Transmission shop - what strategy to go with?

[janos_z]

My transmission has sprung a leak and may need a rebuild. Not sure yet; car's in the shop now. In the meantime, I'm doing some preemptive research in case I get bad news from my mechanic. I'm in the "98%" Gerry referred to in another post -- I will not be rebuilding the transmission myself.

If I'm interpreting previous posts here correctly, Sun Valley gets top marks, and Schmid seems like a viable, but inferior, alternative -- though some folks have had bad experiences with both. A third option would be to get a Mercedes remanufactured transmission, but at a higher cost.

Since I live in the Bay Area, Schmid is local -- this may be preferable in case I need to get the transmission dialed in or get warranty work done down the road. OTOH, if SV is qualitatively better, it may make more sense to deal with them remotely.

Or I could have my mechanic go through the dealership and get an MB remanufactured unit. Has anyone here gone that route, and can they speak to the experience? Are there other shops, especially in the SF Bay Area, that I should consider? BTW looks like Schmid got absorbed by Autohaus Burlingame at some point; has the quality of their work changed since then?

Thanks in advance. Will keep you guys posted either way.

 

[szvook]

Is the transmission acting up, that would make think a rebuilt is needed? How many miles are on it? Where you able to lift the car locate the leak?

 

[gsxr]

The trans should not need a rebuild to repair a fluid leak, unless it's a leak at the pump or converter where the trans must be removed to repair the leak... at that point, due to cost of labor, a full rebuild may not be a bad idea. Generally the internals don't wear out until 150-200kmi, sometimes even longer. Otherwise, you replace the leaking seal(s) with the trans in the car.

I wasn't impressed with Schmid's work 8-10 years ago. I don't know if they have new people or business practices, but if you go that route, insist on ALL new parts. That means new O/L switch, new vacuum modulator, new Bowden cable, everything. None of this "re-use whatever seems ok" crap. Maybe since they are under new management, their kwality has improved? I hope so.

Dealership transmissions have become insanely expensive last I heard... like 3x-4x the cost of Sun Valley. Nice if you have the $$$ but I'd rather pay Blue Ridge for a custom/blueprinted trans for less money.

 

[TX Benz Driver]

I put a Sun Valley transmission in my 500SL and it was a pretty painless experience (other than Covid delays). Marc can also ship a transmission to your shop for installation. Shipping was reasonable and the transmission worked well right out of the box.

 

[janos_z]

Haven't heard back yet about the source of the transmission leak from the shop. It's been rebuilt under prior ownership once before, about 10-12 years ago. The reason I'm doing homework about transmission replacement is because of what Dave was saying about labor costs.

In terms of symptoms, besides my garage floor having ATF drips, there's a little slippage when I first put it into drive. No delays actually shifting into D or R, and no flaring between shifts. Once underway, the shifts are smooth and appropriate to driver input.

Another odd thing is that there has never been any "creep" in D (but it's been like that ever since I bought the car 7 years ago). If the car is stopped and I take my foot off the gas, it just sits still. I've always wondered if that's a sign of a torque converter issue, and whether it takes away from HP at the wheels...

 

[janos_z]

PS: I had always assumed that MB-rebuilt transmissions are still done by a third-party that the MB dealer contracts with, and then marks up the costs as a middleman. This is not the case, though, right?

 

[gsxr]

PS: I had always assumed that MB-rebuilt transmissions are still done by a third-party that the MB dealer contracts with, and then marks up the costs as a middleman. This is not the case, though, right?

Unless things have changed, I believe the MB transmissions are rebuilt in Germany, not locally. Which is part of the reason they are insanely expensive.

@Klink?

 

[smilecenterlab]

i had my tran.rebuilt at schmidt a few years ago,it does not work properly!

 

[gsxr]

i had my tran.rebuilt at schmidt a few years ago,it does not work properly!

Was it still Peter Schmid at the time, or Autohaus Burlingame? Do you have a month/year of rebuild?

