Buck

Bobkyle...I wasnt trying to be a dick...just a bit frustrated with this issue

Buck

So I just talked with the service advisor. Apparently the flex plate is destroyed. NOW the dilemma for me is do I pay the $1000 parts and labor to have the flex plate replaced and HOPE there is nothing else wrong with the tranny? (if the tranny is still bad, then I have to pay for the labor for tranny removal again at 8 hrs of $90/hr.) Or do I just go with a tranny rebuild At a price of $2400 of parts and labor?

cowboy

well I guys I would have them pull the tranny and check the rest, then go based on that. I would much rather pay a little more to have the rest checked out instead of replacing the flex plate and then finding out more is bad.

FordLvr35

How often have you had the tranmission flushed? That would be my deciding factor. If you havent flushed it religiously then just pay the extra 1400.00 and get it over with....If you have. Flexplate and off you go....

bobkyle2

If the transmision pulled fine I would just have the flywhel changed....I would not waste anymore money than you had to

bobkyle2

1000bucks to change a flywheel....dam

Code 7

X2.... You need to find a good tranny shop that can rebuild it with heavy duty parts. probably won't cost you any more than a rebuilt at Ford and will take a whole lot more abuse without blowing like the factory ones do. $1000. to pull and reinstall a tranny is CRAZY!!! Flex plate can't cost that much. Must have seen you "hefty" bank account record or something. If they were doing it under warranty it would probably pay about $2.35 labor!

They will probably change the FP by just pulling the DS and slip the tranny back far enough to change the FP and then shove it back forward and bolt her up. $1000. is sheer insanity!

Buck

Well according to them its a 7-8 hr job so at $90-95 hr thats $700-$800 for labor alone. I contacted a local reputable transmission shop and they quoted me roughly the same maybe only $100 savings max. Thats why I want to make sure I make the right decision the first time, because I dont want to have to pay that labor again to pull the tranny again if the flex plate doesnt fully fix the problem. Given the history of these trannys and the mileage (108,000) I have on my truck, whats to say if I fix the flex plate that the transmission wont still bite the dust anyway shortly down the road ya know...I have flushed the fluid in the truck at good intervals, but it was used when I bought it so I dont know how it was maintained or treated before I bought it.

bobkyle2

hmm... do it yourself???... not hard at all to pull trans and change flywheel... if you are mechinically inclined at all...

Code 7

I still say they're crazy. Stand around the corner and watch 'em do it in about an hour or hour and a half. 8-9 hours, they're out of their tree. i still say you should be able to change the flex plate with only pulling the trans. back a few inches, you shouldn't even have to pull it out of the truck, and I bet they won't. At 108k mi. your trans. may well be on it's way out, but I can't stand dealing with liars and thieves, and that's what you're dealing with here. You said you got a quote from a reputable trans. shop. Wouldn't be a national chain would it? Like AAMCO??? Oh, I believe you said REPUTABLE, that would leave them out.
Do you have ANY mechanical ability at all? i would pull the cover and take a look at the flex plate myself. It's easy to do and you can get a good look at it. There's enough BS in the automotive service field to fertilize the entire earth over several times. I spent most of my life in it, (and though my conscience wouldn't allow me to be part of it), I saw plenty of it. Service writers and managers are a huge part of it because they are paid a percentage of all they write. I wish I had a nickel for every time I was lied to by a professional, wouldn't be wealthy but I'd sure have a lot of nickels!