That's Insane!
You could have got an entire Martin Saine Indestructible Transmission for less than that
I'd speak to service manager about it
the retainer clips are from the band and sometimes they just Break and they can be fixed for a lot less that 2k + if caught early enough.
I don't buy it >
You said No problems before I'd fight like hell I'm guessing its a scam! If the Clips on the bands broke youi would have had some shifting issues. That much damage in general would never have gone unnoticed by you.
BS!
Steve
DOC Pres

 

I agree. They could install the MS tranny for the labor cost to r&r and your cost for the best tranny in the world would come out to be about the same. You just have to ship the old tranny back. Call Service writer and tell them to hold on everything. It'll take a few more days, due to logistics, but it's well worth it.

 

If he tell syou he started already tell him to STOP!
My Guess he ordered a reman crappo tranny Call Now!
Hope it works for you
Once the dealer is on hold Call Fastman and order that new Tranny
Steve
DOC Pres

 

It's too late to do anything now, the tranny is out and is all in pieces. The thing is that the service writer (over the phone) told me that it'd be $600 plus parts to fix, so I authorized it. Turns out the $600 is just for the diagnostic, but is included in the $2,050 total cost. I never would have paid $600 just to find out what's wrong with my transmission, and especially not if I had known it'd be a $2K repair. Talked to Dan Arcand today and he said there's a very long wait to get the Martin Saine tranny, and that the price the dealer is charging me is very good for a dealership, and that the best thing I can do right now's let the dealer continue and just "grin and bare it". Had I known they were going to charge so much, I'd have ordered the Martin Saine and kept driving my D until it arrived. Remember, my tranny was working great and just took it in for scheduled maintenance, got the bad news, and then I thought the repair was only going to be a few hundred dollars. Now, did the reverse flushes damage my transmission? Thanks.
Dan

 

My guess would be no. I've never heard of a flush hurting the retainer clips?more like the valve body and the tranny cooler and lines, which, in turn causes other problems. Maybe it did cause some of that but since that's all that's wrong (is it?) I'd say no but I suppose some of those shavings on the magnet could be the aftermath of a damaging flush. Anyone else seen a flush do that to retainer clips and bands?

Those flushes are harsh on your tranny, it stirs up all the crap in the bottom of your pan and forces it through your entire system, so all that trash that wasn't in your lines gets shot through there and some of it gets stuck and some of it tears through damaging things along the way. I've seen a few DC trannys get tossed in the dumpster because of flushes, I had that experience myself about 7 years ago.

I don't know, sounds like the dealer may be up to something but you authorized a $600 repair?not a $600 disgnostic. Legally and enforcably, you only authorized $600 unless you signed something to the effect that phone authorizations are allowed for that $2K repair. Just saying?

 

As long as they noted time of the call and amount on the order, phone authorizations are legal in almost any state. Unfortunately, that's the way it works.

 

Yeah sorry about that. After I read what I wrote, I even confused myself. I was meaning to ask is when you signed your diagnostic order they should have given you an amount and it sounded like they later quoted $600 and that was authorized by phone. I was trying to ask if the $2k was authorized or just sprung on you after the fact?

Sorry about that?thinking of too many things at once.

 

man. now I'm afraid to have my tranny flushed. I was thinking about getting it done as I'm coming up on 113K on my 98. I've owned it since 96K and know very little about the past owner other than he's a moron.

would a filter and fluid change work for now?

 

DON'T FLUSH!! Not just me that feels that way, I'm betting the vast majority of folks on here agree. Dan Arcand and Martin Saine to name the two you'll hear most about here, are the varitable authority on Dodge systems and they'd tell you the same.

Drop your pan, clean it out really well and of course look for damage and wear, change the filter out, toss on a new gasket and you'll be good to go. If you have real dirty or burnt up fluid, just repeat the same in a couple months to get your old fluid out for good. Some guys will swear by a flush because it removes about 90% of the old fluid where a pan change only does about half. Even still, it's the crap in the pan you really want out and if you want, just repeat it and rest in knowing you're not destroying your tranny.

I had a BRAND NEW tranny in a Ram, replaced due to a rock accident. I had it flushed thinking it was the right thing to do and my brand new tranny needed a rebuild at 35,000 miles. Ridiculous.

