Transmission repair question

[Papa_Smurf]

I have only had to have a transmission worked on once. I do most of my own work, but I don't know tranny stuff. I had an MG B clutch replaced once for 300 bucks, but thats it so I don't have a feel for what that stuff costs. I'm looking at a 84 F250 with a bad clutch, what do you guys estimate it will cost to have fixed? worst case scenario?

Thanks guys

[maniacmechanic]

1st thing is 2wd or 4wd ?
if it's 2wd it shouldn't be a lot more than the MGB
Labor will normally equal parts costs , so if parts are 300$ labor will be close to the same

[Papa_Smurf]

I knew I forgot a detail. It's 4 wheel drive.

[Psicko]

It sounds as if you are just replacing the clutch plate. if thats the case, it "shouldn't" be too hard. the reason why I put that in parenthesis, is because every once in awhile, you will get the bad one. one time i was replacing the clutch of a truck, and someone, most likely put locktite on the bell housing bolts. ANyways, back to the subject. get yourself one of those books for your truck at an auto store. Read up on it, and if you feel comfortable doing it, it normally takes a few hours. If not, get a friend that works on vehicles, get him some beer, supply the new parts and there you go.

if you are replacing more than the clutch plate, and actually working on the transmission itself, then definatly take it into a shop.

[skife]

a clutch is pretty straight forward, i'd drop the transmission to do a clutch, while at the parts store get a "clutch kit" it will include a throwout bearing, clutch disk, pressure plate and alignment tool. some of them include a pilot bearing that goes into the crank shaft of the motor, make sure you replace the pilot bearing while your down there too.

It'd also be a good idea checking to see if the rear main seal on the motor or the input shaft seal on the transmission are leaking, if so, replace them, $3 for a seal and a little bit of work will save you from dropping another clutch disk in for awhile.



also, labor isn't always equal to the parts cost, for labor your looking at between $55-85 an hour depending on the shop

lohman probably has a little bit better advice than I do.


edit: also check to see if the flywheel is smooth, it it has lots of grooves in it, pull it off and take it to a machine shop to have them resurface it, its usually only $15-20 or so and will prevent pre-mature wear.

[punkncat]

Bit more work involved with it being a 4wd, but domestics are generally pretty easy to do.
IIRC you will have a rather heavy transfer case attached to the back of the tailshaft so rent a tranny jack, put that thing in the air, and get greasy.

[Lohman446]

Mitchell labor guides show 5.7 hours to do it - figure 6 hours at $50 / hour (my rate) is $300 in labor. HOWEVER, the truck is 20 years old, there is a good chance of things not coming apart well and having to drill out bolts, labor estimates never include this type of thing and you will be charged when they happen.


I assumed it had the 5.8L in it, clutch kits vary depending on gross vehicle weight on this and run retail prices of $190 and $225. If you buy them over the counter (to install yourself) over the counter discounts should put the parts in the $130 or $150 range. These are standard clutches.

Realistically you end up being a $500 to $600 job assuming things go relatively smoothly.

Before buying these old four wheel drives make sure that the system does actually shift into four wheel drive, seized up / broken shift linkages are not uncommon. I would also heavily caution buying any 25 year old vehicle that you cannot drive (I'm assuming the clutch is bad enough it won't move).

This is a hydraulic clutch system, you may end up replacing the clutch master ($105 / $70 over the counter) or clutch slave cylinder ($75 / $50 over the counter). Actually, I would highly recommend replacing the slave cylinder (I beleive its in the bell housting) while doing the clutch. If they charge you anything extra to do it it should be very minor while doing the clutch - like an extra half hour - if anything in labor. Obviously you will have the price of the parts.