I have a 1993 F150 4wd with a 5.0 302 V8 that needs a new torque converter. The truck has 125,000 miles on it so I was thinking i'd have the tranny done at the same time. The first shop i took it to suggested I buy a refurbished transmission rather than rebuilding my current tranny. Does anyone have some suggestions either way? Trying to save some money but will buy a refurbed transmission if i really need to.

 

There really isn't any difference. If you rebuild your trans you will have a refurbished transmission.

 

The big difference seemed to be price, the shop said they can order a transmission to replace this one for $1200 where a transmission shop could rebuild mine for a few hundred. I guess my question was whether there was any benefit to one or the other. The shop that wanted to replace mine stated that a lack of good transmission rebuilding shops in the area would have me back getting it fixed more often with more downtime.

 

Rebuilding for a few hundred seems unlikely. Maybe a thousand or two.

Unless they are doing a very simple basic rebuild on a tranny with NO hard parts being replaced, you will spend a lot more money for a rebuild than what he said. Seems unusually low cost quoted for a rebuild. Maybe he is just giving you a teaser price to get you in the door?

I have had several trannies rebuilt over the decades and strangely the cost of rebuilding was very similar on all except my very first tranny.

Usually most shops will charge about $500 just to drop the tranny and put it back in. Rebuilds on a 83 Nissan tranny in the late 80s, a 94 Ford E4OD in the late 90s, a 96 Chevy 4L60 in 2003 all cost about $2500 at the time. My first tranny was a 67 Dodge 747A in 1974 for $400.

A good professional rebuild/refurb should be pretty much identical in quality etc since all worn hard parts etc should all have been replaced and all required upgrades made. Personally I prefer to have my tranny rebuilt since I know the history and I have a strange attachment to personal mechanical stuff.

But, a quality, name brand refurb has the advantage of a network of shops where you can get warranty coverage, while an independant rebuild may only warranty from their shop.

Usually the good refurbs are convenient and can be dropped in by any reputable shop or decent mechanic, but check the warranty coverage regarding "who" does the work.

Just my experience,

Jim Henderson

 

I'm in the process of rebuilding mine. Its not too difficult. If you've rebuilt an engine, a trans isn't much different. A couple of things though. Yours, like mine is of the first generation of the e4od. There are quite a few upgrades you can make if you choose. This all depends on how you're going to use it and how long you're going to keep the truck. I don't hear of too many folks getting rid of their 92-96 series trucks. I'm actually restoring/moding mine. It has served me well and at 350,000 it was due for its second overhaul. This time I'm throwing the book at it with lots of upgrades. Its coming in at $1600 in parts that I've taken about a year to accumulate. When I'm done I'll have a very tough e40d that will handle anything I can throw at it.

The other thing I wanted to mention is trans work does take a certain amount of specialty tools. A drum spring compressor, bushing drives if you're getting that far into it, and a few e40d only parts. I paid $59 to have a tool to replace the rear case bushing. It was worth it though to get the high quality 1 piece Sonnax bushing in there. I'll store the tool and use it again when one of my buddies needs a trans job. If you like I can post all the upgrades I have purchased as I have a running total.

If you're like I am I can't afford to have a top tier trans built at 5-6k but I can duplicate the effort in my own garage with lots of time, research and patience.