Make some calls around the area also. When My tranny blew on my Exploder it did so right in front of AAMCO so that's where I went. $2,000 and 2 weeks later I had my truck back with AAMCO "national warranty" which is only good for 12 months / 12,000 miles. Just my luck 13,000 miles and 12 months 2 weeks later, tranny started making noise and slipping. For repeat customers they will waive the labor charges and only charge parts of which they "automatically" get a rebuilt torque converter for about $350. 7 more trips in the course of 2 months FINALLY had it quiet and shifting decent when I was able to sell it. As I had all the problems I called Ford and my local repair shop. They both had the same price (my shop would have gotten a factory rebuilt from dealer) total cost $1750 would have been installed in 2 days AND had a Ford Factory backed 3 yr/36k warranty
. NEVER would I have thought that the dealer was going to be cheaper.
Most tranny shops (unless Transdude can confirm different) only replace the worn/busted items plus whatever seals. What you have is 1% new and 99% with 100K miles on it. The factory rebuilds at least change more of the parts I believe.
Live and learn I guess.
A good warranty is a hard thing to pass up. Now if you know a good tranny shop (or can drive to Jersey to Transdude's shop) it might be something to consider. I had a Chevy tranny rebuilt by one of my Dad's friends who owned a tranny shop. He did it in his spare time and gave me an EXCELLENT deal. Kinda like the members say about Transdude, he used all the best parts he could get, heavy duty clutch packs, put a mild shift kit in it etc. and filled with Mobil 1. That tranny worked AWESOME. It spent the next 13 years and 250k pulling a boat and RV occasionally, full throttle starts, mountain roads, REAL cold winters and never missed a beat. All I did was change tranny fluid (drain and fill) once a year also with M1.