Price of a TH 400 Transmission
wariochavez
Jeeper
Hopefully someone can give me an idea as to what is a reasonable price for a TH 400 Transmission rebuild. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Price of a TH 400 Transmission
- Thread starter wariochavez
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BajaEdition
Resident 'Old' Jeep Shaman
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that can vary by area
I find the best way to get prices for that is to do a craigs list search and to get a recycler or whatever classified paper is poular in your area and looking through all the adds
I find the best way to get prices for that is to do a craigs list search and to get a recycler or whatever classified paper is poular in your area and looking through all the adds
Niedhogg
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- '79 Jeep CJ7 Renegade with 304ci V8, TH400 auto, Quadratrac T-case, Stock 20 and 30 rears with no mods yet, not sure of the gear ratio.. 4" Softride Superlift, w/widetrac shock towers and 35x12.50x15 BFG Mud-Terrains
'76 CJ5, 232 ci, T-150 3-speed, D20 T-case, Corp. 20 rear w/full float axles and lockout hubs and Detroit auto locker, D30 front w/lockout hubs, gear ratio is unknown..
Seen one on CL just last night, seller was asking 400 bucks. Erie, Pa., or Cleveland.. but I see you want to rebuild one? Or buy one rebuilt?? This one was just used...
jeepboy45
Old Time Jeeper
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Buying a used one isnt a bad idea at all, just dont get stuck with someone elses problems. It would be great if you can drive it first... And $400 isnt bad for a used one, considering it isnt a GM Turbo 400 from a chevy truck, its from a Jeep and a bit rarer.
Be VERY CAREFUL selecting the Transmission shop.....and how much you expect to pay...
Let me tell you my quick story.
Ten years ago, I found a Transmission shop (pro-Transmission ) in north central florida. My GM Turbo 400 in my 79 CJ7 wasnt holding second gear. When I manually pulled it down into second, it SHOULD HAVE wound up the R's and slowed me down, but instead just went into a neutral state until I hit the gas.
I took it for the rebuild, told them the problem and they did it for $485. I have kept every receipt in a log book from the day I bought it in 1986, so I know how much it was. I got it back and all seemed well. In fact I was on cloud nine because I could chirp second gear when I nailed the throttle. Well, all they did was band-aid the problem and put in a shift kit. The Transmission lasted about 8 years, and only about 30K miles. (NOT NOT NOT what a true rebuild should last) It began to slip a very small amount when I would put it in D. Then last Christmas (10 years and 32K miles after rebuild), the SHTF. I had to be towed home, and changed the fluid 3 TIMES THAT NIGHT. With each change it got better/worse. Finally after my last test drive at 2am that forced me to come home in REVERSE 1 1/2 miles home, I gave in.
It sat until about 2 months ago, when the weather started to change here, and I began jonesing to drive the jeep. Spoke to about 9 different shops and they ranged from $1800 to $1000 for a good rebuild. !!!!!!
WTH !!?? It turns out that I didnt have it rebuilt 10 yrs ago, it was just patched... No one is gonna go through all that for $485---PARTS AND LABOR. I had no idea and just went with the price back then. NAIVE.
I nearly sent it out to a racing shop 500 miles away before I found a super reputable friend of a friend who does the Transmission rebuilding for a HUGE fleet transportation company in the area. He did mine for $400 LABOR, PLUS parts which ended up being about $500...He showed me the guts of mine while he had it torn apart. NO WAY did the previous guy do a TOTAL job, it was just what the industry calls a "patch job".... Of course the other company is out of business now.
I consider myself to be mechanically inclined, and have done EVERYTHING to my Jeep, except this project. I've seen the inside of my tranny, and there is NO WAY I'd attempt it myself. One check ball, or missed part, and you wont know it until you have issues and have to tear it apart again. To me, it was well worth the price of $400 in LABOR. To be honest, I wouldnt know by looking at a part if it was bad or not. You're gonna have to spend the money on parts whether you do it, or have someone else do it. This is one project (the only one on my jeep) that I had to refer back to "a mans got to know his limitations" !! LOL
Good luck, and find someone you can really trust. But remember that this is a complicated system of parts, and needs to be done right. If someone is thorough, the parts will prob be a few hundred bucks--if you dont need any hard parts--..... Add in the labor for what it is worth to do it RIGHT, and go from there. Finding the "reputable person" is the key..
Brian
Last edited:
wariochavez
Jeeper
Thanks for the info guys. I took it to the mechanic that rebuilt my 350 to a 383. He is a good friend of mine he told me that the tranny rebuild would be about 500 - 600 bucks. He did an excellent job with the engine hopefully he does the same for the tranny.