Things You Ought to Know About How To Rebuild A Transmission

Learning how to rebuild a transmission may help you avoid all some hassles.

A transmission problem can be costly and fixing it is not something like changing the oil or inflating a tire. The repair jobs are complicated and they surely warrant the experience and expertise of skilled mechanics. 

The thought of dealing with a dead transmission is downright scary because it not only keeps draining your wallet but the numerous visits to the garage, hundreds of phone calls with the mechanic, and looking at the adding numbers to the tally of expenses will suck the energy out of you.

Remember that you have to have enough technical knowledge to carry out all the procedures of rebuilding a transmission.

If you are clueless or don’t have enough confidence for technical work, consult a mechanic for doing the job.

Does The Transmission Need A Rebuild?

Before learning how to rebuild a transmission, you have to figure out whether your transmission needs it or not. Sometimes, fixing some parts and replacing a few others are enough to restore the functionality.

How do you know what kind of treatment the transmission needs? Here comes in the experience of a skilled mechanic. 

If you don’t have enough knowledge of the transmission mechanism, let an auto repair shop handle the diagnosis process and identify the root of the problems.

Repairing some parts will cost way less than rebuilding the entire transmission. 

So, it will be a financially smart choice to have it diagnosed by a mechanic you trust or a reputed repair shop. Taking the right decision can save you thousands of dollars.

How To Rebuild A Transmission: A Brief Overview Of The Procedures

How hard is it to rebuild a transmission? Pretty hard and challenging if you are not equipped with the correct knowledge and the right tools.

But, with some know-how, attention to fine details, and skills of handling automobile mechanisms, you can learn how to rebuild a transmission.

Step 1# Purchase A Transmission Rebuild Kit

The kit has all the tools that you need for the reconstruction and some replacement parts.

There are four types of kits and they may or may not include gaskets, bushings, seals, bands, clutches, washers, modulators, filters, and O-rings.

You should buy the right kit that has all the components and tools necessary to complete the process.

Step 2# Transmission Removal

The next lesson of how to rebuild a transmission is to detach the entire engine block. Along with it, unhitch the torque converter and transmission oil pan too before removing the transmission. 

Do it carefully because it has several parts that look similar. Not keeping a track of them may cause a mix-up.

After the disassembly, drain the fluid. You can put a label on every part so that there is no confusion during the reassembly.

SEE MORE: 

• Mistakes to Avoid When Transmission Fluid Turns Black
• Fix the Broken Tail Light by Yourself!

Step 3# Cleaning And Replacing

When you are rebuilding the transmission, it means that you already know which parts to replace and which ones to keep.

After the disassembly, clean the components that you are going to keep and replace the broken ones with new products.

Step 4# Reassemble Everything

The last part is putting all the components back together into their casings. Completely functioning parts won’t work if you assemble them the wrong way. The labeling of the parts will come handy at this stage.

After the reassembly, perform all the pressure tests to be sure that you have done it right. It is better to have it checked by an experienced mechanic before you start driving the car.

How Long Does It Take To Rebuild A Transmission? 

You already know how to rebuild a transmission but how long does it take? Well, it depends solely on yourself – how skilled you are and the pace of your work.

But, it may take one to four days when you have sent it to a garage. A day’s work means the transmission is already diagnosed for problems and removed from the engine.

It will take four to five days if the mechanic has to find out the problems, remove it, do some repairs, and then reinstall it.

It will take fewer days if you decide to rebuild the whole system because most of the parts will be replaced anyway.

How Much Is the Cost Of A Transmission Rebuild?

A complete rebuild can cost somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000. Remember that a rebuild kit is not expensive.

You can keep the expenses down by doing it yourself. A repair shop asks for that much money because of the labor costs.

Other factors that play in determining the final figure are the type of the transmission, make and model of the vehicle, and the prices of the damaged parts.

Rebuilding the transmission of a luxury or sports brands like Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, or Porsche will be more expensive than a regular Toyota or Honda car.