I called the North Hollywood company to get the tracking number for my Toyota engine. It will be delivered to my work address next Monday.
My mechanic is going to charge me $800 to replace the engine. However, he will charge the same amount to put in both and engine AND a transmission.
With each passing day, the thought of installing an engine with 50-60,000 miles and not replacing the 175,000 mile transmission just wasn’t sitting well with me.
When I ordered the engine, I asked if they had any 5-speed transmissions. They didn’t. Yesterday, it was bothering me enough that I went on car-parts.com and did a search of all the participating “auto recycling” companies in the Midwest.
I first sorted the list by miles away from my home. That didn’t really help.
Then I sorted by condition…but one junkyard’s “A” condition is another one’s “C”.
Then I sorted by mileage. I saw a transmission in Toledo, Ohio with 25,000 miles on it. I was skeptical but I decided to call on it anyway.
“Westwood Auto Parts. How can I help you”
“I’m calling about the 1992 Toyota Paseo transmission.”
“I have one with 25,000 miles and one with 172,000 miles.”
“I’m calling about the one with 25,000 miles. I have a few questions.”
“What do you want to know?”
“How can a transmission for a car that is 18 years old only have 25,o00 miles on it?”
“Well, we bought the on 6/7/94, pulled the transmission, put it on the shelf and it has been sitting there ever since.”
This transmission is effectively 2 years old! They have been holding it for me for 16 years! You talk about service…
I bought if for $175. Add in $100 for shipping and my total costs to buy the engine AND transmission are $800. That is not too bad.
