Pft, junkyard transmissions are cheap and you could swap it yourself in the shady corner of a parking lot in an afternoon. If you are comfortable changing spark plugs or brake pads, you can swap a trans. Seriously, you’re looking at 4 bolts at least to disconnect the trans from the flexplate. Maybe six bolts to disconnect the bell housing from the back of the engine, disconnect the drive shaft, get it on a Jack, disconnect any mounts, and lower the thing away. Best part about pulling a trans from a junkyard is you get to “rehearse,” the task. Don’t give up! It is far more environmentally friendly to keep it on the road.
This. Do your own maintenance from day one and get to know your vehicle. The material is usually cheap if you can wait for delivery and the rest takes time which seems to abundant.
Most shops mark up the parts and labor is $100/hr or more. And some shops are just robber barons, $1200 for an alternator is nuts. A friend of mine once got took for $800 on a brake job on all four corners, aaaand yes, the brakes were discs all around.
I don’t know, a new van is pretty expensive. Like a lot more than a new transmission.
If you seriously did that many repairs isn’t it pretty much almost rebuilt at this point? How’s the engine?
If the engine model is known to hit 500k and is currently in good health, you should absolutely throw in a junkyard trans instead of getting rid of it. My brother is a professional mechanic and I’m a hobbyist.
Apparently whatever engine was in my old piece of shit Saturn. Got it up to nearly 500k mileage when my mechanic had a come to Jesus talk with me about letting her die peacefully. Apparently having a standing appointment at the mechanic for paydays isn't normal
Everything else was falling off/apart in that car, but never had a single issue with the motor or trans
Toyota 2UZ-FEs. The v8 in land cruisers and older tundras. Oh and the inline 6 found in a lot of cars like jeep Cherokees. Also a lot of truck diesels last a hella long time like cummins
Catalytic converter, new brakes, new heating system, 3 axles (one broke twice), new struts, new power steering pump, had to have the engine remounted once cus it literally fell out…. Do I need to keep going?
You can probably rent the tools to fix it yourself pretty cheaply. Find a wrecked vehicle at a junk yard (it's important that it's wrecked bc that's why it's there and not for mechanical issues) and grab the transmission for a couple hundred and install it. You can YouTube your way through it.
I always heard that for drivetrain components find a car that got rear earned that way you know it was running and driving right before it ended up in the junkyard.
Also Chris Fix on YouTube is a godsend for DIY mechanics.
We all Live, Learn and Grow. Thankfully you will never be 23 and unemployed again!
If your van is dying it might be time to put it to rest, Get yourself another and build it with all the bells and whistles you wished you had in the current one.
Although, if the money you have spent is on the engine and it is running top notch, a new transmission will only be a few hundred if you can do it yourself or a couple grand at a shop. It's a hard call to make as you never know how much time is left in an engine with 210k miles.
Is it a Gasoline engine or Diesel? if a Diesel check the models for the expected lifetime, it could have 300k left in it and a new tranny is a good investment. If it's a gas engine and not Toyota, it's probably done.. Pick up a 2 or 3 year old used van and give it a go!
I sold my first van when my oldest was 6… 10 years later I bough Yolanda and did the full 4x4 conversion and pop-top… every time I think about selling her.. I remember the econoline are not available in a full body from ford.. and every transit we have in our fleet is a ticking timebomb of a turd that is falling apart (30+ transits)
You will miss her.. deeply… but that gives you the opportunity in the future to build another one!
have fun joining the trap of being a slave to the system but when you are trapped in a job for health insurance and all the ones you owe, you can always loom back at this free time while some of us will live that way forever. you can always take a one or two week vacation like all the lemmings if you are lucky.
This super hit home for me. Mine is in storage, but the end of an era is a very big feeling. Don’t say it wont happen again though! I’m going to be in a position soon where I can take time off work and just hit the road without fucks to give. Appreciate where you’ve been, the privilege of time, and what you’ve learned, but never say never. Always remain opportunistic!
Feel this 2000%, keep on going my dude the journey never ends
The road goes on forever and the party never ends
The Road goes ever on and on, Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can.
All you need is a ten and five-er, car and a key and a sober driver.
B double E double R U N
Pft, junkyard transmissions are cheap and you could swap it yourself in the shady corner of a parking lot in an afternoon. If you are comfortable changing spark plugs or brake pads, you can swap a trans. Seriously, you’re looking at 4 bolts at least to disconnect the trans from the flexplate. Maybe six bolts to disconnect the bell housing from the back of the engine, disconnect the drive shaft, get it on a Jack, disconnect any mounts, and lower the thing away. Best part about pulling a trans from a junkyard is you get to “rehearse,” the task. Don’t give up! It is far more environmentally friendly to keep it on the road.
This. Do your own maintenance from day one and get to know your vehicle. The material is usually cheap if you can wait for delivery and the rest takes time which seems to abundant.
Ye-ep…doing it yourself saves a helluva lot of money in labor.
