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Trans Techs

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I'm not a tranny tech by any means but I handle 95% of our small shops auto trans work

 

NO, not making a damn bit of money doing it either (hence why I don't want to do it anymore). The only thing I'm really comfortable with is 6F35s. I can usually break even on them

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If so are you breaking even or making times on warranty transmissions?

How does "breaking even" and/or "making times" even belong in the same sentence as w-a-r-r-a-n-t-y?
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I do all of the truck transmissions but it is not a lot of work in my shop. I diagnosed my third trans for the year which I likely wont get pulled until next week after I get caught up. I have gotten better over the years but I don't do enough to beat warranty time. I actually take time to diagnose them properly and look at everything while I have them apart. I have been bitten in the past by missing something. I can usually get within an hour or two of book time which I am comfortable with. The LAST thing I want to do is have to pull a unit a second time.

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Ford had lost their minds when it comes to paying a qualified tech to repair transmissions. I think you can gather from that statement as to whether I make time on them or not.

 

Management is always like "we'll get the hourly guy to pull the trans for you so you can build it" They think they are helping out but they don't realize that's about the only way you can make any money is on the r&r.

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Adam and I do most of the warranty automatics (aka go in, fix whats broke). Like Kieth, neither of us gets to do many of them. We are very thorough with our diag - if we are going in, we are pretty sure of what we are looking for. Usually, we can cost cap them.

 

Back in the 70s, I worked at an LM dealer in Edmonton... the tranny guy there did good (but all he had to deal with was the C6, C4 and the FMX - no electronics). Everything he did got a master overhaul kit, a modulator and close inspection of the valve body. Try and get a master o'haul kit through warranty today...

 

Side bar... I am still amazed that so many techs call it a "front pump" when the last transmissions with a rear pump that I can recall was the cast iron TorqueFlite (up to about '66) and the PowerGlide (again, I think it was only the iron case boxes and that was up to about '67ishishish).

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The fellow I work for thinks that I should be able to do the repairs and break even. Even though some trans. I have only done one or two. IE. I have an escape 6 speed apart on my bench at this moment, damage is too little cost cap tool says to repair. I go to order parts and the seal kit is USA no, so there it sits for two weeks. Not gunna be very fresh in my mind when I go to put it back together. I worked out a deal as long as I'm doing trans. work I'm staight time, now he's renigging on his end and forcin me flat rate. Basically says I'm fired if I don't do it. By the way i build on the same bench I tear down on, less then ideal lots of cleaning.

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Quote:
Basically says I'm fired if I don't do it

I had that happen to me once. You know what I did? I did what I was told and kept my job. At the time there were too many people looking for jobs and I had little ones at home to feed.
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Trans is the only cert I dont have, and dont really want it, for this exact reason. We do very little trans work at our shop, half a dozen a year (major o/hauls) maybe. Way too many trannys in warranty right now to stay current on.

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Bill.... why not check with the labour relations board and see what they have to say about it?

 

FWIW, We tear down and build on the same bench... the one that gets used as a welding bench sometimes.... Life is full of things we hate and compromises we'd rather not make... Life's a bitch... and then we die....

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There's been just too much stress and crap going on over the last two years. Being threatened twice since January over nothing just pushed me over the edge. I called the service manager at the local GM. store, had an interview last night and start on July 4. I don't need the bullshit anymore. With 20 years experience in the trade you would think that people would have a tiny bit of respect for what we do. But at Harwood Ford we are still the dirt under managements feet. JMHO

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The fellow I work for thinks that I should be able to do the repairs and break even. Even though some trans. I have only done one or two. IE. I have an escape 6 speed apart on my bench at this moment, damage is too little cost cap tool says to repair. I go to order parts and the seal kit is USA no, so there it sits for two weeks. Not gunna be very fresh in my mind when I go to put it back together. I worked out a deal as long as I'm doing trans. work I'm staight time, now he's renigging on his end and forcin me flat rate. Basically says I'm fired if I don't do it. By the way i build on the same bench I tear down on, less then ideal lots of cleaning.

Last 6f35 that I needed to get a seal kit was also B/O, so we used the 9L8Z 7153 G repair kit from the 10b15 program. Had everything we needed and the claim went through, just don't claim the 10b15.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Do most of the transmission work at our shop, Usually don't break even by the time you order parts push it off your hoist cause parts are 7-10 business days away. But like mentioned above, id rather take all the time i need and know its done correctly and will provide the customer with years of trouble free driving experiences. Of course, i'm not doing transmission rebuilds daily, do them as they come in so make time on 6.0L diesel work when the transmissions aren't around.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm lucky if I break even. I can make time on 6f35s and 4r70w's though. I'm really thourough and I have a very high sucess rate so I would rather loose a little bit of time and only take the trans apart once.

 

I have to say that transmissions are like the final frontier for me in this business so I really do enjoy doing them.

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Old thread, I know... All we do here is diagnose and RE/RE, and send the unit to a transmission shop to be overhauled.

 

Thanks for disturbing this old thread. That was the way my OLD dealer did it. The dealership I'm at now has 2 transmission techs, and they go strong week in, week out.

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