ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS

Engine and Transmission Specialists

Alpine Auto Service, Inc. is your place for engine and transmission repair. Let us remanufacture or replace your transmission. Be sure to visit for regular oil changes and more, because engine and transmission damage is often caused by neglect.

Engine and Transmission Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it worth replacing my engine?

There is no right or wrong answer, and each situation should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

For example, if you have a 20-year-old car that is worth $2500, has 280,000 miles on it, has some body rust, needs some other repairs or maintenance, and is in generally poor condition, it probably does not make sense to invest a few thousand dollars in a new engine for that vehicle. On the other hand, if you have an 10-year-old car that’s in relatively good condition, then it makes sense to take a closer look at a remanufactured engine.

Before going any further, consider the honest answers to the following two questions.

1.Does the vehicle suit your needs? Sometimes a vehicle no longer fits the purpose for which it was first purchased. Sometimes situations arise that make your current vehicle incompatible with what you need it to do. For example, you own a 2-seat sports car and you just got married and are expecting to start a family. Is the 2-seater going to be practical for a family of three or more? Another case: you just moved from an apartment to a new single family home and need a truck instead of your current car. If your current vehicle passes this test, then let’s move to question 2…

2.If the engine hadn’t failed, would you keep the vehicle for 2 or more years? On average, the "break even" point on an investment in an engine is about 2 years. In other words, you have to drive the vehicle for 2 years to recoup the cost of the engine. Every day you drive the vehicle beyond the 2-year point, you’re ahead of the game, financially speaking. If you wouldn’t keep if for at least 2 years, you’ll probably lose money. On the other hand, if you have a newer vehicle that’s still worth a considerable amount of money, it may still make sense to replace the engine in order to trade it in or sell it. A vehicle that is not in operable condition has very little value as a trade-in or resale.

Here's another critical thing to consider when purchasing a new car ... depreciation. Depreciation is the loss of value of a vehicle as it ages. And, unfortunately, a new car takes a major hit in depreciation when you drive it off the dealer's lot. Why is that? Because the vehicle immediately is now worth no more than its wholesale value ... the price at which a dealer would buy it back. The following excerpt is an unbiased assessment from bankrate.com where you can read the entire article.

A new-car owner feels the sting immediately. A new car loses a big chunk of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. Here's why…

When purchasing the car, you paid a retail price -- the price a dealer charges for a car. As soon as you're off the lot, the car is worth its wholesale price, the amount a dealer would be willing to pay for a car should you turn around and head back. "Just the difference between wholesale and retail prices is a large amount of what goes away right away," says Charlie Vogelheim, editor of Kelley Blue Book.

Let's look at an example. The base price of a brand-new 2002 Ford Taurus is $19,035, according to Kelley Blue Book. The wholesale price of a 2002 Ford Taurus with just 100 miles on it is $15,390, a drop of $3,645 from its transaction price. Don't forget that if you buy a $19,000 car here in Maryland, you'll pay an additional $1140 in sales tax. In the above example, take the $3645 you lose in depreciation and add the $950 in sales tax, and you lost $4785 the day you drive your new car off the dealer's lot.

If at this point it makes sense to consider replacing your engine, there is more you need to know. The options are to rebuild your current engine, replace it with a used one, or install a remanufactured one.

Used Engines

Used engines are a gamble at best. Most professional shops won’t even consider installing a used engine; the risks are just too great. With a used engine, even if the mileage is reasonably low, you have no idea how the engine was maintained or used. Furthermore, today’s computerized engines are much different than those of 30 or 40 years ago. While it might have worked perfectly well to install a 1965 Chevy small block in a 1969 vehicle, you can’t assume that a 2001 engine will work in a 2000 vehicle.

Computerized engine control systems have software designed for very specific applications, and if things aren’t just right, a real nightmare scenario can ensue. Parts that won’t work right, "Check Engine" lights that won’t go out, stalling or other demons that seem to defy explanation. Furthermore, while most used engines are warranted for some short period of time by the junkyard selling it, they do not pay labor to replace a defective used engine. If the engine fails and the junkyard won’t pay labor, would you expect the shop to do it for nothing? Would you be willing to pay?

Rebuild Your Engine

While rebuilding the engine in your car can result in an excellent repair, there can be some serious drawbacks. One is warranty. If you drive your car a thousand miles away on vacation and the engine has a problem, who’s going to fix it? Towing it back to the shop that rebuilt it is not feasible. Will that shop pay another shop to make the needed repairs? A few will, most won’t. Ask.

A big drawback to rebuilding your engine is time. The engine must be removed, disassembled, machine work performed, parts purchased, reassembled, and installed back in the vehicle. This could require several weeks, where installing a remanufactured engine takes 2 or 3 days. Of course, if you have a modified performance engine, custom rebuilding is your only choice.

The third drawback is the inability to quote an exact price before the job is begun. There is no way to estimate the extent of the damage until the engine is completely disassembled, cleaned and inspected. Unexpected costs can arise due to problems like cracked castings, crankshafts that can’t be repaired or cylinders that need to be sleeved. The reality is that rebuilding your engine could result in more time, more money and less warranty.

Installing a Remanufactured Engine

For most people, installing a remanufactured engine is the best choice. The big concern here is the quality of the remanufactured engine and the quality of the shop doing the installation. The quality of remanufactured engines varies greatly. This is one time that you really don’t want an inferior product.