So yeah man, just clean up the pan, change your filter and refill it and if you're a little leary since the previous owner was a moron, do it again in a little while if you think you need to. Don't forget to adjust your bands if your D has them. I'm at 106K now and I just did mine, everything was good to go. Cottman transmissions is a good shop to go to because they ONLY do dropped pan work, they don't use flushing machines and they should know how to adjust your bands. All that for about $75. I do it myself though, so I can look around in there and see if everything is alright.

If you need help on band adjustment, let me or one of the other guys know and we'll get you the info. I'll scan and post or email the page from the factory service manual for ya. All it's is just backing off some bolts and re-tightening them to a specific torque setting. Easy as pie.

Save your tranny and don't flush and rebuild like so many of us have.

 

Wahte he said pretty much covered it all :cheesy: :cheesy:
Steve
DOC Pres

 

NO ONE charges $600 for a diagnostic fee. BS. They quoted you $600 + parts and that sounds about right. Stand your ground and cry FOUL? loudly!

No the clips don't come off via a flush unless they were already damaged/broken. Flushes usually clog the lines due to the muck they stir up.

Never flush the tranny (RebelX and others.) Drop the pan, change the filter (real Mopar filters ARE a better quality filter than aftermarket tranny shop filters), have the bands adjusted (5.2L/5.9L owners, not 4.7s) and then refill with real ATF+4 (not a tranny shop custom blend that's "just as good".)

Finally, stop going to the dealer for things expertly covered elsewhere. Transmission shops are the real expects in transmissions since they work on them everyday.

IndyDurango

 

NO ONE charges $600 for a diagnostic fee. BS. They quoted you $600 + parts and that sounds about right. Stand your ground and cry FOUL? loudly!

No the clips don't come off via a flush unless they were already damaged/broken. Flushes usually clog the lines due to the muck they stir up.

Never flush the tranny (RebelX and others.) Drop the pan, change the filter (real Mopar filters ARE a better quality filter than aftermarket tranny shop filters), have the bands adjusted (5.2L/5.9L owners, not 4.7s) and then refill with real ATF+4 (not a tranny shop custom blend that's "just as good".)

Finally, stop going to the dealer for things expertly covered elsewhere. Transmission shops are the real expects in transmissions since they work on them everyday.

IndyDurango

Ask to see the owner or general manager of the dealership sounds like someone is getting there quota up!
Steve
DOC Pres

 

When you do your first pan drop, install a B&G drain plug. That way you can do a drain and fill inbetween pan-drops & filter changes. You also have the benefit of having an easier pan drop with the drain plug.

 

When you do your first pan drop, install a B&G drain plug. That way you can do a drain and fill inbetween pan-drops & filter changes. You also have the benefit of having an easier pan drop with the drain plug.

How do you fill in the drain plug? Any links to review?

TIA,

IndyD

 

Its a B and M drain Plug Kit Indy!
You remove Pan, Drill hole in pan at desired location for plug then you install the plug Body and tighten then there's a removable plug that threads into that.
Just Search B and M Drain Plug
Steve
DOC Pres

 

Its a B and M drain Plug Kit Indy!
You remove Pan, Drill hole in pan at desired location for plug then you install the plug Body and tighten then there's a removable plug that threads into that.
Just Search B and M Drain Plug
Steve
DOC Pres

I'm not good at finding things on the internet. :roll:

IndyD

 

:doh: :doh: :doh:
YEAH OK!

Steve
DOC Pres

 

