Well, my tranny has bit the dust :(

**Coitis1** · 12-15-2003, 01:08 PM

this is the exact reason why i didn't want an automatic, but what can ya do? I had a little trouble w/ the car yesterday, then today on my way to school, the transmission was slipping. It usually shifts at about 2200 rpm, but today it was shifting at about 4000 rpm, and plus i had almost no acceleration. I was afraid my tranny was going on the way to school, but i was in denial. A friend of mine and i both tutor at the same elementary school, so i always just ride w/ him, and today he parked close to me when we got back to school, so i got out and started the accord and shifted into reverse to show him the problem. As soon i shifted into reverse, there was some grinding and it sounded like something fell out of the bottom of my car. My friend was looking under the car as i shifted it agian, but there was no sound this time. But his conclusion was that my tranny was going also, and he knows quite a bit about cars, or at least trucks, that was a lot of people have around here. My heart dropped when he told me that, i felt like crying. But i'm almost 100% positive its going, i'm gonna take it to a shop today or tomorrow and get a professional's opinion and estimate. And when i shift into gear now, the car doesn't jump a little, u guys w/ auto's know what i mean. I can't do a 5 speed swap, that would be awesome, but i'm in high school still, w/ no experience w/ cars, and i don't have the time. I don't know what kinda car i'm gonna get. I want another 3g, but thinking about how much money i put into my current one, and how it ended up, i'm not sure. I've been wanting to try out a small truck, like an old s10. Or i might fix the accord if it doesn't cost too much, but it probably will. It just pisses me off thinking about it cuz i've put a lot of money into the car. The interior and exterior look real good, the engine is in great shape, the only problem is that damn transmission. And i can't help but think i brought this on myself by playing in the snow this week. I didn't even play much at all, maybe 15 min. on one day, but even when i was being serious, the car easily peels out on the snow and even wet roads, i know that wasn't helping anything. So for anyone who has replaced a tranny, how much did it cost?

**Coitis1** · 12-15-2003, 01:45 PM

fvck, its completely gone now. I was out there looking under the hood for any problems and checkin my oil. I put the car in reverse and came off the brake, nothing, i press the gas a little and only get revving, then a nasty grind. This is fvcking over, i'm so pissed. I'm fvcking broke as hell too, i've got about 1100 bucks, and i just payed my damn car insurance today. I usually do the full payment of 3 months, but i just payed for a month b/c i thought my car didn't have long to last, but i didn't think the sh!t would go today. I wanna take a crowbar to that damn car. Now i got no car and little money. fvck it, i got other sh!t to deal w/ right now.

**Justin86** · 12-15-2003, 04:03 PM

Go to the junk yard and get the stuff for a 5 speed swap as for prices I got one tranny at the J/Y for $325 and I was able to get another at a pick in pull for $90 so it depends where you go.

**NXRacer** · 12-15-2003, 04:09 PM

if you dont wanna go to all the trouble of doing a 5spd swap, just get another auto tranny. It shouldnt cost much to pick up from the junk yard and a shop probably wont charge too much to put it in. It wont even cost you close to 1100 bucks to fix.

**Coitis1** · 12-15-2003, 07:02 PM

i'm feeling better now, not quite as pissed. If the car is still moving, i'm gonna take it to a transmission shop tomorrow to get an estimate. I've never come across a shop that would install 3rd party parts, but hopefully this shop i'm going to will. I've been thinking abuot it, and for up to 2 grand, its gonna be hard to find a car that isn't gonna have some kind of hidden problems. With my accord, at least i know what has been done and that its in pretty good shape, so i wanna try to repair it. Although i looked under the hood today and saw that something was leaking. The battery tray had an oily substance in it and it had dripped down a little. Its not oil, i'm hoping that transmission fluid some how miraculously got flung up there, i don't want anymore problems right now. I was thinking it might be battery acid, but the battery is probably 6 months old. Anyways, i really hope the tranny isn't gonna cost too much to get repaired cuz i really want to keep my accord, its in great shape.

I've been to junkyards for smaller parts before, but never something like a tranny. Would they help me get that out or am on my own there? And what are some good tips for hunting down a tranny in a junkyard? look for low miles? something like that. thanks for the help guys.

**danronian** · 12-15-2003, 09:12 PM

The lower the miles the better. Look for a car that doesnt appear to have been driven by a teenager (headunit, speakers, wing, stickers, school papers, etc...), smell the fluid and make sure it doesnt smell burnt and it should also be red instead or black or brown. Also look for tranny line leaks to try to see if the tranny might have been run with low fluid. While your at it you should see if you can find a prelude tranny from an a20 since they have a better shift ratio and are basically the same engine setup as accords. Good luck with finding a good one!

**shepherd79** · 12-16-2003, 04:14 AM

any junk yard should be able to pull the tranny for you. all you have to do is tell them what year and what kind you want. it will cost extra but it is a way to go if you don't want your hands get dirty.

**Coitis1** · 12-16-2003, 05:00 PM

i looked though a lot of old posts and there are a lot more tranny problems than i thought. Unfortunately, the search feature still isn't working, so i had to manually go through old pages so that i could find posts related to transmissions. I don't feel so alone. But anyways, the car wouldn't move today when i was gonna go to the shop. The tow is $80, and thats one way, just to get the estimate. So i'm gonna have to figure something else out. The shop is only like 5 min. from my house too. I've been looking at tranny prices and boy are they expensive. I really wanted to save the accord, but i don't think its possible. I just hate to see it go to waste b/c its really nice still. I looked at 3rd gens on ebay and only found 1 or 2 as nice as mine. Maybe i'll be able to fetch $400-$500 for the car still. I'll have to see how things work out, if i'm lucky i'll find another 3g in good shape(very lucky around here, good 3g's are hard to find)

**Justin86** · 12-16-2003, 05:22 PM

$400-500 is way too much. I got one tranny for $300 that was pulled and two more for $90 a peice but I had to pull them. Look for the good deal cause all of these trannys are old and there is no reason to pay so much. As for the tow I would try to drive it a far as you can cause $80 for a short distance tow is BS. It was cheaper for me to get my car towed 35miles.

**Coitis1** · 12-16-2003, 07:02 PM

yeah, i'm gonna try to get the car moving agian tomorrow if i have time. Even if i can just get it to the shop, that'll get me an estimate and be better than sitting in front of my house. If i could find a tranny for $300, that would be a helluva deal, i would probably save my baby in that case. 3g's aren't too common in junkyards around here. I see them on the road all the time, but it's hard to track stuff down fro them. I'll have to call around tomorrow.

**Coitis1** · 12-19-2003, 12:34 PM

well, i got the car towed to the closest tranny shop yesterday(thursday). they called today and said that it actually wasn't a tranny problem, but instead that it was electrical. Someone(not me, i don't mess w/ my car too much) had installed a wire to the battery wrong, and it ended up shorting out and burning a hole in one of my tranny and coolant lines. Total cost: $162.17. I was so excited and relieved to find this out. The guy told me that a rebuild would have probably ran me at least $1150. So i'm very happy today, plus it was the last day of school before the break. Plus i get to go play some halo today. This is awesome. Thank god.

**DBMaster** · 12-19-2003, 01:19 PM

I love it when it turns out to be something like that!

Congrats on the good luck. Honestly, these are good durable automatic gearboxes if properly maintained.