Car woes

[MontyJ]

Well, we were coming home from fireworks Thursday night when the transmission in our Durango started making some bad noises. We got it home OK so yesterday morning I figured I would run it around and see what I could figure out. It's definitely a transmission problem. When I brought it back home, I had no reverse, just a grinding noise. I don't have time to pull the transmission right now, so Dew and I ran to the dealer and bought a new car. Well, it's actually an '09 Dodge Avenger, but new to us. I really didn't want a car payment right now, but I just don't have time for a transmission. I'll get to it before long though. I really need my Durango. I can't complain about it breaking down. It does have 233,000+ miles on it How many vehicles can claim that type of longevity these days?

 

[baymule]

Sounds like you got your money's worth out of it Monty. Can you repair the transmission, or do you go to the salvage yard, get another one and bolt it up? A car payment stinks, but whatcha' gonna do? You're stuck either way.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

He's going to see what it will take to fix it. Yes a car payment stinks but I wont be stuck for months with out a car!!!! Been down that road last summer when my olds tranny went out. It stings because we had no idea there was a problem with the Durango.

 

[MontyJ]

I'll probably rebuild the transmission myself. I don't trust junk yard parts like that. It needs some body work done too, so maybe I'll tackle that at the same time.

 

[Carol Dee]

I tis wonderful you can do those jobs yourself. Dh 1999 Chevy Silverado Pickup has that many miles. He just rebuilt the transmission, too. But when the water pump went out on my Grand Caravan he did not have time or a spare vehicle so I ended up taking it to the neighborhood garage. Frank did the Job for $300. $177 parts and fluid, the rest labor. Guess it could have been worse. Since you bought used hopefully the payments are not too big.

 

[journey11]

We had to put a new transmission in my DH's old F-150 this winter. I feel your pain!

 

[majorcatfish]

in the 14 years i have owned my f-350 which has 315k..... have put in
1 paint job
1 transmission
5 sets of tires
1 complete shock replacement
2 brake jobs
3 water pumps
5 sets of wiper blades
6 batteries
15 air filters
15 fuel filters
27 oil changes w/ oil filter 4 gallons at a time

and still runs like a champ.......
yes the transmission was very exspensive

 

[dewdropsinwv]

Bay, we got our money out of the Durango!!! We only paid 500 bucks for it anyway! So it is really worth fixing. It needs some body work done, now the transmission, and needs tires too.... It would not have passed Wv state inspection for sure. We were going to get another vehicle eventually, just didn't want the payment so soon. :/:/

 

[MontyJ]

If it's not raining, and lately that's a pretty big if, I'm going to drop the tranny pan and try to get a feel for how bad the damage is. I'm thinking it's probably lost the rear band and possibly the sun gear and rear planet. It's going to require a total overhaul in any case. If I find chunks of metal in the pan, I'll go junk yard shopping. I moved the Durango to the other driveway to work on it. That's when I discovered Park doesn't work either. Dang thing tried to roll down the hill and into the woods.

 

[baymule]

You can find pretty good deals on salvage parts, they usually come with a 30-90 day warranty. I used to be a parts purchaser for a garbage company and I chased parts all day! We rebuilt the light trucks so many times.........rear ends, trannys, wiring harness, body parts, you name it. If your tranny is trashed, a salvage is the way to go. They always want the core, they might get the raw end of the deal with yours.