usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

alright, my transmission $hit out at 42,023 miles, and what's even worse is that my warranty $hit out at 36,000 miles...so the repairs are all out-of-pocket...i just had it towed to a local AAMCO Transmission shop, and here's the damage: $2795.88! ...that includes parts (new torque converter, etc) and labor (with 12 mo./12,000 mi. warranty), but DAMN, isn't that a little ridiculous?...i'm hoping to hear stuff like "yeah, that sounds about right for a new transmission", but i just don't see that happening...so my question is, did i get screwed?...

jeffsta17

iTrader: (9)

Tranny replacement/fixing is expensive. That sounds about right maybe a little bit pricey.

Drakkar

ouch man but i don't see just a tranny comeing to 2g's. maybe if the driveline got damaged even then... well if you include labour it will add some money but that much no i don't think so.

prccivic

iTrader: (2)

Yes Tranny repairs are very very expensive...but your mistake is that u took it to AAMCO.....we took a car there and a few of my friends have as well and it sucks...they do shitty work, and they are very expensive...

CiViCPrAnInG2k1

iTrader: (1)

"**** out"

ok that aside, how do you drive your car as driving wear is concerned? abuse it maybe, or normal driving? first of all do you go service your car regularly?
alot of things are involved in car maintenance, if a car is well maintained it should last you well enough to keep.
good luck on the repairs.

02boostlessCIV

rippppppped offffffff, holy **** dude i paid 900 for a almost new one with replacement and including replacement of the flywheel and clutch. automatic i would be able to get for $1100 the most

ricergribbs

iTrader: (3)

wow... u could get like.. a k20a3 swap for that prolly. but yeah, almost 3000 is expensive i think, although with labor costs thats prolly about right. i mean u could get a new d17 tranny for like 300?

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

yeah thats what i was thinking. You can get a whole d17 engine for like $700. 2g's more you could've just got a whole k20a2 setup. I've seen k20a2's go as low as 4k on ebay. Maybe you should ask how much they would charge you if you can get the parts yourself. Getting civics parts from a junkyard or ebay shouldn't been too hard given how long the car has been out and how many they sell a yr.

stl01civic

iTrader: (12)

just get a tranny on ebay / junkyard for like $350-400. then have them do the labor. should not be anywhere close to that price..

diskreet

iTrader: (1)

late 2003 so a lil over a year ago a NEW tranny and labor came to $1800 on a cavalier...so ya thats high. I know our trannies are more, but not $1100 more for them to buy.

Civicious

I don't think you go ripped off by AMMCO. Someone else posted their cost of AMMCO and it was similar. I think the option you chose of taking it to AMMCO is expensive. The nice thing is that I think they have a warranty on their work at least though.

I have searched in th AZ area and you can get an automatic transmission with 16k miles for around 500 - $600. I'm not sure what it would cost to drop in but I will be doing mine soon with the help of a friend.

usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

damn...thanks for the feedback guys...i live in San Antonio, and there are so many freakin shops that i had no idea who to call...and AAMCO was a (supposedly) reputable company, so i just went with them...but i'm damn sure regretting it now...

i wish Haynes or Chilton made a manual for our cars...i had absolutely no mechanical experience, and i swapped a transmission in an S-10 in a couple days, and 60,000 miles later, it's still running like it is brand new...

and as for the K20 swap...that's really a sore spot with me because i just got almost $7k from the USAF, and a K20A2 was going to be my Christmas present to me...but instead i decided to wait, and due to holiday travel and other projects for the car, i no longer have the funds for the swap, but i still have to fork out that much for a stupid STOCK AUTOMATIC transmission... so let's not talk about that ...

ricergribbs

iTrader: (3)

wait, did u already have them do the tranny repair or what? i thought u brought the car there and they called u saying it was going to cost that much? wtf is going on?

usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

even if they were to just reassemble it as-is (still not functioning), the labor and the diagnostics come to almost $500...add another $50 to get it towed to another shop, then another few hundred for the other shops diagnostic tests and repairs, and even if they save me $1k, i'm still paying almost the same...so it's already there, it's already disassembled, and they already have the parts to fix it, so i told them to go for it...

plus, i have the car completely disassembled inside (everything removable from the firewall to the trunk lid has been removed), and i really need to get it back ASAP to finish the fiberglassing and other $hit for the Import Face-Offs in Houston and San Antonio later this month and early next month...

jericho73

Damn..for less then that you could've got a k20a3& tranny dropped in. They only go for like $800-1200 depending on mileage, tranny etc. I paid about that total for my whole k20a2 swap, but i gots hooked up on that

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

your right whats done is done. Just save and buy another car later on. I thought about saving for a swap when i'm out of college and get a real job, but then i decided it wasnt worth it. My goal now is graduate in the next yr or so and trade in my 04 civic and buy a used IS300. Then dropp a TT supra engine in it. You get luxury, rear wheel drive and the potential to have over 500hp.