Also - what was the issue with the trans?

 

[TimL]

Unless things have changed, I believe the MB transmissions are rebuilt in Germany, not locally. Which is part of the reason they are insanely expensive.

@Klink?

I asked at the local MB dealer and they said these are being sent over from Germany when you order them, so I don’t think any local rebuild is involved at all…..

 

[smilecenterlab]

my mechanic took the car there when my reverse stopped engaging,this was in 2018 .now my transmission skips from 2nd to 3rd and then back to 2nd in repetitive way.he charged me $3000

 

[gsxr]

my mechanic took the car there when my reverse stopped engaging,this was in 2018 .now my transmission skips from 2nd to 3rd and then back to 2nd in repetitive way.he charged me $3000

I'd be pretty upset! Don't they have a 2-year warranty?

The problem is very likely in the valvebody. I'd consider sourcing a good used valvebody (either FGS or SGS) and swapping it out, possibly after having Sun Valley inspect & refurb the VB.

 

[smilecenterlab]

thanks,i'll look into that.

 

[janos_z]

Update: the leak is coming from the pump, and I was quoted about $1500 for the job. The shop said they can do it if I want, but that it's not an emergency and I can wait until it gets worse (which is what I think I'll do for now, and then most likely get a rebuilt transmission when it gets worse)

 

[Bill Walsh]

Update: the leak is coming from the pump, and I was quoted about $1500 for the job. The shop said they can do it if I want, but that it's not an emergency and I can wait until it gets worse (which is what I think I'll do for now, and then most likely get a rebuilt transmission when it gets worse)

Just reading this thread now. I had my transmission replaced with a Sun Valley unit last fall. So far I'm very satisfied. Total cost of parts and labor was about $3,150. I used one of SV's rebuilds and sent back by transmission as a core.

Bill

 

[janos_z]

Quick update: car is in the shop because the transmission leak has been getting worse. They still think the pump needs to be re-sealed (they also said they won't know about the torque converter until it's pulled), but are now quoting $2900 for the job.

Does this sound right to folks? $1500 seemed about right to me, not twice that...

 

[nocfn]

the total cost I had for two complete rebuilds was $3800 and $4200 6 years later on a different car. W126/W124. All mb parts and my trans case was blasted and repainted - I kept the OE equipment so the numbers match. That was labor and parts. that was a new mount, new flex disks and carrier bearing.

 

[gerryvz]

Yep, I think $4K all told (parts and labor) for a competent shop to remove, rebuild, replace a 722.3 has been about the going rate for the past 5-10 years or so. Cut that about in half if you R&R your own transmission.

 

[maw1124]

I was around the $3k number as well, which was $1750 for the Sun Valley parts (transmission and FGS VB) and then maybe $1200 for R&R plus fluids (which I supplied), flex disks, whatever else. This was summertime work so probably favored customer rates (shop isn't busy in FL summers so I try to help out and time work for then). That was 2014. Don't have the invoice handy (except for Sun Valley) so maybe there was some other work in there but this is what I recall.

maw

 

[janos_z]

Thanks - to clarify, the $2900 quote is just to reseal the pump. It's not to rebuild the whole transmission. They said if I want to order a whole new transmission from Sun Valley, I can order it directly but their labor costs for installing it would still be around $2500-2900.

 

[maw1124]

That looks like full freight — $125/hr * 10hrs each way (out / in). Or $145/hr * the same. Either way, that’s “walk in off the street” pricing, seems to me. Add another $1k for “while you’re in there” work and it’s a $5k job. Not $5k you’re likely to regret, but $5k nonetheless.

At this point, my view would be if the transmission has to come out for any reason, it's going back in as close to new as possible. There's so much labor in the job you may as well get something you care about out of it (besides no fluid on the floor). At least that way you know they didn't take it out, spray leak seal on it and put it back in.

