Stupid transmission

[mylittlechickpea]

Grumble, grumble

So my husband and I bought a jeep. The sweetest jeep you've ever seen. She's such a manly looking doll

An 85 CJ7, gun metal grey, takes hills like a champ for only being a four speed. I love her. Well, last month she started acting a little funny. When I'd put her into 3rd she's get stuck

But when I stopped I could get it back out, and go on with my business of driving her.. I talked to my dad about it, and he tried giving me some suggestions of how to help that out while driving until we could get it fixed. He said it was the (insert suspenseful music here) Transmission... Sigh. That word just sings out loud not with beauty and joy, but of impending doom to the checkbook. Well, if that's all that is wrong, I can continute driving her for a while longer, right? No. She decided to go down on me one day. I was taking her out to the gas station.. And well, she went ka-puts. No amount of love I gave her would help. She was dying in my arms. The radiance she put out when doing what she loved to do best, drive, was gone. So I called my dad back.

She needs a re-build

Starting at $1000 and the sky is the limit....

Hubby is now question why we even bought her in the first place. Her name is Uh-Merca! (sounds like America, but with a hicky accent) We are now looking for another transmission to switch it out with. Ourselves? Who read my post about the spark plug incedent? And now he wants me to help him swap out a tranny?

Well, when I talked to my dad this morning, to figure what kind of transmission we have, so we can find one of the same, he said it's relatively simple.. Well I'm sure it's relatively simpley for him, he's been a mechanic for the last 25 years, and is now teaching at the community college back home.. He said it just takes a lot of man muscles. I don't have those

Although hubby was thinking of bribing some of the mechanics at work with some beer and pizza, and getting it done that way. What sailor doesn't like beer and pizza? So hopefully our plan will work

My dad says if we get "a few" guys who know what they're doing it should only take about three hours.. So now we just have to find a transmission.. And some extra sailors/mechanics... And beer... Lots and lots of beer.....

I am excited at the prospect of having my beloved Uh-Merca! back on the road, with the wind blowing in my hair.

 

[darkmatter]

You can do it. What with advice, instructions and pictures on the internet automotive forums, should go okay. When I bought my Son at 14 years old a POS farm truck F250 diesel, we spent a couple years rebuilting it. He at 15 rebuilt the Tranny himself with a kit I bought through the internet. So yes, if a 15 year old kid can do it by himself following instructions with the kit, so can you.

 

[twentynine]

Yes! A manual tranny can be swapped out pretty easily.

Not very heavy, floor jack with wheels and a couple jack stands. Simple hand tools.

Change the clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing while you have the tranny out.

Get a couple of husbands Navy friends to help out.

 

[mylittlechickpea]

Yea, it's probably a more simple than the image I have in my head. Of some hot mess, and things randomly bursting into flames

My dad is 3,000 miles away, but said it's just a few bolts and lots of man power..

I assume because these guys can work on a submarine they can also work on my beloved jeep. Although I know this isn't always the case. And my hubby is usually pretty good about figuring these things out, he's an electronics tech/nuclear reactor operator... He's got one of those crazy photgraphic memories though. So hopefully we can find a free weekend, and recruit some friends.

I do have a little more faith that if a 15 year old can rebuild we can certainly swap it. We'd do the re-built as the kits are fairly cheap, but it's more time-consuming and if he goes back out to sea soon then I'd be left on my own to finish, and put it back in. I'm sure I could finish it, but getting it back in might be a problem...

One of these, hopefully in the next couple weeks, we'll be able to find a tranny on the island and Git 'er done. We thought we'd gotten one and then the guy stopped responding to hubby's emails

. Don't these people know we'd like to drive both our cars, and not share the one. C'mon.

I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks.

Also, as for the jack stands, we all get access to the auto hobby shop on base, it's $2/hr for a stall and $3/hr for a lift, and free access to all the fancy tools we need or want to use. So that's certainly no problem. The first time I went in there, I got "the look" and was asked if I knew anything about tools or cars in general.

Ah, sterotypes, gotta love them

Here she is, longing to be on the road again, sigh.

 

[PineappleMama]

I feel your pain... we just put some gunk in ours that's supposed to find/fix leaks, etc. Seems to have helped a little, but still it's the tranny. Given the car in question is a 92 Taurus (yes, I do know you have to replace the tranny every 30k like clockwork but tell that to FIL) which is worth how much? Something like $700 if it was in pristine shape, which ours hasn't been since we got it. So, yeah... the though of spending $1000++ just makes me ill.

