Old Auto Transmission

[vinnym86]

Recently, my automatic transmission has been jumping more often in my '93 civic. I take it easy on the car, always warming it up 10-15 mins before i head out, and I try to keep the revs below 4000. Should I invest in a new 'box or atleast re-build this one? I'm thinking it may not be worth it, and i'm better off buying a new used car. I have about 198,000 miles on it, and i recently reconditioned the engine head after a blown gasket.

[curtis73]

First step would be to take it to a tranny shop. Avoid the big chains like Aamco. They'll do anything to get your business including recommending things you don't need. Take it to a smaller independent shop that specializes in foreign trannys... or several shops, and get their opinions. Maybe its an easy fix.

If properly rebuilt, that tranny should last another 198k, so I guess it depends on how much it costs to rebuild it. I'm not too familiar with rebuilding foreign trannys, but I should think the rebuild itself should be $1000 or less, but the labor will kill you.

Get some quotes. Its perfectly fine to ask how much it would be to do the tranny if you yourself took it out and brought it to them. Its often times called a "bench build." That would give you an idea of how much they're charging for labor.

Then I would sit down with a calculator and look at the trade in value and the down payment you would need on a new car

Just weigh out the options, but as far as the tranny itself, it is a perfectly viable solution to rebuild. Another equally viable option is to visit a junkyard and ask if they have any running civics with that transmission. If you can test drive it and the tranny shifts fine its a nice way to extend the life of the car for less than a new or rebuilt tranny.

[UncleBob]

be more specific, what is "jumping"

auto's have a lot of sensor input form the engine, so sometimes, as unintuitively as it might seem, a tranny issue is actually a motor/sensor issue.

Not saying your tranny doesn't need rebuilding of course, but we can't offer much help without more detail.

A full tank of gas will "total" most 200K+ mile cars....thats not really a good measuring stick

[vinnym86]

by jumping, i mean that the shifting isn't instantaneous when I am accelerating or coasting down. There's a moment where it stays in neutral for a second or two.