Don't Forget the Basics

Written by Jerry Tipton, Diagnostician

When I was asked to write this article I thought, “What vehicle should I write about?”  Instead of choosing just one success story that applies to one vehicle, how about writing something that applies to all vehicles?  The thought that I want to convey is to pay attention to the simple things and small details alike, both when diagnosing a problem, or when removing and installing a transmission. 


With today's vehicles we all know that all of the various subsystems work together to make the vehicle perform properly.  Scan tools are a must with computer controlled vehicles, but common sense may play a more important role than meets the eye.  Our company has multiple locations, but my shop is responsible for diagnosing and repairing wholesale sales warranty issues.  These vehicles come to us from other shops that we have sold carry out transmissions to.  I am directly involved with these repairs.

Wholesale Carryout Transmission

Written By - Carman Clayber, Diagnostician

A wholesale carryout transmission can be a great addition to your weekly sales. We try to assist our customer by sharing our years of trouble shooting experience. Since we specialize in transmissions we have more opportunity to learn from the school of hard knocks.


Recently a customer called to get a quote for a 1998 Ford F-150 4X4 with the 4.6L engine and 4R70W transmission. The price was given and we had one in stock. A couple of days later they called and told us they needed the transmission. It was still in stock, but late in the day so arrangements were made to get it delivered to them the next day.

Mrs. Miller's Transmission

Written By - Scott Richardson, Diagnostician

A few weeks ago, Mrs. Miller came in with what she had been told was a transmission concern. She had taken her vehicle to several other places, including the dealer, before bringing it to us. She was very concerned since her after market warranty was only 5 miles away from running out. She stated that her 1999 Dodge Caravan wasn't shifting properly and her transmission range indicator on the dash had a malfunction, and not even the Dodge dealership could find the problem. After performing our Certi-care evaluation, which includes test driving the vehicle, scanning for service codes, and performing a visual inspection, I was unable to find anything wrong. There were no codes, shift points were good, fluid was in good condition, and the range indicator was working properly.  Since Mrs. Miller was waiting at this time, I asked if she could leave it with us for a little while to see if we could duplicate her concern. She was unable to at that moment but set an appointment to bring the Caravan back a couple of days later for us to perform Level-1 Electrical Diagnoses, which is beyond our certi-care evaluation.

Nasty Burnt Fluids...Check Codes

Written By - Carman Clayber, Diagnostician

Recently a customer called to get a quote for a 1998 Ford F-150 4X4 with the 4.6L engine and 4R70W transmission. The price was given and we had one in stock. A couple of days later they called and told us they needed the transmission. It was still in stock, but late in the day so arrangements were made to get it delivered to them the next day. The technicians in our shops jump in and do whatever is necessary. This can be from diagnosing a complex electrical issue to dumping the trash, so first thing in the morning I loaded the transmission to deliver it. The shop was just finishing removing it from the truck. I greeted everyone and together we unloaded the transmission. I checked the core for components that need to be transferred like dowel pins and brackets. Everything had been removed so I loaded the core and headed back to the shop. When I got back the core was unloaded and placed on the drain bench. I did not know what was wrong with this unit as I had not taken the original call, however upon draining it YUCK, man did this fluid stink and boy was it black and look at the nice sparkles.