PSHistorian

I need you guys' expertise. I am considering buying a 1991 RX-7 convertible, but the car has "issues." I know the clutch (standard transmission) needs rebuilding/replacing, but I'm concerned that the entire transmission has been burned out. I hear that replacing is preferred to rebuilding, but no one seems to say what the COST of these processes might be. Can someone give me their own experience with the cost of having a reliable trannie shop rebuild and/or replace the standard transmission? Are we talking $1000, $2000, $3000, or what? Just some general guidance will help me decide whether or not to buy this car. The last transmission I had rebuilt was on an GM car and it cost only $750! Thanks!

Jeppy

you could get a used tranny for well under 1,000 im sure if you look around this site a litttle a lot of people with spare parts on here!

texFCturboII

iTrader: (17)

yea look at the classifieds. vibration could also be a sign that your driveshaft is bent.

rxdrift7

iTrader: (3)

I got a good used n/a 5 speed transmission for 80 bucks. + 1 for classifieds.

RyosukeD

iTrader: (2)

Or bad u-joints.


Mounts are also a possibility.

micah

Yea... "bent driveshaft" isn't what I would start troubleshooting first.

RyosukeD

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, not sure if I have heard of that one before.

phoenix7

me neither. Explain the vibrations.

at speed? what speed/RPM?
Clutch in or out??

please be more detailed in future posts. It's not fun to have to pull teeth.

PSHistorian

Dentistry isn't necessary, since I wasn't trying to diagnose the source of the vibration. While I do appreciate all the responses to that underlying issue, I was hoping for an answer to the actual question. I was trying to run scenarios ranging from something relatively simple like a broken transmission mount to something catastrophic like total transmission failure. I know the cost, both parts and labor, of replacing broken transmission or engine mounts, or even replacing a drive shaft with bad U-joints. What I don't know, and can't find out from a repair shop over the Christmas break, is the cost of rebuilding or replacing a manual transmission, parts and labor. I was hoping someone had been through the process before and remembered roughly what they had paid their mechanic. I'm looking at a car that I need to buy or not buy within the next 48 hours, before someone else scoops it up. But if having the transmission done is going to cost more than 25% of the purchase price of the car, I won't buy it. So one more time: Has anyone paid a mechanic to rebuild or replace a manual transmission recently, and if so, roughly what did it cost? $1000? $2000? $3000? Thank you.

phoenix7

you write well but you need to take a step back and relax.


What would happen if you get the tranny rebuilt and it still vibrates?

Common sense, to me, is to first FIND the source of the problem and THEN repair. If I shoot first, ask questions later, I'd be BROKE.

Expect at least 300 for labor.

PSHistorian

Thanks, Phoenix, for the answer. Did you notice in my own questions that I did not yet own the car? As I stated in the original question, I was only considering buying it, and had limited time in which to act. I was therefore assessing the approximate cost of worst-case scenarios, in an effort to determine whether my budget would cover both the purchase of the vehicle AND the cost of making worst-case repairs. And since it was Christmas weekend, it was not possible to get a definitive diagnosis of the nature of the problem. None of the local repair shops were open and the seller was more clueless than I am (he thought the vibration was normal). Never having replaced an RX-7 transmisison, I did not have a clue what the total expense might be. But I went ahead and made a gut-instinct decision and bought the car anyway. It's now at a transmission shop and I am waiting to hear from them what the issue most likely is and what the final repair cost will be.

LSD-Ryu

To have it replaced? I'd say more then is necessary. A friend had a 240 and he had someone swap out his auto tranny to a 5-speed. Total cost was around $800 or so after the purchase of the 5-speed, which we got from a junk yard.

Buuut, different friend, another 240, we swapped the tranny out ourselves by going online and getting a writeup. Total cost = $125 for the tranny.

The vibrations sound like a u-joint. I had the same problem about two months ago. Vibrations that would only go away at 85+mph. It started getting really bad at low speeds, then bam, the joints went. Destoyed my driveshaft and front mount as well.

The fix could be simple, new u-joints. A shop might tell you otherwise so you would end up having to spend more to get your transmission repaired or replaced. More work for them = more money.

I'd suggest taking a look at it yourself, and replacing the parts. All you have to do is unbolt the driveshaft and pull the exhaust down... good luck.

camman

In answer to your actual question, I just recently purchased parts to fix my manual turbo trans. I am a tech at a jeep dealer that owns a mazda dealer. My cost on parts was just over $400. This is just for 1 syncro hub, all blocker rings and seals and shifter bushings. Labor to overhaul the trans is between 8 and 9.5 hrs depending on turbo or not. A complete trans can cost anywhere from a couple hundred at a junk yard to 2800 new. Labor to just replace the trans is 3.5hrs. So depending on what is wrong greatly determines the cost difference between replace or repair.