I am facing a huge *** dilemma. I have an automatic 1998 Honda Accord LX that I purchased used, the car currently has 114,000 miles. Recently somtimes as I accelerate my car would rev real high and kinda coast for a second going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to third, and then it would kinda jolt into gear. I had my car checked by a repair shop and they quoted me $2700 for the tranny, saying something like "solenoid is not clicking" and that my car is about to give out any minute.

On top of that! My check engine light was on, so they told me I need a new catalytic converter which will total the repairs to $5000! My car isn't even worth $5g.....

I am not in the financial position to be buying cars or fixing a 98 car for $5g.... is there any other way I can approach this situation? Any help would be appreciated!


Modified by k3nnex at 5:01 PM 10/29/2006

 

the shop is ripping you off.... that's what it is!
second.... have you had the car taken to any other places?
find the tranny yourself.... and have someone off the street install for you if you have no knowledge on how to install it.
Where are you located? If you live in south florida.... I can get you a place for trannies, and I have a guy who works "sidejobs" all the time....

 

O man, Flordida haha I'm all the way in Cali. Do you know it is a rip off? How much should it run for? And I have no clue where to start to look for a tranny, say I go to craigslist what would I be typing in? I don't know anything bout cars...

 

If a tranny costs less than 1000 tops... how could the labor add up to another 1500??????
A new cat... sure it can be a little expensive and such... but is less than 600 or maximum 700 dollars. As a matter of fact, I can get you an OEM cat, with discount from the dealership (about 25% the list price, which is what they charge people).
Look at your local listings, places that sell rebuilt trannies and such, I'm sure you going to find something.
And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a 2nd or 3rd, even a 4th opinion or check from other places to see if they all "match" on the problem, just pretend you never got an estimated repair before, just let them do their jobs... that way... you will find if they are lying or not.

 

Thanks for all the information. I will go get another quote, but it's harsh enough as it is paying $120 for diagnostics.... I guess you do what you gotta do. Anymore input would be great!

 

trans is toast. to rebuild it will cost you about 3600 (I have been there done that) to have it replaced will cost you slightly more depending upon where you live.

Cat is most likely dead and you can replace that for a $400

 

$3600 is not worth the fix..... Man I really don't know what to do.

 

Wow.... mechanics are killing you over california.
You can find places here in south florida for a diagnosis of 29 dollars..... expensive places will charge you 60 dollars for it...
Anyway, try a couple more places then....
My opinion (which some may criticize... and I understand that...) is, buy the transmission (which should not cost any more than 1000 dollars anywhere) and have someone install it for you in your home or something. Man, I know 2 people around here who are sooooo famous for going to your home, doing the work and never experienced a problem with them, price is very good, because they don't have a shop, but they have their own trucks.
So yeah.... shop around now....

 

a used tranny will runs you min. 1000 to 1500, but the thing is, you don't know they are good or not.

rebuild tranny carrys a half year warranty but some of them go kaboom soon after, not every rebuild is the same, so don't just get the cheapest one, get it done with a shop you know it's quality.

if the solenoid is bad, just replace the solenoid, are you sure you need a full rebuild? and honda do have some recall on the linear solenoid i THINK.
hit the phone with honda and see if you hit the jackpot

cat runs around 400-500 new from dealer, if you have the f23a1 you are lucky, because the early cat is cheaper, much cheaper.

 

My friend showed me a cat on ebay for $110 plus 30 shipping, that's not bad at all. And I will check up on the recall thing tomorrow. I'm stressssing cus this isn't a good time to not have a car. Thanks everyone.

 

Another option for the tranmission is to do an auto to manual swap.

How much would this cost? I don't know other than it is comparable to what you're looking at (maybe less) - I have a manual from the factory so I've never looked to closely at the swap process.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Man, I know 2 people around here who are sooooo famous for going to your home, doing the work and never experienced a problem with them, price is very good, because they don't have a shop, but they have their own trucks.
So yeah.... shop around now.... </TD></TR></TABLE>
That is a cool concept.

 

YOU ARE GETTING TAKEN!
unreal how much shops will ravage someone...I am ashamed to even know of this crap

 

consider selling it and getting a older civic or accord....

 

Would you guys say it's practical for me to get a swap? My friend suggests a H22 and make my car a sleeper.

On another forum, I got this reply, can someone vouch for this?
"Bingo! If the trans hasnt been serviced every 30-50k your gonna ruin it, betcha the ATF was burnt and was holding the trans together.

Here is what I would do, since your at a last resort I had an idea and believe me it will make shifting possibly tolerable or at least work till you can find a new ride or fix the trans.

Change the fluid again, but buy lucas stop slip ATF trans fix. This time instead of adding the requiered amount of ATF, substitute a portion with the full bottle of lucas, it saved my trans in my camry for 35k and made shifting possible. Worst your out is about 25 dollars for the materials and time.

You may want to check out the trans filter as well..

It may or may not work but its better than nothing."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by k3nnex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My friend showed me a cat on ebay for $110 plus 30 shipping, that's not bad at all. And I will check up on the recall thing tomorrow. I'm stressssing cus this isn't a good time to not have a car. Thanks everyone.</TD></TR></TABLE>

those cat from honda are three way ULEV, if you have f23a4 those are cali. spec cat.

what does it mean to you? those cheap cat wouldn't work.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by k3nnex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would you guys say it's practical for me to get a swap? My friend suggests a H22 and make my car a sleeper.

On another forum, I got this reply, can someone vouch for this?
"Bingo! If the trans hasnt been serviced every 30-50k your gonna ruin it, betcha the ATF was burnt and was holding the trans together.

Here is what I would do, since your at a last resort I had an idea and believe me it will make shifting possibly tolerable or at least work till you can find a new ride or fix the trans.

Change the fluid again, but buy lucas stop slip ATF trans fix. This time instead of adding the requiered amount of ATF, substitute a portion with the full bottle of lucas, it saved my trans in my camry for 35k and made shifting possible. Worst your out is about 25 dollars for the materials and time.

You may want to check out the trans filter as well..

It may or may not work but its better than nothing."</TD></TR></TABLE>

i don't know how many time i have to say this but, if you have a broken solenoid, just replace the damn solenoid, why you want to dump the whole trans when only one thing is wrong? have it checked out.

luca additive Fwak things up, read you manual, don't try to out engineering honda with some universal sh0t. do you think something make universal will work well enough? how do you know they will not eat thru the gasket? are all the tranny gaseket the same?

and someone mention about the filter, ha.. you have to crack open the trans to get to the filter.

h22 in 6th gen is hardly sleeper, it's in the "swapped and still slow" zone

 

I found some cats in the following web site cheap. And I have ordered from them before, they are awesome, just plan on another 100 for shipping. Might be good to get other parts while you're at it.

 

DUH!! The cat is not a problem if you get it on ebay, while you can fix it urself (pretty easy task when you got a wrench and something to lift the car..)

But for the tranny... i think you should call Gianinline and go to florida... it will cost you a 50$ for gas and a 70$ for a motel or something... And you'll save a couple of bucks!

Dont forget that you can also buy a used tranny, wich can be bought for cheap prices..

 

Seems like the guy has seen some light at the end of the tunnel. I personally think that "lucas" will help you for now, as it did to my accord (250k) and tranny started to give a little problem shifting and such.
Get the cat, do the "lucas" tranny fluid and save a little bit for the future. Who knows what you may want to do in a few months, maybe swap a h22 or do something else. Do the "quick fix" for now and just sort of ... get prepared for the worst in case it comes!

 

iam7head - Can you tell me what's wrong with a cat online? I found one on Ebay brand new OEM Honda for $150 shipped.

I haven't really checked up on this thread because I am still in trauma and really hate talking about my car cus it gets me all butthurt. I got a second quote and the guy said it "might" run 3-3500 for the tranny.

 

Go to craigslist and under "auto parts" search for ACCORD...Do this every day untill you find someone parting out there wrecked accord and get the stuff you need to fix yours. There just happens to be TWO automatic tranny's in my area craigslist today. 1 for a hundred bucks and one for 400. both have less than 80,000 miles. Then search craigslist under automitive services and find someone that will put it in for you cheap.
I dont think it would cost more than 800-1000 for it all.

 

this guy is gonna get raped

pm me and ill show were to get a tranny shipped to your door for under $1k(also warranty for 30 days, if installed in the year make and model that factory intended, by the company. i wonder if Honda would even charge him that much? lol. i dont mean to make light of your situation but damn $5k? you could buy another car. i wish somebody would try to tell me that nonsense....

anyhow, reputable tranny shops usually charge less than the other shops and SHOULD come with at least a 6 month warranty...the guy on the street, no warranty but he'll charge what it SHOULD cost... ask your family and friends who's done major work for them and their experiences....NETWORK! ask and reasearch is the only way youll avoid the RAPE.

also if you check into this place ill refer you to and you call instead of buying over the internet you can bargain a bit depending on the indivdual who recieves your call, they ship all over the us and their in at least 20 states.

 

there a recall on your tranny check if it had it done at honda.

 

I don't know what to do yet.... how much should it run me to rebuild my tranny? Less then 2g right? And what should I expected of the outcome? Will it be as good as say replacing it?

 

to be honest if you want to save money.. just get the tranny from a wrecking yard.. it sucks and your not positive if its completely worth it.. but wrecking yards have a warranty on their parts..and parts from yards are usually like 50-60 percent off... and you live in san jose.. and i know you have wrecking yards there because i have got parts from there lol.. as far as the catalytic conv.... dude thats for emissions if you dont want to pay the 500 dollars for a new cat right now and just fix the tranny then do that.. the cat is not the end of the world...

 

Hey man, I've the exact same problem. When you start your car and put it in drive, it won't actually switch into gear for a few seconds right? I've got a 97. Have you tried replacing your fuel filter and changing the transmission fluid? I'm going to do that tomorrow and see if that helps with anything. I really hope its not the tranny itself. My check engine light is on too. This stinks!!