Montana tranny woes

[BF]

I have an '03 montana with 145 K km on it... CEL came on and the tranny stopped shifting. Stuck in 3rd. Had the codes read and came up with P1860 TCC PWW Solenoid Circuit; P0753 Shift Solenoid A electrical; P0758 Shift Solenoid B electrical.

So, it sure looks like a wiring / electrical prob rather than a mechanical failure. Also, it seems more likely to me that it would be a harness prob or something than have 2 solenoids fail. (unless there is some reason where failure of 1 would also shut down and cause an error on the other ?). I googled the codes and transaxle wiring prob's don't seem uncommon for this vehicle.

It's at a local / small tranny shop right now for estimate / diagnosis. Seems like a good guy (good ref from coworker)... I've had bad experiences with a couple of the larger shops around here in the past. It's not clear whether or not the tranny would have to be dropped... shop owner says it could go either way. He's apparently got the appropriate diagnostic equipment to determine the fault without tearing into it.

Thoughts?

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Montana tranny woes

Good luck. I'd almost have it be mechanical than electrical. But if they change enough parts, they'll most likely fix it.
From what I have been told, access to the left side of the transaxle is the most important. (I have issues in my 133,000 MILE Impala, none in my 121,000 MILE Montana). There's a lot of stuff in the way of the left side of a Montana; air cleaner tubes, cowl panel, ABS stuff, brake master cylinder, etc. It won't surprise me at all if they have to drop it. It might even be less time to drop it?!

 

[BF]

Re: Montana tranny woes

so.. the final word was the shop had it ready to go on Friday PM... They found the tranny wiring harness had rubbed through as it went by the AC bracket. They split the harness and opened it, fixed 2 broken wires then resealed it and re-routed the wiring a bit to keep it from rubbing the bracket or anything else... The didn't have to drop the tranny, but they did say it was a pain to get at and they had to remove lots of stuff for access. They cleared the codes, the CEL is out and it's shifting properly. The bill came to $197 taxes in, which probably is 2 hours of shop time.

Needless to say, I'm very happy with the shop. I couldn't have hoped for better or more courteous service. I feel a bit like I won a lottery! I think there's something to dealing with the guy who's name is on the sign (owner). I might (?) have been able to track it down myself, but for two bills, I'm OK with someone else having done it.

Now that I know a tranny shop I like, hopefully I'll never need to use them again!

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Montana tranny woes

I fixed my Jeep trans a month ago with a $17 output speed sensor and also felt like I won the lottery, transmission woes are no fun money wise.

I hope you never have any transmission problems ago but someone you know may hook up this good trans guy and put out a good word for him.

 

[jimr]

Re: Montana tranny woes

It is So good to hear of a decent HONEST shop.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Montana tranny woes

Nice to hear they told you the truth !!!! Great price for a now working transmission !!!
Around here if you have a transmission problem you can count on at least $2,500 and anything but the truth.
Just my 2 cents though.

 

[BF]

Re: Montana tranny woes

yeah, I'm pretty certain I'll be directing business to this shop in the future... being more mechanically inclined than most folks I know, I tend to be the guy that friends/coworkers ask about what might be wrong with a vehicle or where things should be taken. In a way, it was me that caused my co-worker to try this shop in the first place. He had an estimate for replacing a clutch at a toyota dealership, but I told him he was getting hosed and if it were me, I'd find another shop. He called this one, and he liked that the guy was a straight shooter over the phone, I think he got the work done for less than 1/2 of his previous estimate.

Yup, a world of difference to some other tranny shops I've sampled. I once ended up paying the shop ~$350 just to put my Jeep back together (not fixing it) so I could drive it to another repair shop. They took it apart and then basically had it for ransom until they chiseled some labor cost off of me. I grit my teeth, paid my cash, and learned a lesson. Then I drove it to a different (small) shop. There they rebuilt it for less than 1/4 of the estimate of the big place! Problem is that guy moved away (to small town life), so that's why I needed to find a new "go to" transmission guy. Looks like I found him!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Montana tranny woes

BF, great news and it sounds like you got a good shop there!