$.02

maw

 

[gsxr]

Thanks - to clarify, the $2900 quote is just to reseal the pump. It's not to rebuild the whole transmission. They said if I want to order a whole new transmission from Sun Valley, I can order it directly but their labor costs for installing it would still be around $2500-2900.

It's <8 hours for a straight R&R for a shop that knows what they are doing. Probably less for Blue Ridge. $300 per hour seems steep. Or, it's the "we don't want the job" price. What shop is this?

The torque converter should not need replacement unless the area where the seal rides is damaged (which isn't likely). Re-sealing the pump is a couple hours labor on the workbench, plus another couple hours labor to re-seal the entire trans while it's out (seals are cheap, $100 should cover all of them).

If the transmission is original and never rebuilt, and has 100kmi+, installing a complete rebuilt trans might be worth considering due to the high labor cost for R&R. At some other shop that isn't trying to make payments either to their yacht club, or kids college fund.

 

[Jlaa]

I was around the $3k number as well, which was $1750 for the Sun Valley parts (transmission and FGS VB) and then maybe $1200 for R&R plus fluids (which I supplied), flex disks, whatever else. This was summertime work so probably favored customer rates (shop isn't busy in FL summers so I try to help out and time work for then). That was 2014. Don't have the invoice handy (except for Sun Valley) so maybe there was some other work in there but this is what I recall.

maw

@maw1124 - do you mean to suggest that you had sun valley add a FGS VB?

Eventually I will have to rebuild my transmission (prob in a few years). I currently have a FGS VB on there and it works great. I am loath to "eff with it" because it works fine.

Do people here suggest to:

1) Get a rebuilt trans from Sun Valley with another FGS VB on there ---- and then send back the old one (minimizes down time) or
2) Send old trans + existing FGS VB to SV and then wait for them to redo it and send it back (maximizes down time but keeps existing equipment and serial numbers "together")

 

[maw1124]

@Jlaa for your car, I'd keep it numbers matching. Yes, Sun Valley included a FGS VB at my request. Since you're going to send your transmission (or take your car) to him anyway, I'd put the same VB back into the new transmission.

maw

 

[Ascension]

Yep, I think $4K all told (parts and labor) for a competent shop to remove, rebuild, replace a 722.3 has been about the going rate for the past 5-10 years or so. Cut that about in half if you R&R your own transmission.

Yep there a couple solid local shops in Birmingham that will do a full build at about 3500 with a 3 year warranty. Am about to have to build mine as reverse is almost gone now. Wish I still had the tools and place to work as would build it myself. These are very straight forward units and not much different than building say an old GM Turbo 350.

 

[woodman]

I had Autohaus Burlingame go through my 95 w124 wagon trans after doing what you are going through now. Totat cost with a rebuilt torque converter,new rear main seal and trans mount for $3551.96 last year. So far no issues.
I went with them for the reason “one shop repair”. The shop is very clean and busy. Had to wait 2 weeks to get it in and the car was ready in 10 days counting a weekend
I looked into other options but that made the most sense to me.
Good luck with whatever you decide….Woodman

 

[Bill Walsh]

Thanks - to clarify, the $2900 quote is just to reseal the pump. It's not to rebuild the whole transmission. They said if I want to order a whole new transmission from Sun Valley, I can order it directly but their labor costs for installing it would still be around $2500-2900.

My labor costs to R&R the transmission and install the rebuilt unit from Sun Valley was about $1,400.00 in September of 2020.

 

[Ascension]

My labor costs to R&R the transmission and install the rebuilt unit from Sun Valley was about $1,400.00 in September of 2020.

Paul over at Birmingham Benz quoted me right at $800 to R&R the trans on my 420 if I ordered one from Sun Valley. Will still budget at least a grand just in case of any surprises if I get one from Sun Valley . Whole job should be in the $3500 range including fluid ( Redline D 4).
That quote IMO on yours for what they are talking doing is nuts I would run and talk to another shop!

 

[Bill Walsh]

It's called the California tax and actually they're quite reasonable.