Looking for a replacement transmission, any tips?

[Wes]

A couple months back I posted about my 2001 Hyundai Elantra losing a transmission http://www.ericthecarguy.com/kunena/8-Service-and-Repair-Questions-Answered-Here/60285-automatic-transmission-failure-need-adivce. So far a decision as what to do with the car hasn’t been reached and I’m getting sick of seeing it just sitting in the driveway slowly dying, plus I might be moving and don’t to deal with hauling it around on a trailer. So I’m going to look into repairing it and my question is basically where do I start? I’ve looked into Pull-A-Part but they don’t have any locations in my state (I live in California) and the junkyards near me tend to be poorly rated, though I know internet rating should be taken with a grain of salt. I haven’t been able to find any remaned ones for sale so I’m pretty sure I’ll to go for a used one. If I find one is there anything in particular I need to look for other than the obvious like leaks and external damage?

I know that in the linked thread I said that fixing it was no longer an option and I’m not really in any better a financial situation now, but I just need to do something about that car since a decision isn’t likely to happen soon.

Thanks for reading.
Wes

Topic

[Rashaad]

You can go to car-parts.com and enter your part information and zip code. That site will give you all the junk yards in your area with the part your looking for.

[zero]

[quote=”ATLjunkcars” post=161909]You can go to car-part.com and enter your part information and zip code. That site will give you all the junk yards in your area with the part your looking for.[/quote]

It will show you every available part in North America.

Just make sure you do a cost analysis before you start ripping into it.

[Cameron]

Either have a decent rebuilt transmission fitted to get it mobile again or sell off the vehicle . A functioning 2001 elantra model with lots of miles is only worth around 2000 full retail or less. As a trade in you might get 1200 on a running car. I would not be spending any cash on your car with a dead auto. Contact your mechanic and ask him what he will charge you to remove and refit a transmission in labour charges because that cost alone will be expensive The car is really a junker now. You will be better off just selling it off as is for what you can get and be done with it. .

[Mike]

[quote=”cam0888″ post=162099]Either have a decent rebuilt transmission fitted to get it mobile again or sell off the vehicle . A functioning 2001 elantra model with lots of miles is only worth around 2000 full retail or less. As a trade in you might get 1200 on a running car. I would not be spending any cash on your car with a dead auto. Contact your mechanic and ask him what he will charge you to remove and refit a transmission in labour charges because that cost alone will be expensive The car is really a junker now. You will be better off just selling it off as is for what you can get and be done with it. .[/quote]

While this POV has a certain economic logic, it only goes so far. If the OP actually needs this car (or any car) for transportation, it would probably be much more expensive to replace the current vehicle with another (seemingly) reliable vehicle, plus he/she would be starting over with a basket full of completely unknown potential issues.

Regardless of what the market value of a vehicle may be, it often makes more sense to dance with the devil you know than the devil you don’t, especially if finances are limited.

[Erin]

I assume the trans is an auto? Count on a shop quoting between $2,000 and $3,000. But that is not what you asked…

So about getting one out of a junk yard –
There are three things that will typically land a car in a junk yard –
1) Car is wrecked. In that case, the engine/trans might still be good. 2) Bad engine 3) Bad trans.

So at the junkyard, if a car is not wrecked, rest assured the engine or trans crapped out big time. Putting in a used trans that only MIGHT work is going to be a lot of hassle.

[Author]

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