transmission

Hello. Looking for advice. I am the sole owner of a 1996 Ford Taurus GL V6 which now has 86,000 miles. Ford tells me I need a new transmission. Instead, I had a local transmission shop with a good reputation flush the transmission; nothing to lose. This improved performance significantly for over a month until I noticed rougher shifting and transmission oil leaking. Transmission shop confirmed oil leak, and added a quart+ of transmission fluid. Leak can not be fixed without taking out the transmision. Increased oil level improved performance again , but leak is getting worse.

Options are a rebuilt transmission for about 3 grand with 3 year/ 75,000 warranty, living with the leak which seems to be getting worse, or giving up on the car and buying something new.

I have performed every scheduled maintenance on the car at Ford and often had extra oil changes done. On the whole, the car has been good to me; body is in good+ shape. If this problem hadn't occurred, I would have been happy to drive this car for several more years although I can afford a new car if necessary.

If I invest the money in this car, what else m major is likely to go wrong on a 1996 Taurus with this history? Any other options? Thanks for any advice.

John

Although $3K for a transmission seems a lot, I will say that the car is likely not worth a whole lot more than $3k in the first place. Certainly, I think you would have a really hard time getting $5k in a private sale, much less as a trade-in. This is amplified by the fact that the transmission is nearly gone. If I were you, there is no question in my mind that I would sell/trade it and get something newer. You could drive it until it practically leaves you stranded, though, and then get rid of it. All a matter of the risks you want to take. But, monetarily, unless you are absolutely in love with the car, it probably doesn't make sense to drop that much money on a 9-year-old Taurus with almost 90,000 miles.

I just did some shopping and got myself a nice 2002 Taurus SES with 35K on it for about $8,000. Even if you only have $5k, you could probably get something like a '98-'00 with significantly fewer miles. And put towards a new car the money you make from getting rid of this dead one.

sorry to hear you've got problems. The reason the cost of the rebuid is so high is because that Tarus is one of the most difficult Transmission removals there is! It's all labor! You practacally have to dismantle the whole front end on the undercarrige... no kidding I've done two of them. the overhaul kit costs about $96.00 to $128.00 if you could do it yourself. the torque converter is about $149.00 if there are metal flakes in your oil it will need to be replaced or flushed out. That Transmission is controlled by the computer... also if you have been reading on the history of that transmission most of the problems have been fixed by the time your model has come out. If you have a transmission shop do the work ask them if they have the tech updates and fixes for that transmission and ask them how many tauruses they have done. $3,000.00 is still WAY too expensive for me, guess that's why I do all my own mechanic work. You live in south Texas?
Hey also remember cars break... ALL of them, thats just how life is, doesn't mean your car is a lemon.... right.
Tim

Thanks for the responses that I received. I solved my immediate problem by buying a 2005 Camry xle v6, very nice, but I'm still tempted to keep the Taurus for my teenagers. I have a 16 and 17+ year old who will need at least one car to share. The Taurus would be ideal for them since it is a safe car and the insurance and property tax on it is pretty reasonable.

Buying a newer used car is risky since I could wind up buying another transmission problem. I don't want to pay for a car and a new transmission. I know the repair/maintenance history on my Taurus, and I know that all the scheduled maintenance has been done.

I really don't care about the resale value of the car; I just want to give my kids something safe and inexpensive to drive for the next few years.

What is the word on remanufactured transmissions from Jasper? The cost is about $2ks for the transmission and $1k for installation. They come with 3 year/ 75K warranty. If I could get at least 3 years out of the car with no other major repairs for $3k, I think that would be a good deal. What worries me is what else, based on the history for the Taurus, is likely to go wrong at this age.