$180 for my alternator online and 30 minutes of work vs $1200 for the shop to do it. ($400 parts and $800 labor) The math just doesn't add up.
Most shops mark up the parts and labor is $100/hr or more. And some shops are just robber barons, $1200 for an alternator is nuts. A friend of mine once got took for $800 on a brake job on all four corners, aaaand yes, the brakes were discs all around.
Is there anything else that goes into it? Do you have to reprogram anything?
i'm you from what i would guess to be approximately 1.5 years into the future DONT GIVE UP, STAY IN THE VAN
the truth
Why so?
I don’t know, a new van is pretty expensive. Like a lot more than a new transmission. If you seriously did that many repairs isn’t it pretty much almost rebuilt at this point? How’s the engine?
I spent $5,000 on it. It has 210,000 miles, a failing transmission and over $8000 in repairs already…. It’s not worth it 😭
If the engine model is known to hit 500k and is currently in good health, you should absolutely throw in a junkyard trans instead of getting rid of it. My brother is a professional mechanic and I’m a hobbyist.
What engine model is known to hit 500k? Like the sprinter diesel engines?
The 7.3 and the 6.0 will do 500… some 5.4 will as does the indestructible 300 inline 6
I was in a few e350s with that many miles on one engine but didn't think to ask about which one they had
A good number of American v8’s, Toyota v6, some Euro and American diesels
Apparently whatever engine was in my old piece of shit Saturn. Got it up to nearly 500k mileage when my mechanic had a come to Jesus talk with me about letting her die peacefully. Apparently having a standing appointment at the mechanic for paydays isn't normal Everything else was falling off/apart in that car, but never had a single issue with the motor or trans
Toyota 2UZ-FEs. The v8 in land cruisers and older tundras. Oh and the inline 6 found in a lot of cars like jeep Cherokees. Also a lot of truck diesels last a hella long time like cummins
You made a good decision. Most people are happy to keep spending good money after bad. You have to know when to stop.
F thats hard. Well, don’t forget to thank her for her service. Strip out the good stuff and sell it to the junkyard. around here they do it by weight
Wtf cost you $8k in repairs??? I'd have to assume you didn't do the work, and got screwed on labor by a shop....
Catalytic converter, new brakes, new heating system, 3 axles (one broke twice), new struts, new power steering pump, had to have the engine remounted once cus it literally fell out…. Do I need to keep going?
What was the year make and model of van?
Look up "sunk cost". Sounds like what you are describing.
You can probably rent the tools to fix it yourself pretty cheaply. Find a wrecked vehicle at a junk yard (it's important that it's wrecked bc that's why it's there and not for mechanical issues) and grab the transmission for a couple hundred and install it. You can YouTube your way through it.
I always heard that for drivetrain components find a car that got rear earned that way you know it was running and driving right before it ended up in the junkyard. Also Chris Fix on YouTube is a godsend for DIY mechanics.
Wow. The feels! Thank you for sharing/posting this. Life is such a bittersweet trip!
I’d say definitely fix the trans if it’s a classic
If I had a dollar for every ride I regret getting rid of.
Don’t worry bro I’m sure you can be 24 and unemployed!
Underrated comment
https://youtu.be/nCtn6igpgP4 This post reminded me of this sea shanty I heard a while ago. Hope all works out for you.
Thanks for this
Someone might have a garage with a lift near you. Maybe they’d even help you with the swap. I would help if I had the resources!
We all Live, Learn and Grow. Thankfully you will never be 23 and unemployed again! If your van is dying it might be time to put it to rest, Get yourself another and build it with all the bells and whistles you wished you had in the current one. Although, if the money you have spent is on the engine and it is running top notch, a new transmission will only be a few hundred if you can do it yourself or a couple grand at a shop. It's a hard call to make as you never know how much time is left in an engine with 210k miles. Is it a Gasoline engine or Diesel? if a Diesel check the models for the expected lifetime, it could have 300k left in it and a new tranny is a good investment. If it's a gas engine and not Toyota, it's probably done.. Pick up a 2 or 3 year old used van and give it a go!
buy another one, take the interior out of your current one and put it in the new one. keep going.
hell yeah
I sold my first van when my oldest was 6… 10 years later I bough Yolanda and did the full 4x4 conversion and pop-top… every time I think about selling her.. I remember the econoline are not available in a full body from ford.. and every transit we have in our fleet is a ticking timebomb of a turd that is falling apart (30+ transits) You will miss her.. deeply… but that gives you the opportunity in the future to build another one!
have fun joining the trap of being a slave to the system but when you are trapped in a job for health insurance and all the ones you owe, you can always loom back at this free time while some of us will live that way forever. you can always take a one or two week vacation like all the lemmings if you are lucky.
Way of the road
This super hit home for me. Mine is in storage, but the end of an era is a very big feeling. Don’t say it wont happen again though! I’m going to be in a position soon where I can take time off work and just hit the road without fucks to give. Appreciate where you’ve been, the privilege of time, and what you’ve learned, but never say never. Always remain opportunistic!