Title: Transmission Service DIY Anyone? E-z service?

Im using my smart, crackerack/gifted/top shelf (even though he's quite young, 37 y.o.), mobile mechanic, he--

But, he charges $60 more than my local repair shop

Anyway, willing to pay that,.... i believe in being loyal to 1 repair person (who has by the way provided great results in the past) and helping a very small business

this mobile mechanic was so "crackerjack good," that he put back my camaro's serpentine belt after a much older supposed ASE cert. retired mechanic couldn't do it

He used a special device to put the Serpetine fan belt on

This was during my birthday last year

This crackerjack (Top Shelf) mechanic, also did a tune up that made my ride run smooth) after another former backyard mechanic, made it run rough, even after putting on spark plugs that were expensive & name brand

He shall remain nameless, given where I live as after i left a yelp review and a google review , he has less time in his busy schedule for me LoL

Question

Is a A transmission service is an easy service (easy-fix) for a 1993 Camaro, v-6, 3.4 L...or is there a Potential that a lot could go wrong? (the web quotes this repair at 3-4 hours)... Aamco told me it's a 1 hour service, the trans. svc.

He'd have his tools and parts out on a mat / rug, I guess and all he needs on his mobile truck

he told me he would have to buy a filter, not sure what kind of filter that is, probably doesn't matter to me, a total novice who does not diy on my camaro

My fear is that he does something that disables my only car till the next day, in front of like working on it at Autozone, who he has a limited deal with cos he does a lot of business there (buys auto parts for his clients), they let him work on cars there.

Thanks in advance for any help...have a fun & safe & productive weekend, my Camaro brothers

 

Oh, 1 more thing I purchased this Car in 2012

the dude i bought it from took care of her, it had 2 owners total....and he never told me that he did a transmission service

so, in theory, it hasn't had a trans. svc in probably 11 years, (web info. out there says it should have been done in less than 11)

I don't have any transmission problems,

Car runs smooth

The trans. mount had to be replaced a couple of times in my 11 years of ownership, that's probably cos i slammed on the gas to race at idle, my fault

i drive her about 3,500 miles per year

 

oh, the yelp and google review were positive, so positive, it drummed up a lot of business for him

so he's not as available for me like he used to be

(just wanted 2 clarify that it was positive review)

 

Trans service should not take more than an hour. Transmissions services are one of those things that I have seen people screw up. Its not hard to do but if the filter does not seal it will cause low pressure in the trans and that will cause a trans failure. If the fluid does not smell bad and you have no symptoms I would leave it alone. Even when you service the transmission you are only changing about 1/3 of the fluid in there. My view may be a little skewed because I always saw the cars that had a filter not seal. I was told about it in transmission class and saw it all through my career. Techs not getting all the old seal or gasket out.

If someone knows what to look for to make sure the filter seals then there is little to no risk. All you are really doing is changing the filter. If the fluid has a burnt smell then its going to take several services to bring it around. Burnt transmission fluid is the worst smell in a car.

In this video the guy is showing you how to do the service, He mentions while doing the service that the old o-ring did not come out. That is exactly what I am saying. Old o-ring get hard and can be damaged when you install the new filter. It is also hard to see up there and I have seen people install a second o-ring right on top of the first. Most guys don't realize that that seal is not for keeping fluid in, its for keeping air out. In a way it is one of the most important seals in the car.

 

Hi, Gorn, now i'm a bit worried

So, the trans. fluid would smell bad inside the cabin? or under the hood? or both?

The car has no stink to it inside the cabin, nor when I check the motor oil or coolant, with the hood up

As far as if it has no symptoms, what do you mean like it runs rough?

I might have to have the mechanic just diagnose those 2 above and pay him less

(there was a time when he looked under my car for an oil leak and saw a brittle gasket o-ring and asked me to order one if I wanted to, which I did

Is this a job for a repair shop, with insurance or for a mobile mechanic that ASE certified?

