Hey guys. My friend found a really good deal on a 97 3.0cl that he's seriously considering. Car has been meticulously maintained, all the options, in great condition, all the good stuff. Only problem is, its on its 1st tranny at 140k The guy only wants around $4000 for it which is sick here in New england and it sounds like a great car, but this tranny is making me nervous.What do you guys think my friend should do? He was also wondering how tough it would be to switch the auto to a manual if the tranny did go and he decided that route. I don't know much about auto to manual conversions. Let me know guys, thx

 

No manual conversions for the 97 3.0 cuz the mounts are way different, 4 grand is a great deal though, tell him to get a hayden tranny cooler, and hope for the best, but be prepared to dump a couple grand into a tranny. Tranny cooler is a must, and very easy to install

 

i say grab that car and invest about 2 to 3 grands on the tranny (rebuilt + bulletproof it w/ red alto eagle or Level 10 parts).

It'll come out to about 7 grands but you'll have the best 3.0 CL with a VERY STRONG tranny that you can experiment with (turbo, SC'd, custom sh*t...) Who know, maybe by that time companies like Greddy or HKS or someone else will make a kit for our car and you can just jump on that with confident.

Just my

P.S. I have a 97 3.0 too and i like it a lot.

Edit: I read your post again, but tell your friend to consider what i said still ....

 

tranny cooler sounds like a good idea, I'll let him know about that. The guy said that he always brought his car in for service at the right times for the dealer, and the tranny supposedly shows no signs of slipping but I told my friend even if it feels good, it can come on quickly and be an issue very fast.

 

IMO you really don't know how good your car is unless you service it yourself.

 

I would have to agree, personalyl I like to do all my own repairs now that I know more, but a dealer knows what to do as well, and it sounds like its been taken great care of so I guess the bets way is take it to a mechanic and see what they say and take it for a test drive.

 

i wouldnt mess with that car, i'd spend the money on the 3.0 plus rebuild for a nicer $7k car

 

If it shows no signs of slipping yet, how long do u think it may have?

 

with a glass tranny. unpredictable.

 

It depends on how the moons align, has the timing belt ever been changed? That's another big one

 

tell him to get it, but put money aside for

-a new tranny
-new center console out of a 98-99
-upgrade the rotors from a 98-99