Well, you ready for the full story? I'll give you the ending first. Today is day twelve, and I won't have my D this weekend. It all started by dropping off my D for a water pump replacement and scheduled maintenance on the front differential and transmission, on Monday night May 23. They said I'd get it back by Wednesday. Every day since that Wednesday, they call me twice a day at about 9AM and 3PM to inform me of the progress, or lack of same. Jump to last Friday, water pump is finally done, but the transmission service had bad news of lots of debris on the magnet, in the fluid, and two pieces of a broken clip in the pan. My transmission up to the time I brought it in was working perfectly, and I never would have suspected any issues. I have always done the scheduled maintenance on my D as required, and I found out that the dealer does reverse flush on the transmission every other time. I'll never allow this again! So last Friday when they gave me the bad news, I agreed to a $600 labor charge plus parts to fix my tranny. OK, not life threatening. Monday night the 30th, they call (and me thinking it's done) and say it'll cost $2050 for the rebuild. That's not what they told me on Friday. At this point my car and transmission are in pieces, and I'm already at least $600 into the repair, and I just want my car back, so I tell them OK to fix it. Many loud (2 calls per day, plus two visits) and frustrating days later. they call me Thursday night May 3rd. "We found more parts (few hundred dollars worth) damaged by debris, but we won't charge extra on the labor". "THIS IS INSANE" I told them. Found out the service manager was there (he was conviently sick on my other two visits) and told them "I'M COMING IN TO SEE YOU BOTH RIGHT NOW", and left work immediately. Before I was halfway there, they called and said they'll install all the new parts for no additional charge. Today, no calls from them, so I already new there wouldn't be any good news. After three unanswered calls after work, they finally called me. I knew by his tone that I wouldn't be seeing my D today. "They just test drove your car and it won't shift out of third gear". I very calmly said "OK, call me back when you know more". At this point it's almost comical. They just called back a few minutes ago and said they'll be replacing the valve body tomorrow for no additional charge, and try to have it done before closing. Any bets on that? My service writer isn't a bad guy, so I've tried to be civil and polite with him for the most part, but this is completely crazy at this point. I have also demanded to be comp'd for part of the $30/day rental car, and I want more than the standard 12mo. warranty. They agreed to a partial comp on the rental, and waiting to hear on the warranty (pretty sure I'll need it.) I'm not writing this to get any sympathy, I just don't want anyone else to go through what I'm going through. If they ever find debris in your transmission, get it the hell out of there fast, and call the Fastman. Good advice that I wish I had taken. Also, don't allow the reverse flush on your transmission ever. I hear nothing but bad about it.
Dan

 

That's very hard to have to go through. I hope after it's all said and done that everything works right.

If they can't make it work, have them eat the tranny (specially when it worked just fine when you brought it in) and order the Fastman. I know there's a time factor, but in the long run you might be money and time ahead to do that.

 

I certainly hope this will turn out OK. It's costing me plenty in time, money, and sanity. The dealer is probably going to lose money on this job. Everyone is frustrated, and I honestly believe the dealer is trying to do a good job, and is replacing all parts that have damage. I'm trying to be a tolerant customer as the dealership with all their faults, are trying to work with me now. How's that Martin Saine working for you? I may have to eventually get one myself.

 

They're idiots
Do what Mike said
Steve
DOC Pres

 

Any tranny man worth his salt could have that tranny out 2 times a day and completely rebuild it from front to back. If they don't have it right by now, they never will have.

I just love my tranny. It's the best I have ever run. My dealership installed mine, and the tranny guy asked me who built it, 'cause he was so impressed by the way it ran.

 

Give them 1 more (very short) strike and bail on the repair. Find ANYTHING to bow out on their work at this point? even a failure to return your call. They have had the D way to long so now you need to take control back.

Tell them you haven't the confidence in their work and in instead of suing them, or letting the media know about their incompetance, you have an alternative plan.

Order a Fastman unit, and have the dealer guilted into providing the loaner until it arrives. They can park your D out in there service lot. Tell them once YOUR rebuild gets there, you WILL pay THEM $600 plus a little extra for the labor to swap out the unit they destroyed with the unit you bought.

All bases settled. They get a little, you get a lot, they safe face.

If they say no, explode in all directions, the BBB, the news media, Chrysler's service line, their owner, etc etc etc.

IndyDurango

 

ripoffreport.com can be another place to go to.

I agree, they're operating in bad faith right now and an alternative resolution is awfully reasonable. I know they seem to doing all they can but 12 days later is ridiculous, not to metntion the obvious fact that your tranny doesn't shift out of 3rd now that they have "fixed" a transmission that had no apparent issues to begin with.

 

ripoffreport.com can be another place to go to.

I agree, they're operating in bad faith right now and an alternative resolution is awfully reasonable. I know they seem to doing all they can but 12 days later is ridiculous, not to metntion the obvious fact that your tranny doesn't shift out of 3rd now that they have "fixed" a transmission that had no apparent issues to begin with.

They may be doing all they can but they're not doing the job right
Steve
DOC Pres