Thanks, shoot now im worried, in about 2 hours i have to meet him



Thanks for your reply

 

The smell would be on the trans dip stick. As for who, there is no way for me to know. I am sure there are mobile mechanics that are great and I know for a fact there are GM/ASE certified tech that are not. Anyone that can focus and knows what and how to do it is fine. Someone that knows how important getting this seal right would most likely do it correctly. I have know good mechanic that have forgotten to tighten a wheel on a car. We all make mistakes at some point.

The chances you could go back on a shop insurance is very low. Unless the transmission fails on the way home you would have no proof. Even if you could prove a seal was not installed right you would then have to look at the whole life of the transmission and prorate it then try to also figure out how much of the damage was from the seal vs how you drove it. By the time you where done the insurance would want to cover 10% of the parts. That assumes they don't just say sue us. That insurance is for covering car fires while they are working on the car or someone not putting oil in an engine after an oil change or a wheel left loose that falls off on the way home.

They only time I do a trans service on my own car is when I need to do something else to the trans anyway, (new lines, new pan gasket) or the fluid looks or smells bad. Unlike engine oil this is just hydraulic fluid it does not see the heat or the dirt an engine sees. It sees the same pressure as the power steering system and much less then the brake system.

 

i think i will have the mobile mechanic just diagnose by
1) smelling the fluid
2) no symptoms (as in if it makes a clunk sound while driving it); he will do a test drive or maybe i will drive it around the block

google says a trans. svc. should be done every few years--as a preventive measure, but that may be for younger cars, not a 4th gen. or a 1st gen etc.

i will obviously pay the mobile mechanic maybe $60 for his time, i already alerted him that it will be a diagnosis not a service

in 2022 almost a year ago, i had another mechanic see if the transmission fluid needed topping off, it didn't. He started the car, but he didn't smell it.

Ok the above is the plan, thank you so much Gorn. I hope all is well with you in Penn. etc., and your car, I will try to add a more entertaining post later on, instead of asking questions

 

As far as competence of this mobile mechanic, he is pretty crackerjack for his age, mid to late 30s and put on a difficult serpetenine belt, rewired the fray battery cables draining my power and killing my battery about a year ago, he replaced my cellphone outlet (cig lighter) and did a tune up that made my other backyard mechanic's failure causing my car run rough, run smooth

almost 2 years ago, he went under the chassis and saw an o-ring gasket, that was brittle and stuck (in the search for an oil leak)

It looked like a board game piece or some toy, plastic, black in color

i ordered this piece from amazon and it still leaks oil, but not as much

anyway, if it ain't don't fix it
don't poke the bear

(these 2 sayings seem to apply to older cars with this type of svc)

google also says this is a 3-4 hour job and almost all places, including cracker jack/gift / younger mobile mechanic im seeing later, charges $300 to $370 for a trans. svc.

thanks, if any1 wanted 2 add more feel free 2 do so

 

if it ain't broke dont fix it (typo)

 

*update, i just spoke with my ace mechanic mobile mechanic, mentioning everything , you, Gorn mentioned as possibilities or errors

he said the transmission svc should be done as a preventitve measure, because once the dip stick stinks etc,
the bad changes are irreversible;

he also said if a novice was working on it, yea sure, there's a possibility they might miss the o-ring gasket or put it on top of it or not properly seal the trans. filter

so it's to be done as a preemptive measureEvery 30,000 to 60,000 miles is best, and that equates to roughly every 2 to 4 years

i purchased the car at 125,000 miles, it's now at 150,000 miles

the dude who sold it to me, was the 2nd owner; this dude bought it from the 1st owner in tip top shape

I forgot to ask him what services he did to it, back in 2013

I hope you don't take it the wrong way, Gorn, I highly respect you, but I'm going to go ahead and assume, the 2nd owner who sold it to me at 125 k, had the trans. svc (best case scenario at 125 k mi. just before he sold it to me, so 30 k after that would be 155k miles (time for a trans. svc)

also, even among quality , experienced mechanics, there are grey areas and small differences of opinion

I do drive her only 3,500 miles per year since 2013 which is pretty sparingly

As mentioned, this mobile mechanic never let me down quite the opposite, so I will pull the trigger on a transmission service with him
and update my results later.

thanks, again for your help,

with respect,
CBC