Transmission-repair or replace

[TapOut64]

My Explorer has 190,000 miles on it which are mostly freeway miles. I've been leaking transmission fluid for sometime now and one repair shop told me it would be around $750 to replace all seals and gaskets but with my high miles he thought that that would be a waste of money and that I should just replace the transmission for around $2,000. My only problem is the fluid leaking and what I believe is a factory defect with the transmission. (if going up hill with cruise on say at 65mph the transmisson will downshift with a strange noise coming from the transmission-kinda like the sound you hear going over rumble strips) Other than the transmission slipping when the fluid gets too low I don't have any problems. Is it a waste of money to put $750 into a transmission with 190,000 miles? Once again, mostly freeway miles. I'll probably keep the Explorer for a while and I average around 25-30,000 miles per year. (I use it for work but may be getting a company car soon-my 14 year old daughter has called dibs on it) Any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't know much about transmissions but if you have any questions about repairing medical x-ray equipment I'm you man.

I had a 89 Chevy Blazer that I put 310,000 on in around 10 years (and still sold it for $1,000) but it had a manual transmission so I'm an auto transmission noob.

[fordtrucksonly]

to get an automatic tranny rebuilt is not cheap, but well worth it opposed to buying a new one.

[chr97]

Auto transmission wear different and are more expensive to replace, It would have it rebuilt at that mileage, you don't want you daughter stuck some where, call around get three qoutes, ALWAYS check the BBB (Better Business Burea) site for references. If someone has complained about that company they will have it listed with what the cpmlaint was.

[cproc502]

Go to www.car-part.com first, you can find a low mileage unit with a 90 day warranty for Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy cheaper than a new one,
BTW my wife's windstar does the same thing with the cruise on....rumbles etc...........it has done this for over a year now and we just got back from a 1,200 mile round trip so I would feed it tranny fluid untill it doesnt pull anymore with those miles on it!....it can only leak from a few places that are "expensive" to fix. pan gasket (cheap)
rear seal(cheap)
front seal (cheap but a bugger to get to)
coolant lines (easy to fix if leaking)
Internal leaking............(priceless) sell it!!!!!

Hope this helps

[Boogieman142]

New transmisssion, the "rumble strip noise could be the pinion getting ready to grenade the tranny

[rum runner]

Originally Posted by Boogieman142

New transmisssion, the "rumble strip noise could be the pinion getting ready to grenade the tranny

My tranny has 160,000 miles and does not downshift 4-3 properly (makes a weird noise). I just get a running start when I see a steep upgrade. Simple solution ................

I also keep a large drip pan under my truck (AutoZone $7.00) for any leaks. Change the fluid, filter, gasket on the tranny and see if it helps. Ask around about adding a solvent to the fluid to swell the seals, it could help or harm, not sure.

[Boogieman142]

don't add a solvent, if u need to swell up seals then it is a time for a rebuild