Can I go to a regular trans shop for a trans replacement?

DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
I have a bad transmission in my '97 disco with 48k miles and Cottman's can do the removal and replacement for about half that of my local Land Rover dealer.

I could save about $500 - is there any special expertise envolved in doing this at a LR shop that I should consider?

Thanks
Samer
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
yeah - I was going to order the transmission (a reconditioned unit) from Phoenix Hard Parts out of Texas and have Cottman's do the labor for their flat fee of $500 or so... That's just the labor price. LR shop costs about $1100 to do the job at about 12 hours...but not sure if there is a level of expertise needed...special care for installing it...things to look out for....Land Rover specialty things that they could foul up.
 
L

Lucas

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2004
331
0
Massachusetts
I would beware of Cottman. :shooter2: I had some work done by a local Cottmans dealer and they screwed me in a big way. Even when I complained to their corporate headquarters I got the " we don't give a shit about you " response. Low price doesn't always equal great service or quality.
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Thanks for the heads up - I hate taking my car anywhere to be honest with you - would rather do it myself but a trans replacement is such a headache I would rather do it elsewhere.

What was the issue you had? Anything to beware of?

Samer
 
L

Lucas

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2004
331
0
Massachusetts
Two things. You can choose which was worse.

4 weeks to replace my transmission. :banghead:

OR

having the drain plug fall out and loosing my fluid 10 minutes after picking it up. :eek:

I slam Cottman :biggun: every chance it get.
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Hey thanks...Good to know - 12 hours seemed like very long to me but this is my first 4x4 so reading about all the extra work I assumed it was okay.. - just curious...how does one look up book time for Land Rover and other repairs? Is there an online source? What's the standard book mechanics reference?

thanks a lot,
Samer
 
H

hywy61

Well-known member
May 25, 2004
730
0
atlanta, ga
had them replace the tranny in my nissan pathfinder

labor only

got a used tranny from a junkyard - with a guarantee.

They forgot to tighten a bolt - leakage was easily fixed once then tightened it.

Twisted two electrical wires together and just left them dangling - no tape - cap anything.

On the plus side i saved $1000 by not going to the dealer and drove the truck another 40 K with no problems at all.

So, if they guarantee the work and you get a quality used tranny from somewhere else, go for it.

I had little faith in the mechanics there but the bossman was good.

Maybe call around and get a few other quotes.
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Well the Cottman's shop here seems to have a good tech in charge - at least in the sense he took time to explain the insides of a trans for me and talked me through what a "Governer" does etc..

I will do it if they let me oversee the work and I plan on reading about the entire procedure to make sure they flush the coolant lines and don't take any short cuts.

I just want to know from any members if there is anything specific to look out for in this repair... I just don't want to spend $500 extra for a LR shop for no reason.
 
jakew

jakew

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2006
100
0
portland, or
do not have a local trans shop replace trans. this is a job for land rover techs only. take truck to certified land rover center. do a search for " crazy transmission shop" on this site and you will see what you get from local trans shops.
 
M

macklow

Well-known member
May 3, 2004
398
0
Las Vegas, NV
try asking around at other long-established independent shops who they recommend... like speed shops, driveline shops, engine repbuilders, machine shops and so on.

In every town/city I've lived in/near, there's always a few places (sometimes only one!) that everyone recommends. They usually don't advertise, and may not even be listed in the yellow pages. Probably will not be the cheapest, but are the ones you can trust to do a good job.
 
MUSKYMAN

MUSKYMAN

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2004
8,277
0
OverBarrington IL
jakew said:
do not have a local trans shop replace trans. this is a job for land rover techs only. take truck to certified land rover center. do a search for " crazy transmission shop" on this site and you will see what you get from local trans shops.
Click to expand...

:smilelol: :smilelol: :smilelol: :smilelol:

lota people laughing at you for that one
 
CindyRover

CindyRover

Active member
May 4, 2006
33
0
San Antonio
Land Rover of Phoenix replaced my transmission and drive shaft and they totally screwed it up! I had to take it to an independent shop to get it fixed properly. I have had so many problems with different dealers (Houston, Phoenix and Austin), I think they are incompetent, horrible customer service (as in UNPROFESSIONAL) and their primary focus is how much $$$$ they can get out of you. I won't even allow a dealer to touch my rover at this point.
 
ptschram

ptschram

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2004
21,955
50
In the shop doing the Lord's work one broken Rover
www.ptschram.com
There are good and bad in both Dealerships and independents. There may even be good and bad techs at dealers and indpendents, there may even be good and bad days at dealers and independents.

Nobody's perfect. A transmission swap is a transmission swap. With the exception of the lifting cradle, there is nothing special about a Land Rover transmission compared with nearly any other transmission on the market. Given how common ZF transmissions are, it's very likely your local transmission shop may well be very familiar with them.

It's a very common transmission in european vehicles and is making more and more impact on domestics every day.
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Guys - thanks for the many opinions on this. I know there are differences in quality from shop to shop - I know I do my own work when I can becuase I don't trust most techs with my cars.

But fundamentally I guess Im trying to find out if there are any specific things unique to the Land Rover - electricals could be damaged, torquing of bolts that could be done wrong, special processes that your average do-everything trans shop could really screw up.

It's a matter of saving about 500-600 dollars..and the whole truck is work about 6-7k and the whole trans seems to need a replacement.

For those who know about transmissions - here were the symptoms. Slipped between 3-4 while in D, but would shift to 4 well if done manually by moving the shifter from 3-D while on the road. This happened shortly after buying the vehicle...it did coincide with the first time I shifted the transfer case from low to high and back - and it made a grinding noise (gear grind) for a minute...but I don't see the corellation.

Then about a month later while driving - all drive gears are gone....forward and revearse...as thought there is no pressure in the trans.

when the slipping happened I was told I needed a new trans..and it was a bad clutch pack - but now I think it could have just been a failing pump...or something keeping the fluid from circulating.

Thanks for the adivce.
 
DC97

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Thanks for asking about this again - I did actually take your advice and make sure it was locked in gear...it seems to be engaged..unless there is some internal failing which keeps it from engaging while making it appreas so - I'm not familar with how the t-case works...

Is there some t-case failing I can look for? I could'nt even find a plug to check the oil level in it.

Just to make sure - today I'm going to try it again and make sure it is engaging...and re-post this evening.

Thanks a lot,
Samer
 
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