Need your advice ! Looking for a reputable shop in Miami to have replacement Tranny installed haven't decided on rebuilt or remanufactured . Any suggestions appreciated .

 

I've had good service at Ralph's Transmissions there on 60th street just west of I-95. He was pretty honest and up front with my tranny issue. Saved me from having to get a new one. It's owner operated by Ralph Rojas. He'll do whatever you want to do and give you a fair deal. If you're in the area I would at least let him look at it.


-Mike


Ralph's Transmissions Miami (305) 751-2940

 

Besides spelling, what is the difference between rebuilt or remanufactured? I don't know of any differences. Please enlighten me.

 

Technically speaking, when something is remanufactured the repair/reconditioning work was performed by the manufacturer. Rebuilt can be by anyone.

 

his definition of rebuilt vs remanufactured is consistent with the way we used it when i was in the parts industry.


most of the replacement transmissions i am aware of sold over the counter (jasper, recon, ect.) advertise as "remanufactured" whereas, you would take your existing transmission to a shop and have it rebuilt to replace worn parts, but not much more.

 

Then you can't buy a Ford remanufactured ANYTHING. Ford does not remanufacture any engines, transmissions, or anything else. They have someone else do it and sell it under their name.

Then what is a BTS transmission? Most people recognize that he doesn't just replace the worn parts, he changes a lot of the parts to address weak areas and make the trans better than stock. Does that mean that this small shop is now a remanufacturer?

I don't believe there is a difference between remanufactured and rebuilt. I do believe there are huge differences in quality levels in remanufactured/rebuilt parts that have every thing to do with the competency and honesty of the company doing the work. Some rebuilds are better than some remanufactured parts, and vice versa.

Several years ago when I owned a repair shop I used remanufactured parts at times. One place that I bought alternators for a short time had a VERY spotty record. Sometimes the remanufactured alternator didn't work when installed. They would get me a new one, but now I had to change it again. I stopped using them pretty quickly. I think all they did was clean and paint the ones that came in as cores. They were betting that most alternators were incorrectly replaced, so they were hoping to send out good parts most of the time. I wanted good parts EVERY time. They did advertise these as remanufactured parts.

 

The way I interpret it according to the video above is that a "rebuilt" transmission is simply rebuilt, replacing broken parts, and restoring it to factory spec, while "remanufactured" is a transmission that in addition to being rebuilt has also been modified with aftermarket parts to fix identified weaknesses and failure points to improve upon the factory spec..

 

Which goes back to the question I asked two posts above this one. Is BTS a rebuilder or remanufacturer?

 

I guess he would be, doesn't have to be a large factory in order to be a "remanufacturer", if he takes in transmissions and rebuilds them, and in addition upgrades and fixes weaknesses and known failure points, I would call the transmissions he sells "remanufactured" and he would be a "remanufacturer". And yeah, using the terms also boils down to honesty, I'm sure there are some that misuse the terms to sell stuff, or as you said, just cleans and repaints cores and sell them as something they're not. That doesn't mean the term is bad, just that the company in question is bad..

 

A factory authorized and trained rebuild shop would also be considered as putting out remanufactured products, since they are performing the work as the manufacturer's proxy.

 

So, when I worked on my transmission in my F250 6.0 powerstroke, and replaced everything with Suncoast parts - fixing issues, but also upgrading known weak parts in it - did I rebuild or did I remanufacture that transmission in my garage?

 

In my opinion you can say either one. To me the only difference between rebuild and remanufacture is in the spelling.

 

Couldn't agree with you more.
One is a fancier word, a little more appealing to the consumer, but in this case it means the same IMO.
That's why I asked the "question" the way I asked two posts above...

 

A little off topic. I was just looking at what is involved in upgrading my 04 Navi 4R100 transmission (different than yours). Plus the 4R100 that was being talked about was for F250/350 trucks. What I was seeing the "best" was first BTS and then John Woods for quality and price. Call and see what they can do for you.

 

My 2005 Exp 4x4 went through the OD light blink, started a loud whine in the trans, then left me dead in the middle of the road with no forward or reverse. Got her towed back to my house and after sitting a few days I started her up. There is rattling noise behind the engine when you put it in gear, but it moves forward and backward in the driveway. The fluid level is good, but is burnt, though I have seen and smelled worse. Any help is appreciated on thoughts of how to approach this without getting it towed to the dealer. I know a reman trans installed at Ford is over $3500 here. I am in zipcode 20852. This vehicle is not used to tow and has only 60k miles.