And, bonus points... remember the voucher thing they did earlier? Cash for Clunkers? Evidently an 18 year old Ford, with an oil leak, 16MPG if we're lucky gas mileage, no a/c or heat... that's not a clunker... but a 3 year old Land Rover is. The ONLY thing that works on the car is the emission control... and that is the deciding factor evidently.... n'mind the leaking oil, leaking tranny fluid, etc.

That's a government program for you.

There is another one Air Check, Texas... same kind of idea but it's a state thing and for low income people... I worry that our car wouldn't qualify (though somehow our truck that gets better mileage and is a year younger does) for that either... but even if it did you have to use the funds to purchase one of the specific years and models on The List... nothing older than 2007 (maybe 08 by now I donno) and of course $3500 while awesome isn't going to cover that so we'd end up with payments, assuming with our lousy credit we got a loan at all. And, dig this. The whole point is to get better mileage AND quite specifically for LOW INCOME folks right? Who couldn't otherwise be driving a newer (less pollution) vehicle right? So, explain to me what the hell cars like ferrari are doing on it? N'mind the BMWs and whatnot.

Whoa.. ramble much? Sorry 'bout that. I haven't a clue what the gunk is we put in ours, or if it's available where you are, but you might as at the auto parts store... might help her lurch along a little longer.

 

[mylittlechickpea]

Ah, she's not going anywhere for a while. I know the tranny is not completely broken from the inside, as I can still put it into all four gears, but whatever was jamming up my third came loose and is now causing a racket somewhere else. The last time I drove it, I could hear whatever was loose knocking around in there somewhere.. I kind of want to keep it when we do swap it, so when hubby goes back out maybe I can buy the re-build kit and work on while he's gone, and so if/when the next one goes down (we're looking on craigslist so I'm sure it's bound to happen) Then have a good one, still. Silly. I know. Who keeps an extra transmission in the garage..

PineappleMama, sorry to hear of all your troubles. Yea, I don't agree when the gov't programs list certain spefications and then turn around and say "Well this one thign that still happens to work despite everything else that doesn't. So. Nope, sorry. You're on your own again." It seems like they're trying simply to get rid of the newer gas guzzlers, and put only the newer fuel efficient (sp?) on the road. They're "trying to put money back into the economy" but they aren't really helping the situation entirely. If these programs are geared towards low income then why would they want to add another bill to the everyday payment people already have to make. It doesn't make sense. Although I seems like a good deal, when you trade that "clunker" in, then there are less used cars out on the road for people to buy, and if they can't afford their rent, how are they going to afford a new car payment. I think the stipulations of what kind of car you have to buy to is ridiculous. I can't quite put my feelings into words on this issue... Fortunately, the gov't gives us our housing and we don't have to worry about maintanence or power or water or sewage right now. But if we did, we'd be screwed. The cost of living iincrease hubby got for being moved to Hawaii doesn't really compare with the cost of living here... I think he gets like an extra $200 a month for being married to me. But it's so hard to find a job, I can't help replenish our bank account from day to day.

Well I guess we're both rambling today, lol. I hope things look better for your car. This is the only major problem we're having with it now. I'd go out and pay a mechanic, but we don't have an extra $1000+ right now. Eek!

Oh, yea. Another note on mechanics... Bleh. So when I was calling around to dif shops last week one of the guys I was talking to was telling me that nobody even works on the type of tranny I have anymore. Because "it's so old"... I don't know if he was trying to make me more concerned, and make me bring my car to him faster so he can overcharge me and fix things that didn't need fixing in the first place.. Or if this true. I told my dad about it, we looked it up together on the phone this morning. We did find a couple different one that could go into the jeep, but if I got a T4 or T5 instead of another T176 I'd have to change the bell housing and all that jazz. But the man I spoke with didn't even know what I had!!

 

[theoldchick]

Gosh, too bad you don't live close to us. The hubby does this type of work and does trade for labor.....these old transmissions do require a bit of investigative work but is doable!

 

[mylittlechickpea]

My dad has a friend that moved to Maui.. I'm am now questioning his friend's life choices of not moving to my island instead so could help me out

His friend is also a very good mechanic. My dad says it sounds like some kind of synchronization problem but now that the whole thing has been knocked out of whack I just don't know... I do trust what my dad says, he's good at what he does. I'm good at describing the problems and mimicking the weird sounds it make while he chuckles on the other end of the line, so I'm sure this is what it is. It's just frustrating too..

 

[Spookwriter]

The first tranny I ripped out, I paid a neighborhood kid fifty dollars to
replace it. I think he was all of fourteen.

I've changed a few since then. Nothing really hard. If you have a good
transmission jack it'll be ok.

Just remember to ALWAYS have the transmission strapped to the jack.
Saw a man once let a transmission fall on his arm. Broke.

Always be careful.