It's sticking the car in third gear. I had it disconnected for a while but, unbeknownst to me, a repair shop reconnected it. I had problems and took it in to a tranny shop. They are estimating $600 to replace the solenoid but recommending a tranny rebuild at $1700 (it's an 87 GT with 112k miles).
Lastly, I'd rather have a five speed manual than the three speed auto. Is this a reasonable swap, or very complicated?
Excuse my ignorance, but do these numbers seem reasonable? It's been a LONG time since I had tranny work done on a car, but I don't remember it being this expensive.
I had a price from a tranny shop for a different GM vehicle, same tranny... $400. They had to basically take everything off that side of the car to get to the tranny side plate though. On the Fiero, it is not that complicated. There are instructions for changing the solenoid.... It looks pretty straight forward, on a Fiero. http://www.kichline.com/chuck/fiero/TCC.htm
Does the tranny have any other problems? I wouldn't bother to rebuild it, if not. A general auto shop should be able to swap the TCC also.
You may want to use the search feature to look for tranny swap info.
They are estimating $600 to replace the solenoid ...
That's very high ... which implies that they have no experience doing it on a Fiero.
You can buy the necessary parts (TCC solenoid, 3rd gear switch, and side cover gasket) for less than $40, and you can do the work yourself in an afternoon. You can do the work with the engine/transmission in place in the car, and while it's tedious it's also relatively easy as Fiero maintenance jobs go.
Yes, can be done w/ trans in the car... If not leaking etc then DIY fix is cheap.
Not hard, parts are cheap, but does eat time. Many shops have labor rates or use "flat rate" books to calc the job. I think 3-4 hours when all bolts aren't rusted etc.
TH125c was made cheap. 112K miles is up there... Example, trans sleeve bearings wears out and can causes seal leaks. Axles bearings are great for that. My axle seals leak a little even after replacing both ~120k miles. Too much play for seal to handle.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I just did this repair recently and it really is not hard to do. The hardest part is the plug on the solenoid - getting that to plug into the mating connector in the upper left corner of the trans housing. This is difficult becasue it is behind the TV cable, which didn't look to me like it could be removed to get it out of the way. You have to route the solenoid connector behind the TV cable and then attempt to plug it into the mating connector on the trans housing. There is not enough room there to hold the connector with index finger + thumb and try to plug it in. I had to use both hands and just my two index fingers to try to position the plug into place. The difficulty is just lining it up on the connector on the trans, once it lines up it will snap into place easily.
If you're gonna try this yourself I would strongly recommend replacing the 3rd clutch pressure switch as well. That switch is part of the TCC solenoid circuit, and if you're going to open the trans, might as well replace that while you're in there.
I'm not going to launch into this myself. As Clint Eastwood says, "A man has GOT to know his limitations", and at this point, I'm better off working as an IT consultant and paying an expert to do this work. I am, however, going to use the info here to keep the tranny shop honest and make sure they bill me actual time, not book time.
They are estimating $600 to replace the solenoid ...
For what its worth, AAMCO charged me $250 to do the solenoid on my Beretta, but that was back in 2001. Sure twelve years is a lot but that's a lot less than $600. Maybe shop around for a better price?
Knowing what I know now, if it happens to my Fiero, I'd just do it myself. I think it has more room down there anyway.
For what its worth, AAMCO charged me $250 to do the solenoid on my Beretta, but that was back in 2001. Sure twelve years is a lot but that's a lot less than $600. Maybe shop around for a better price?
Knowing what I know now, if it happens to my Fiero, I'd just do it myself. I think it has more room down there anyway.
Yup, mine was the Corsica. No room.... and everything is in the way