"New" does not equal "Good"

Written By - John Griffen, Diagnostician

Diagnosis is a challenge for any shop. Sometimes things can get even more complicated by a previous repair, or a part that has been recently replaced. This case involves both of these scenarios. After all, we really want to believe that a new part is a good one, right?

The 2005 Ford Freestar arrived to my bay with 120k miles on the odometer and a complaint of intermittent neutraling and shifting issues with the transmission. A quick pre-road test inspection revealed brown and varnished transmission fluid. Although there was no check engine light on, there was a code stored in memory, P0340. This code is for a camshaft position sensor fault. I wasn’t too concerned with the code itself; the customer had reported that this sensor had been previously replaced by another shop, so it was possible that the technician had forgotten to clear the codes after the repairs. A visual inspection revealed a very new-looking cam sensor.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Written By - Dave Finley, Diagnostician

Those of us in the business have seen all different kinds of oddball installations and strange diagnosis that make absolutely no sense at all. There are so many variables that can contribute to a problem and finding the root cause is an ongoing challenge for all of us. To complicate things even further, if you don't have the background story on the vehicle you're trying to fix, you're working with assumptions that can easily get you into trouble. This story is an example of one such repair challenge.

Back to Basics - Strategy Based Diagnosis.

Written By - Chris Foster, Topeka Store Manager

A friend of mine called and asked me to look at one of his employee’s vehicles. He explained to me that it had already been looked at by two other shops in the area. The issue had been identified to be transmission related, and if he was going to have to spend any money to repair it, he would feel better having me work on the vehicle. Of course, I said “I’ll be happy to take a look at it, when can he bring it by?” he replied “We’ll be up in an hour or so…….. There is no hurry; he has another car to drive”.

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.