1997 ES300 Transmission Rebuild Questions
 

I have a 1997 ES300 that is currently in the shop for tranny problems. The car has 140,000 miles on it. It is at a local shop with a decent reputation but they don't just focus on Lexus/Toyota, they fix all cars, they are located in Phoenix, Sun Devil Auto.

They are telling me that it is going to need a "Master Overhaul Kit" and that the "Electronics" need to be replaced due to "magnetic" fragments from the tranny hurting the electronics?

Here is the kicker, the total cost $3,370 !!!!!!!!!! :eek2:

Does any of this sound right? Should I look into a swap from a local junk yard? How much would that cost.

What are some of the questions that I can ask to make sure that I don't get over charged or have things replaced that are not needed?

Please give me as many inputs as you can because the car is there and torn apart as we speak.

Did they even mention a problem with the pump, as that would be the first place I would look on these trannies. I just had the one in my RX300 worked on for a fractured pump due to a collision, but we had another damaged tranny (same kind) off a RAV4 for parts and that one was a major screwup on the pump. Other thing that might be of note would be the valve body, but the electronics??? I highly doubt the solenoids need changing unless this was noted via an OBD2 test as when you had a check engine light.

The overhaul kit is a norm.

Not sure how much a swap out would cost at a junkyard.

Typical cost for an overhaul of that nature. What is the shops phone number?

It doesn't even cost that much to get a transmission direct from Lexus. Carson sells the transaxle for $1899.65. Factor in labor and you're still ahead of that price by a fair margin.

Sounds similar to my tranny....the E-Shift solenoid and other electronics are being destroyed by little bits of metal in the tranny.
My es is in for its 2nd rebuild @ 215000 miles. $750 parts + labor.

Go buy a used tranny at some shop. I bet it's way cheaper than that place.

Used transmissions aren't very reliable...you can't confirm the mileage, and lets say it has 70 k miles on it..it would probably only last another 60-80 k before needing another tranny/rebuild.

Question, were you guys really hard on the car to need a new transmission?

I have a 98 es300 with 241K miles on the original transmission and I am hoping to get more mileage out of it.

I do drive conservative though.

Okay, here is the estimate break down, do you guys really think all of this stuff needs to be changed? What about the hours, does that seem excessive?

Description Sub-total

Tans overhaul, 19.5 hrs $82/hr $1,599.00
Master overhaul kit $523.65
Converter-New (32000-33021) $648.45
Bushings $47.35
Complete Pump $215.70
All Internal Electronics $242.95
Passenger Side CV Axle $157.50
Fluid and Filter $42.25

Total Warranty 12 months/12000 miles
$50 discount on Labor
$50 discount on parts

Total = $3,376.85 :eek2:

here is the kicker that it cost me $300 dollars just to have him tear it apart and give me an estimate! Which of course will be included in the cost if I have him fix it.

Thanks for your comments....and any help you can give.

What kind of tranny problems was it having, a.k.a. what did you feel necesitated servicing the tranny?

For that kind of money, you should have a longer warranty, in my Not-So-Humble opinion.

Jasper transmission (remanufactured) for my '93 is $2,000 and change, and comes with a 3 Year - 100,000 mile warranty.


Before you agree to the rebuild. . . ask your repair facility about the install of a Jasper Transmission!

Just my 2¢.

The car stopped running, basically it would not go into gear. So, I had to have it towed to the shop.

Byf43, could you please expand a little on the Jasper Transmission? Is this a rebuilt transmission that my mechanic would simply buy and install? What does this transmission come with, everything stated in my estimate above? (i.e. internal electronics, pump, converter, etc..)

Oh yeah, and where can I get the Jasper Transmission? does the $2K include installation?

Whats the phone number to the Sun Devil your vehicle is at?

Why are you asking about the Jasper unit when I told you above that a factory direct unit is even cheaper? :uh:

Sony Man,

Thanks for reposting that and clarifying it. I didn't catch it at first. So, I started then looking for a better deal.

Well basically what has happened is that I decided that there was definitely something fishy going on with this shop.

So, I ended up on Craigs list and found someone that had a transmission shop and explained everything on my quote. He basically said that he had a shop that was a transmission wholesaler and actually supplied the transmissions to SunDevilAuto where my car was. Which then really upset me because at that point it was obvious that SunDevilAuto was charging me for all of these additional parts and labor individually when all they are doing is buying the finished product from this guy at a Much, Much lower price!

Long story short I went back to SunDevilAuto and told them that I could not afford it, he said he could reduce some of the price by using used parts. So, basically they charged me $300 for an estimate and then when I didn't like the estimate they were going to charge me another $300 dollars to put it back the way it was!!!!

I told them don't put it back together and I had a tow truck come and pick it up and take it to the shop that I found on Craigs list. They told me that they have the transmission in stock, rebuilt already for $895, plus $395 labor for install, plus misc. oil filter etc. for a total of $1400! That is about $1800 cheaper than SunDevilAuto.

And the final kicker is that the new place is giving me a 2year warranty and SunDevilAuto was only going to give me a 1year warranty!

What do you guys think about all of this? :uh: