Should I fight the transmission shop?

Okay I'm seeking advice from you fellow 1st gen lovers out there... get ready for a story because I ramble.

I recently rebuilt my W59 so i would have peace of mind mating a rebuilt trans up to a rebuilt motor, but either I forked something up or I had a bunk part in the rebuild kit because it would drive and shift smooth in every gear but 5th. In 5th it would just pop outta gear as soon as I let out the clutch. I didn't have the time, nor the expertise to tear it all back apart and fix it myself so I dropped it off at a shop that said they would tear into and figure it out. Fast forward a week and the guy tells me that he has it apart and needs to order a whole rebuild kit and won't replace just one part, I tell him that's fine so long as I get all the bearings and everything back that he takes out so I can save them.

Go and pick up the truck today and as I crawl under it I notice it's a freshly painted grey transmission. I point out that it's not the same transmission and he says 'oh yea, my guy cracked the housing putting it back together and we had to put a used ones on' and points to my transmission in the corner as some sort of proof that the housing is cracked. He then tells me that his shop helper threw everything away and he doesn't have my old bearings or synchros anymore.

At this point I know he's lying, these transmissions are built around the intermediate plate and even if he cracked a housing I should still have the same damn center plate! In my opinion all he did was buy a (hopefully) refurbished trans and just did a R+R which I could've technically done myself. But here's my dilemma... I have a working transmission, nothing binds in any gear and the transfer case works perfectly, technically his end result he delivered takes care of what I paid him to do. But it's not done how I wanted it done. He also gave me a 12month 12,000 mile warranty on the work performed and I plan on wheeling hard (hard in my book lol) in the next upcoming weeks so I'll still be in his timetable should anything go wrong.


I drove the truck home and paid the business but a big part of me wants to make a stink about how he handled the repair and shifty snakeoil salesman excuses he gave... am I wrong? Or should I just let it go since technically in the grand scheme of things it doesn't need to have the same trans in it that it rolled off the production line with and it's only my OCD that says it should.

 

So is the trans he gave rebuilt?

 

I don't actually know, he lied to my face and said it's the same transmission. On his receipt he gave me it has a bearing and gasket kit listed... but no part numbers as to where they came from

 

I'm going to say that it looks like it's rebuilt.. there's fresh grey permatex squeezed out between the intermediate plate and housings

 

Not sure I understand the issue it works so what's the issue? You either f something up (missing a detent in 5 shift rail) or there was a issue with 5 th to begin with. If it's painted it probably come from a rebuild shop so what.

 

If you think its a rebuild i would say that's OK

 

Its up to you whether it's worth it, but for me on a project vehicle I would be pretty pissed if they threw away parts that I could have used later that I asked them to save.
It's always better to have proof and confront in the moment, but then again who knows what actually happened. I would if you, and are absolutely certain that they did that. I would kindly let the service manager know what happened, what the deal is, and then kindly say that you will be doing your service elsewhere. Just remember to not burn any bridges, even if those bridges sucked, you may need them later.

 

If your trans is good then its good. You probably never would have used the bearings or synchros out of your old trans anyway, they'd just sit around collecting dust and taking up space. As long as it seems good up to and after the warranty period I'd say the shop did their job. I'm sure they ate the cost of the housing for the new trans.

 

Dont worry too much

 

It's shitty that they lied about putting a whole new (used) transmission in, but if it works fine I would let it go. I would avoid working with them again though for being dishonest like that, unless there's a warranty issue that comes up on the trans they put in.

I had a small trans shop install a performance clutch backward a few years ago, ruined the brand new clutch and it was toast within a week or so. I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to even admit they did anything wrong much less make it right. Ended up having Toyota fix it ($$$) and all I could get out of the trans shop was reimbursement on the clutch parts, nothing for the labor. They basically told me if I wanted to take it further I'd have to take them to court, at that point I just chalked it up to an expensive lesson learned. Wasn't worth the hassle or the ulcers.

 

@eon_blue thank you, that's what I needed to hear I guess.. it really does blow because I have a whole nother 3rz w59 set up that I want to rebuild and would've taken the time to thoroughly measure and inspect all the parts before putting them in my back up, now I'll have to buy a new rebuild kit whenever I do get around to it... probably 2years time but it's the principle of the matter dammit!

Lol thanks guys for letting me vent about it here, I wont use nor recommend them in the future but at least I can finally drive on the highway again.. and that's what really matters

 

If no problems, no problem. Should you have a problem the response should be a problem multiplied by the aggravation factor. For instance, if it handgrenades on the George Washington Bridge you should instill a problem on them of biblical proportions, such as torching their shop. However, try not to worry about it, find another mechanic for the stuff you haven’t time for. I trust only myself to screw up my truck but have a mountain bike for when I do

 

Regretfully it's a small hole in the wall shop that has an owner, service manager/writer. And 2 techs.. and the service manager/writer had a stroke 3 days after I dropped my truck off.. I've been dealing directly with the owner, who's the guy that gave me to lies to my face... more than likely they're scrambling like mad in the background (because the service manager/writer is also there flatbed tow guy) and they did what they had to to get the repair done

 

I'm going to go against the grain and say, by law if you have them do work and you request the parts back, if they don't give them back they are stealing especially if they charge you for disposal.

I understand the idea that you have a working transmission so 'be on your merry way'... but your request was not considered and definitely not delivered on.

All that being said. If you paid for the work and took the truck your leverage is gone.

 

Biblical proportions... most definitely! I don't feel it will come to that but won't rule it out regardless of how much I hate confrontation lol I guess I'm just bummed that my transmission is going somewhere as a core charge with all brand new guts.. I hate when new parts get thrown away

 

That's what I was afraid of, I figured I would have zero leverage but I have a full time job and was taking an extended lunch to pick it up and couldn't make a stink there without already getting gruff from work for taking so long

 

You missed the opportunity to know why your 5th gear wasn't working.
They didn't give you back your parts which they legally have to if you request in most states.
They should have called you when the first problem came up about the crack.
Most places have a lot of small print on the agreement you sign when you drop the vehicle off, so you may have agreed to a replacement transmission if it couldn't be fixed.

 

What did the charge you for the trans & install?

 

I am sorry unless the helper was completely clueless no one ever throws transmission parts away and would have been picking things out of the scrap dumpster till it was all recovered .

Something is fishy the fact you seem to have a working transmission is the only plus.

It would be nice to know the real story .

Was your trans sent as a core by mistake who knows?

 

Sounds like they used your trans for a core charge and just did an R & R with one from a rebuild shop.

The warranty is probably what they got from wherever they bought the rebuilt trans.