prdude12

Well it looks like my transmission is toast! When I was driving to work yesterday morning I felt some shuddering coming from the engine compartment when the the car was under load from slow acceleration. That was in 6th gear on the highway. When I kept my speed constant I didn't feel it though. So I was going to check it out after work when I got home. Well when I was literally down the street from work I was slowly accelerating in 2nd gear going about 20mph maybe and it was shuddering like earlier and then all of a sudden it made some type of clunk noise and popped out of gear. I tried to put it back in gear but it kept grinding.

So I pulled in to a parking lot and called a tow truck. This is my daily driver and I'm still making payments on it so I can't afford to be without it (not to mention I LOVE this car.) I had him take my car to the dealer close to where I live. I dropped it off with them after telling them what was worng and they sent me home with a loaner (2014 RLX) while they diagnosed it. They called me back a couple hours later and told me it was the was course scenario that I had talked about with them earlier. Apparently the front seal in the bell housing of the tranny went bad and all the fluid ended up leaking out. So that caused me synchros and who knows what else to go bad inside the tranny.

Now it needs to be replaced. With this being my daily driver, I don't have the time to rebuild the transmission. I need a car to get me back and forth to work (20 mile commute) and just to get me around in general around. Driving my RSX to work is out of the question. it's gutted, has racing seats and harnesses, fully built K24 from top to bottom, no power steering or a/c (I live in Florida so it gets really hot), and really stiff suspension. Needless to say this car isn't daily driver capable. I'm an adult with a professional job so I'm not going to drive my track car to work and back all the time like some people do.

The issue I've run into now is that a brand new transmission and clutch plus install is going to run me like $8k!!!

I don't have that kind of money to spend to fix my car. That's how much it's worth and also how much I owe on it. So now I'm waiting for the dealer to contact the company they source used engines and transmissions from on Monday. The reason I want to get the work done through the dealer is so that will it will be warranted. 3 years/36,000 miles for the new one and then whatever the other company offers on their used transmissions. My 3rd option would be to find a transmission myself and have my mechanic do the swap for me. The only issue is that the 6MT aren't that common. So if they are still asking to much for the used transmission through the dealer than I'm going to have to source one myself.

My car's specs:

2005 Acura TL 6MT (Anthracite Metallic)
122K miles
Excellent condition
Completely stock except for an RV6 V3 j-pipe I got a few months ago.
I still owe like $7500 on this car. Insurance doesn't cover mechanical damage (already tried to work that angle with them)

I've had the car for 22 months now and I absolutely love it. I had been looking for a 6MT TL for almost 2 years before I finally found this one.

Now my question is, besides 04-06 manual transmissions are there any other compatible ones for my car? Like the 07-08 TL-S or older TL or any Accord transmissions. Any positive and helpful input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

csmeance

Find a transmission place and talk to them about an overhaul on your trans. Get the written estimate from acura and that'll help the trans place figure out what you need. Leave the prices off so they don't rip you off. The more places you call up, the better!

Some places offer financing on getting repairs done, you might want to look into that!

FYI, a transmission from a salvage yard is around 1K that you can swap in with no other work.

With 122K miles on the car, have you done any sort of 105K service? Know when the clutch was last replaced?

nfnsquared

Have they already pulled the transmission? How do they know the synchros are fried or are they just assuming/guessing at this point?

How bad is the leak? Will it hold fluid at all?

It's a long shot, but you might get lucky by just fixing the seal and filling up with GM friction modified fluid.

$8K for a 6MT swap is total BS. IMO, the first mistake you made was towing it to a dealer. I would have never done that. Hell, it'll be cheaper to tow it again to a reputable mechanic/transmission shop than have the dealer do the swap.

prdude12

The dealer doesn't do any kind of transmission rebuilding so they don't actually open it up to see each and every thing tat was damaged inside. That's why they only offered to replace the transmission with a new or used unit. Unfortunately they or I haven't been able to find a used 6MT.

And yes I had the 105K service done already as well as the clutch being replced less than 10K miles ago.

No they have not pulled the transmission yet. I'm not a noob when it comes to the mechanics of a vehicle. I'm going based off of the symptoms and issues I described above. And the tech pretty much agreed with me on the issue without me talking to him about it first. That way he wouldn't just parrot what I was saying.

It pretty much leaked out all the fluid (which was "GM" synchromesh btw).

I had it towed to the dealer because I knew they would give me a loaner car while they had mine. Unless you know of a reputable transmission shop in the Miami area that would have offered me the same courtesy and service. I have AAA so it didn't cost me anything to have it towed there. Nor will it cost me anything if I need to subsequently tow it somewhere else.

prdude12

Current update:

The Service advisor put in a request to American Honda to get me a "goodwill discount" on a new transmission. It still came out to $6400 but I will get a 3 year / 36,000 mile warranty with it though. That also includes the labor charge. So I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and go with that. I don't have the time to try and shop around for a transmission shop to rebuild mine. Besides, there's way too many shady businesses down here in south Forida. I need my car back asap as its my DD and I have a 20 mile commute to work each way.

Slpr04UA6

^maybe try contacting a former forum vendor, that may be close to you down there. Acutech is the name of the company. I've never had work done by them, but have heard good reviews from other members.....

Its at least worth a call.

csmeance

After getting a quote of $6400 dollars, any other offer would probably beat it. Car-part.com has several for under $1100 dollars.

Open the yellow pages or go to their website and type in transmission repair, miami fl. Call them up, get a quote for the 6MT transmission swap or rebuild. Factor in $30 dollars a day for a rental or find a family friend who can let you borrow a car.

Here's AAMCO in Miami:

AAMCO Car Care Service locations. Center Locator

I honestly feel that any other place will quote you around 2K.

screaminz28

iTrader: (1)

The majority of junkyards on car-part offer warranties of 30/60/90 days. Some even offer 1 year warranties when installed by an ASE certified shop.

Installation should be labor time for a clutch install basically, which I would figure to be around $500 - $750 depending on location.

There are more than a few on car-part for $700 or so, so out the door total would be $2000 once you add in any miscellaneous things that may be needed like fluid, etc.

If you weren't in Miami, I'd tell you to bring it to my friend's shop. I assure you he would put in a used trans for $2000 out the door.

That, or sell the car for $2000 (I'll buy it today -seriously - I can paypal you) and you're only out $5500 and then you can go get another car and not have a $16,000 05 TL.

Good luck in whatever direction you go. Do you have a warranty on the engine? I'm just curious what your plan is if something happens to it if not? A new engine as well? That would be one PRICEY 05 TL.

I'm curious - did they give you a price breakdown? Even with the goodwill price, it's as if they are charging you for every single individual part of the transmission. I don't see how even at a dealer there would be more than $1000 labor for a clutch. That means with goodwill you are paying $5000+ for the transmission. OUch.

csmeance

A new engine for the TL can be had for around 1K then 1K to install. If you do go ahead and decide to swap the trans, make sure that they check the motor mounts and transmission mounts too! Replace if necessary and save on labor!