Help - am I being taken for a ride?

I have a '97 Rodeo - bought it new and love it. Body in excellent shape, no major problems EXCEPT transmission. In 2002 (60,000 miles) I noticed a clunking sound and the car would shudder when it changed gears (automatic), took it to AAMCO and they said it needed a rebuild transmission - $3K later it continued to make the same sound but only in the morning when the car was cold. Took it back several times but of course it never made the sound for the AAMCO boys. Finally it went away and my car has been pretty good since. A couple of months ago the clunking came back big time - when it changed gears it felt like the engine would fall out. Took it back to AAMCO who recommended another rebuild (now at 138,000 miles) - this time I got a bit of a discount for being a return customer :naughty: but it still cost me almost $2.5K. I figure the blue book value is ~$5K but since the rest of the car seems to be fine - got 4 new tires, new brakes & shocks last year - I would get another trannie and hope that the car lasts me another
5 years or 200K miles. I got the car back yesterday, this morning it did the same thing - big time clunks & shudder when changing gears. Went straight to AAMCO and, you guessed it, when the mechanic took it for a drive nothing happened! I'm so frustrated by now - of course they say, bring it back if it happens again. Anyone else experiencing the same problem? Am I being taken for a ride because I'm a woman and don't know a lot about engines? Any help would be appreciated. :banghead:

I wished you had come here first, and I hate to have to say it, but AAMCO is one of the WORST places to go. They're literally into the business of replacing transmissions consistently when half don't even have a true *transmission* problem.

What's the service history on fluid changes in this transmission?

I took my auto, same year as yours, to AAMCO back in '99 for very hard shifting from 2-3rd gear, and then 3-2nd gear; said the same thing, that I needed a complete rebuild.

This '97 is my 2nd Rodeo, and I didn't believe that it should need a new transmission at 70k miles, when my '91 Rodeo was at 130k (at the time) and still on it's original transmission.

So, I got Isuzu themselves involved, at first they weren't willing to do anything - outside of warranty; but then finally they agreed to take a look at it. They cleaned up the range mode sensor, did a thorough flush of the transmission and torque convertor, along with changing the transmission filter - and all has been good since.

I currently have 156k on the same transmission that AAMCO said needed rebuilt at 70k miles. This transmission does have a mildly rough shift from 1st to 2nd gear, but ONLY when it's cold outside, and only once after sitting for more then 9hrs.

Word of advise, find a different shop. Also make absolute certain to change your transmission fluid every 25-30k miles, these auto's crave clean fluid.

AAMCO is not taking you for a ride because you're female, they take everyone for a ride.

sounds like low trans fluid to me....

All I can say is WOW! For 3k, you should have at least gotten a life warranty, but it doesn't seem like you did since you spent another 2.5k. Most of the time, from reading the boards, it's a fluid, range sensor, or slip yoke issue. Now if the tranny was always neglected might need a rebuild. Seems like Aamco and other tranny shops jump on the "hey, it's a Rodeo so it MUST need a new tranny" bandwagon.

I was forced about a month ago to take my 95.5 passport ex 5spd to Aamco in Englewood. I was in the mountains and the clutch just totally burned out (I'm guessing anyway - there was slight, then no engagement, then a terrible smell) so I had it towed by AAA to Aamco - the closest shop. I had to go through them, or I'd have faced hundreds of dollars in extra towing....

I paid $765 for a new Luk Gold clutch set w/throwout bearing and turned the flywheel. The dude naturally assured me that this was the best I could get. It was a pain in the a$$ considering I had some Auto program instructors/students just install a new slave and master cylinder and brand new belts the week before.

So far though, the clutch seems to be fine, although no better than stock. The clutch apparently has a lifetime warranty, but Aamco only covers the clutch and the labor for 12months/12k miles.