tranmission advice?

[voyager]

i think something is going to have to be done soon..

the car is a 95 Z26 with 198,000mi

at WOT she won't shift; just hangs in whatever gear until i back off. am guessing the clutch disc is worn. there is a clunk at hard aceleration at the 1-2 shift.

not too long ago, the 1-2 solenoid melted, causing a very bothersome short..

i've never had an auo tranny before - i guess 200k is a good lifespan?

i want to do a 5-spd swap, since opportunity presents itself, but my wife is against it because of the complications.

how much will it cost to have the transmission rebuilt/replaced with a new one? I have the suspicion that it will cost about the same or possibly less to swap to a manual..

what are the pros/cons of either route? am i right in thinking the thing is about to completely crap out on me?


-thanks-

[IsaacHayes]

the 1-2 soleniod melted, well that doesnt sound good. I'd say probably ~ 1-2 grand to have a trans rebuilt. You'll want to get a new valve body too as those tend to wear and leak and then burn up the new clutches in your rebuilt tranny..

But it could be cheaper, but i doubt it if you have all those problems... You could go for a junkyard tranny, but I'm not sure if they still make the 4t60-e (replaced by a weaker 4t45-e), and if they do it won't have the right gear ratio (vans/bigger cars are different).... You'd have to get one from a simalar sized car or another L body, and verify it's in good shape too though!!

The 5spd swap requires some wiring, old style "h" sub frame, the trans, axles, console peice, flywheel, and I think you must weld just one braket/mount. You may loose ABS if you're swapping from an older car that didn't have it. Several members on the board did it, but not sure if any of them have a complete writeup on what you need. You'd want to have a new clutch/throw-out bearing etc put into the manual before you bolt it up of course.

You'll loose a lot of weight (more speed, better handling), have more efficent drive train (more HP & Trq put to the wheels) and have better gearing. Your car will be A LOT faster basically. But it will be a project. But if you're taking out the auto trans your self to have it repaired, might as well just put in a 5spd if you have the tools/shop space to do it.