Sources for remanufactured transmissions

I've gotten some price quotes and they work out, roughly

$1600 carry-in rebuild of the trans I have now
$1900 exchange with a remanufactured unit
$2100 for a Jasper

The warranties are 1, 2, and 3 years respectively.

My thought is, if I'm going to R&R the trans myself and then get a transmission from a third party rebuilder, I could get it from anyone.

So the question is then, do you guys have any recommendations for a reputable mail-order place that may be able to do better for me on price?

The GM dealer's "transmission in a can" program is price competitive with others. At least you get a unit that should give you as many miles of service as your original.

You get the benefit of picking up and dropping your core off locally as well.

I hadn't considered that. I'll see how that option prices out.

4l60e transmission also come in many different vehicles, not just b bodys,

If you are planning to actually "R&R" rebuild it yourself, consider the cost of the specialized tools that you are going to need as part of your costs.

i am having mine rebuilt locally with a Trans-go high performance kit, all new bands and clutches, for $1200, which also included having to weld the case.

Consider adding a "beast" sunshell as part of the package

http://www.monstertransmission.com/700R4-4L60E-4L65E-Heavy-Duty-Beast-Sunshell_p_4875.html#.V4vQkPkrL4Y

FWIW, I was told by our transmission guru, Joel, that Jasper is now using Sonax stuff in there rebuilds.

I'm looking around for a good used unit, Nick. Nothing I'd trust so far. Plenty of yahoos selling basket cases on Craigslist though. Wish I were down in Florida, I could probably get a low-mile used motor and trans for next to nothing.

Lakeeffect: By R&R I mean "remove and replace", not rebuild it myself. Not that I'd mind trying under a set of different circumstances.

One advantage having the thing rebuilt is that I could specify (and pay extra) for things like better sun shells, etc.

I haven't yet decided what to do. Warranty length is definitely a factor

Here in Florida you can get a stock rebuilt trans installed for about $1200, and I have seen some for as low as $900 (yes including installation). I had mine rebuilt with a hardened sun shell, top of the line clutches and bands, and 5 gear planetary sets for $1300, plus a Circle D 2500 RPM stall converter for $500. I installed it on my 454 and then put everything in the car. It is supposed to withstand 600 HP.

There is a 94 wagon in the local yard that was a "runs and drives" car. It had a bad front driver's seat, and bad paint. The rest of the car was in remarkably good condition. It has been heavily stripped at this point, and it has only been there for 3 days (yes, I am one of the culprits).

At the PNP yards here, a trans is about $175, and if you return the old one within 30 days, you get $30 back. I do not know it that includes a torque converter.

Everything up on this corner of the country is way more expensive. Supply and demand I guess, RMW's just weren't as popular here as on the East Coast, particularly when you consider the gray-hair belt demographics.

So did my final calculations and the best deal ended up being Rock Auto of all places.

Transmission was $1100, core $350 and shipping $149. They also pick up the core for free, so out of pocket cost is $1249 but I have to do all the labor. Unit has a 3 year warranty too.

If I had the tranny shop put in a Jasper it'd be $2739 plus tax. (almost 10%!)

Anyway, it's on the way. Any input on the R&R procedures at home is certainly welcome. I'm borrowing some truck jack stands and transmission jack from some kind folks at work.

lamune,

Did you talk to the remanufacturer (they are in Milwaukee) to find out if the new parts are made in USA? I talked to them two years ago but didn't ask this question. I know they use many steel parts instead of Aluminum so the trasnmission should last longer and shift better than the ones we get from GM

I did not ask that question. They did say that they machine a lot of parts in-house. I'll see if I can find anything out.

Well, half way there!

Could you give a brief description of how you got it out? Is that a trans jack? I assume you got it up real high and did everything from below? Just curious, hopefully never have to use the knowledge!!

Sure. I borrowed a jack from a co-worker, it's the larger Harbor Freight trans jack- and some 6 ton jack stands. The car was up on ramps since I really wanted to be careful- that's about 6 inches high. Getting the trans on the jack was pretty straightforward, and I used the procedure in the service manual as a checklist to make sure I had everything disconnected. Once the trans is separated from the engine you can lower it, but with only 6" of lift and the fact the jack is pretty big, it doesn't go down much. I cut a piece of PVC pipe as tall as the top of the bellhousing to use as a guide, then I used my floor jacks and the big jack stands to raise one front corner of the car enough so the pipe would clear the frame rails. Then I rolled the jack with trans on top out the side of the car, and lowered the car back onto the ramps.

Installation was the reverse of removal, jacked the car back up, rolled the new trans into the tunnel, lowered the car, raised the trans on the jack, adjusted the angle on the plate so it matched the back of the motor and lined them up, pushed it together, and installed the bolts.

The pipe is about 18" long so I needed to go up about a foot to get the thing out. Also since the plate tilts you can lower the front of the bellhousing a couple of inches as long as you have it secured tightly.

It really wasn't that hard- removal I did myself. I had two friends come over to help with the installation.