking read it or post. People obviously have an issue with what I post.

Blackout wrote:

The question was if I was already too far into it to turn back now.

No you're not in to far to back out. Get rid of it and get something reasonable and easy to fix (like a honda).

Why ask for advice if you're not going to listen in the first place and then not listen AGAIN when we say the same thing?

Quote :

I don't know why I expected anything different from this place

nobody expected anything different than a "my car sucks what should i do" thread from you.

Quote :

Whoever the current powers-that-be ARE around here, go ahead and remove this entire fucking topic

please do, everyone would appreciate that.

STiedVR4Guy wrote:

Blackout wrote:

The question was if I was already too far into it to turn back now.

No you're not in to far to back out. Get rid of it and get something reasonable and easy to fix (like a honda).

Why ask for advice if you're not going to listen in the first place and then not listen AGAIN when we say the same thing?

I asked for advice, not a bunch of bullshit "i told you so" comments. I never said that I wasn't going to get rid of it. I have no idea what I can get out of it at this point though. It will go up on CL tonight, so we will see I guess.

3vs197 wrote:

Quote :

I don't know why I expected anything different from this place

nobody expected anything different than a "my car sucks what should i do" thread from you.

Quote :

Whoever the current powers-that-be ARE around here, go ahead and remove this entire fucking topic

please do, everyone would appreciate that.

I have a simple solution for you Tye. DON'T FUCKING READ IT IF IT UPSETS YOU SO MUCH. And don't bother posting either. There. Your problem with me is solved, so move along.

I say the opposite of Tye, not to start a war though.

Rebuild the tranny. No sense in selling a 2500 car for 800. You might as well have 3000 in your 2500 car and know what you have, drive it into the ground, and don't look back. At least you know what you have, you know whats been done to the engine, and it should be reliable transportation for some time.

You were advised to stay away from these cars, but you bought it anyway. You're stuck with it.

You do have the option to put a trans in it and try to sell it, but again you will take a bath on the car.

Sure, there's plenty of reliable cars out there. But, you are still losing money selling a car with a bad tranny for 800 (Stick with me, your -1700), but then you buy something for 4000 (+3200), and whats to say the tranny or engine don't puke in that car? Then how far upside down are you going to be?


Rebuild the tranny you have. Get it done by a professional who will warranty there parts and labor. Don't tear it out and fuck around doing it on jackstands in your parking lot because the job will never get finished - You know this and I know this. Obviously your finances are none of my business, but this is the smartest thing to do IMHO. Being 3000 upside down in a 2500 car is better than being 5000 upside down in a 4000 car. Drive it in the ground.

And remember, nothing mechanical is 100% effecient. You will have other expenses besides fuel, oil changes, tires, etc.

I understand what you are saying Zac. But he could get a nice dead reliable honda for the 2200 the trans will cost.

moparkid wrote:

I say the opposite of Tye, not to start a war though.

Rebuild the tranny. No sense in selling a 2500 car for 800. You might as well have 3000 in your 2500 car and know what you have, drive it into the ground, and don't look back. At least you know what you have, you know whats been done to the engine, and it should be reliable transportation for some time.

You were advised to stay away from these cars, but you bought it anyway. You're stuck with it.

You do have the option to put a trans in it and try to sell it, but again you will take a bath on the car.

Sure, there's plenty of reliable cars out there. But, you are still losing money selling a car with a bad tranny for 800 (Stick with me, your -1700), but then you buy something for 4000 (+3200), and whats to say the tranny or engine don't puke in that car? Then how far upside down are you going to be?


Rebuild the tranny you have. Get it done by a professional who will warranty there parts and labor. Don't tear it out and fuck around doing it on jackstands in your parking lot because the job will never get finished - You know this and I know this. Obviously your finances are none of my business, but this is the smartest thing to do IMHO. Being 3000 upside down in a 2500 car is better than being 5000 upside down in a 4000 car. Drive it in the ground.

And remember, nothing mechanical is 100% effecient. You will have other expenses besides fuel, oil changes, tires, etc.

Thanks for the advice. I know it will take next to forever if I try to do it in my driveway, plus it would piss off the landlord.

Blown91LX - You are 100% correct which is why I'm completely on the fence about this. Its almost a "damned if I do, damned if I dont" situation at this point. I know I should have listened to people before, but now I;m neck deep in the shit!

I'm with moparkid 100%

Blown91LX wrote:

I understand what you are saying Zac. But he could get a nice dead reliable honda for the 2200 the trans will cost.

Maybe. I'm not disagreeing with you but , you never know what you got until you've had it for a while with these lower priced cars....




You could go buy a different car and something could crap. At least blackout knows what he has

I totally agree with what Zac said. Saying that though, you do NEED to set a breaking point after this.

nightrunner06 wrote:

Blown91LX wrote:

I understand what you are saying Zac. But he could get a nice dead reliable honda for the 2200 the trans will cost.

Maybe. I'm not disagreeing with you but , you never know what you got until you've had it for a while with these lower priced cars....




You could go buy a different car and something could crap. At least blackout knows what he has

I guess im with zac on this one. after the trans is rebuilt or buy a good reman unit he knows what he has and it should run for a long time...... till the motor pops. but the rest of that pile of fuck it pretty much the same as the normal one right so it should be cheaper to fix.......

Yes. A pile of shit SHO. LOL


Yeah, I agree. If it is fixed, there has to be a point where it stops. I can understand some minor repairs like sensors or exhaust after this, but obviously id the harness takes a shit or if the motor rattles apart, its over.

This is IF its fixed. As far as the money goes, I can afford to fix it without really stressing too much, the only thing I can't do is buy the Megasquirt for my T-bird until July. Not really broken up about that though.

Brngrhd- Yep, besided the motor, everything else is pretty much standard Taurus fare, with the exception of larger sway bars, heavier springs and the SHO specific body cladding. Actually, the AXOD trans is the same trans in the regular taurus and I believe the Windstar vans.

I also advise to drive arround with a for sale sign with a price to get most of what you put in. In hopes that someone buys it.

the chances of finding a $2000 reliable honda are about 1000x greater than finding a reliable $2000 SHO.

just because its reliable now after if its fixed doesn't mean its going to stay relable. but what do i care, keep it and i cant wait for the next blackout breakdown thread.

I just found this:

http://www.transparts.ru/pdf/ax4s_04_w.pdf

What a complicated cunt. If I have them do it, I should tell them to throw a transgo shift kit in it LOL. Only 50 bucks more! My fucking head hurts/.....


The "For Sale" mod is going in it permanently if I do this.

3vs197 wrote:

the chances of finding a $2000 reliable honda are about 1000x greater than finding a reliable $2000 SHO.

just because its reliable now after if its fixed doesn't mean its going to stay relable. but what do i care, keep it and i cant wait for the next blackout breakdown thread.

Obviously I am providing you some entertainment, contrary to your first comments made in this thread. I'm glad to be of service.

looks like every other auto trans i have seen pretty much

nightrunner06 wrote:

I'm with moparkid 100%

I'm with both of these guys too. A driving car is always going to be worth double maybe triple what you have currently.

Like people said this car does have a following. Rebuild and, shit throw a 3000 obo on it and see what happens. If he sells it now I agree he won't get anything for it. y

Now I know money is tight, so use what you have. (Now, please leave the bullshit aside) Do you have any skills you could trade for fixing the transmission? I mean I knew a guy who had some body work done for having his bathroom remodeled. Sometimes you got to think outside of the box if money is tight.

Mike