So I just found out today that my transmission for my 96 accord is leaking via the main seal. It is not leaking a lot but just enough to see. It is going to be very expensive to fix. The mechanic said that if I am going to get the seal fixed I might as well have a major overhaul done with the transmission. At this point I do not have over a thousand dollars to fix it (which would be the amount). At this point my only option is to drive it until it quits. I have thought about getting another transmission and having it replaced but I am not sure that I want to put a lot of money into a car that has about 183,000 miles on it. What do you all think?

 

Is it a stick or an automatic? If it's a MT, it shouldn't cost any $1K to repair. I had a clutch, PP, and TO bearing replaced for $300.00 in a '93 Civic.

 

First, unless you're losing more than qt/2000 miles, I would live w/ the leak. Try a cost-benefit analysis, this is an easy one.

If you decide to go ahead w/ main seal replacement, I would only consider a rebuild if you are dissatisfied w/ your transmission performance, whether AT or manual. It's too easy to create a problem w/ unnecessary maintenance.

good luck

 

It is an automatic. Apparently it is only going to cost $950 to replace the main seal that is leaking but the mechanic thinks that if I do that then I should do a major overhaul on the transmission to ensure that it will work for a few more years. The major overhaul would be more than $1800. The only reason the leak was ever found was because the mechanic was changing out my transmission fluid. It is not leaking enough to where puddles can be found on the ground. At this point I am going to keep a close eye on my fluid to make sure that it stays at the right level and just maintain that.