Civicious

Well what's done is done. I think you were better off shelling out the money to AMMCO then doing a K20 swap. A K20 swap will cost thosands more. Maybe a few individuals on this site have gotten lucky with extremely cheap k20 engines. But from what I have heard on this site from people like Hawk is that the swap runs around 7-10K after everything is said and done.

ricergribbs

iTrader: (3)

im talking k20a3 which costs about 2-3k less then the k20a2 which is what ur talking about.

usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

i'd only go with the k20a2...if i'm going to do something, i'm going to do it right...

ricergribbs

iTrader: (3)

whats wrong with a k20a3? it all depends how much power ur looking for. if ur not looking for the extra power of a k20a2 and dont want to go turbo on the d17, why not get the k20a3?

usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

all or nothing for me...i'll never rock an unpainted body kit, or a no-name intake/exhaust/etc, or a Wal-Mart system...even if i would never tap into that "extra" power, i'd be pissed if someone popped their hood and had a better engine...and IMO, the A2 is better than the A3...

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

lol...yeah i feel the same way.

scansel912

iTrader: (4)

Did you try taking it to the dealer and see if they can good will it(Fix it for free even if warranty is expired). In special cases if your lucky they will good will it. But if you have mods done to your car, forget about it. I got mine good willed but not after fighting for it.

usafcushman

iTrader: (2)

i have an Injen intake, an Optima Yellow Top, and a maze of 4 gauge (Big 3 wires) under the hood so that's not too big of a deal...

my problems are on the REST of the car...i'm in the middle of another project (massive stereo redo), so everything removable from my firewall to my trunk lid (door panels, roof trim, glove compartment, etc) is sitting in my garage...and unfortunately, that is frowned upon by factory technicians...go figure...

jericho73

Well, it isn't your opinion, the k20a2 IS a better engine then the k20a3. Just like the k20z1 is a better engine then the a2 and the k20 is better then all the k series. Still, an a3 is quite a bit better then a d17, has more potential then a d17, costs thousands less then an a2<w/ tranny> and is basically the only choice for a d17 owner if they don't want to swap the tranny...actually auto owners probably would have to swap the a3 tranny too, as it's a 5-speed auto. The difference in the k20a2 and a3 is all on the top end, ie. above 60 mph or so. If you don't plan on unwinding the engine all the time, the a3 is actually a more economical & smarter choice, as the lower compression lets it use lower grades of gas.

You can pick up a k24 pretty cheap also...excluding the TSX's k24a2.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

^^^^^^

he's justing saying if he was going to swap. He would do it right and just spend a little more money and get the k20a2. paying a extra 3k for 40-50hp is worth it, if your already spending 2k-5k to have it swapped and the cost of installing a k20a2 and a k20a3 are the same.

jericho73

Oh, I understand that...i'm just saying the a3 is a more fun engine then the d17, and if you don't unwind it alot, i don't think the differences are that huge. The a2 has mad top end on the a3..but below about 6k it performs the same for the most part. I've had all 3 engines, just comparing...the a3 gets alot of crap at CRSX but it isn't a bad engine IMO.

TemjinX2

iTrader: (11)

its up to the person i guess.

For example if you saw a cd player selling for $100 and it has all these nice features over stock. Then you see another kind of cd player selling for $130, has all the same features as the $100 one but it can play mp3's. To some people it isn't worth the $30 considering cd's are like $0.01, they would just put there music on more cd's for pennies instead of having it on just one cd.


For me, i would pay the $30 more and get the cd player that can play mp3's. To me, i'm already paying $100, $30 more for something i like is worth the extra cost. I think cushman thinks the same way. Basically its the same for the engines. He'd rather get the $130 deck or just stay stock.