Alpine Auto Service has installed Jasper Engines since 1990. Prior to that, we rebuilt all of our engines. But we found some of the issues noted above to be problematic for many people. We have found Jasper engines to be of the highest quality. Jasper engines carry a 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty that covers both parts and labor. Their warranty is nationwide and a toll free phone number gives you access to a Jasper representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The last issue is who’s going to install your remanufactured engine? While Jasper Engines will faithfully stand behind their product as they’ve done since 1942, they cannot be held responsible for the quality of the installation. Replacing a modern engine is very complicated and attention to detail is critical for a successful installation. Having a quality Jasper engine installed by an incompetent shop will not make you happy. The quality of the installation is just as important as the quality of the engine. Alpine Auto Service is the only shop in the Glen Burnie area that is a Jasper Preferred Installer. Alpine Auto Service and Jasper Engines is a great combination for restoring the life to your vehicle.

2. Is it worth replacing my transmission?

Modern automatic transmissions are extremely complex units that contain numerous mechanical, hydraulic and electronic components. Because of their complexity, they often fail earlier than engines. With proper maintenance, many modern engines can easily exceed 200,000 miles without needing replacement. Automatic transmissions, however, often fail between 80,000 and 150,000 miles. Yes, that’s quite a range, and the reason for it is twofold; some transmissions are simply better built than others, and the way the vehicle is used has a profound effect on transmission longevity.

Every time your transmission shifts gears, clutches and bands inside the transmission must apply and release for the shift to occur. With every shift, your transmission experiences wear. The harder you’re accelerating when the shift occurs, the more wear there will be. If you're cruising the interstate at 60 MPH, the transmission is not shifting and no wear is occurring with regard to the clutches and bands. If you have two identical vehicles, and one is used primarily on the highway and the other is used for stop-and-go city driving, the latter vehicle’s transmission will fail long before the one used on the highway.

When deciding whether or not to replace your engine or transmission, many of the same considerations apply. However, as noted, transmissions tend to fail twice as often as engines. In other words, if your transmission fails at 100,000 miles and your engine is good for 225,000 miles, it makes sense to replace the transmission. Replacing the transmission is usually an easier decision than replacing the engine.

When the time comes for a new transmission, the big question is, "Is it worth investing that much money in my vehicle, or should I buy a new one?" There is no right or wrong answer, and each situation should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. For example, if you have a 15-year-old car that is worth $2000, has 180,000 miles on it, has some body rust, needs some other repairs or maintenance, and is in generally poor condition, it probably does not make sense to invest a few thousand dollars in a new transmission for that vehicle. On the other hand, if you have a 10-year-old car that’s in relatively good condition, then it makes sense to take a closer look at a remanufactured transmission.

Before going any further, consider the honest answers to the following two questions.

2.If the transmission hadn’t failed, would you keep the vehicle for 2 or more years? On average, the "break even" point on an investment in a transmission is about 2 years. In other words, you have to drive the vehicle for 2 years to recoup the cost of the transmission. Every day you drive the vehicle beyond the 2-year point, you’re ahead of the game, financially speaking. If you wouldn’t keep if for at least 2 years, you’ll probably lose money. On the other hand, if you have a newer vehicle that’s still worth a considerable amount of money, it may still make sense to replace the transmission in order to trade it in or sell it. A vehicle that is not in operable condition has very little value as a trade-in or resale.

If at this point it makes sense to consider replacing your transmission, there is more you need to know. The options are to rebuild your current transmission, replace it with a used one, or install a remanufactured one.

Used Transmissions

Used transmissions are a gamble at best. Most professional shops won’t even consider installing a used transmission; the risks are just too great. With a used transmission, even if the mileage is reasonably low, you have no idea how the transmission was maintained or used. Furthermore, today’s computerized transmissions are much different than those of 30 or 40 years ago. While it might have worked perfectly well to install a 1965 Chevy transmission in a 1969 vehicle, you can’t assume that a 2001 transmission will work in a 2000 vehicle.

Computerized transmission control systems have software designed for very specific applications, and if things aren’t just right, a real nightmare scenario can ensue. Parts that won’t work right, "Check Engine" lights that won’t go out, shifting problems or other demons that seem to defy explanation. Furthermore, while most used transmissions are warranted for some short period of time by the junkyard selling it, they do not pay labor to replace a defective used transmission. If the transmission fails and the junkyard won’t pay labor, would you expect the shop to do it for nothing? Would you be willing to pay?

Rebuild Your Transmission

While rebuilding the transmission in your car can result in an excellent repair, there can be some serious drawbacks. One is warranty. If you drive your car a thousand miles away on vacation and the transmission has a problem, who’s going to fix it? Towing it back to the shop that rebuilt it is not feasible. Will that shop pay another shop to make the needed repairs? A few will, most won’t. Ask.

A big drawback to rebuilding your transmission is time. The transmission must be removed, disassembled, parts purchased, reassembled, and installed back in the vehicle. This could require 3 or 4 days, where installing a remanufactured transmission usually takes just 1 day. Of course, if you have a modified performance transmission, custom rebuilding is your only choice.

The third drawback is the inability to quote an exact price before the job is begun. There is no way to estimate the extent of the damage until the transmission is completely disassembled, cleaned and inspected. Unexpected costs can arise due to problems like cracked castings, broken gears and drive shells, or damaged pumps. The reality is that rebuilding your transmission could result in more time, more money and less warranty.

Installing a Remanufactured Transmission

For most people, installing a remanufactured transmission is the best choice. The big concern here is the quality of the remanufactured transmission and the quality of the shop doing the installation. The quality of remanufactured transmissions varies greatly. This is one time that you really don’t want an inferior product.

Alpine Auto Service recommends and installs Jasper Transmissions. We have found Jasper transmissions to be of the highest quality. Jasper transmissions carry a 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty that covers both parts and labor. Their warranty is nationwide and a toll free phone number gives you access to a Jasper representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The last issue is who’s going to install your remanufactured transmission? While Jasper Engines & Transmissions will faithfully stand behind their product as they’ve done since 1942, they cannot be held responsible for the quality of the installation. Replacing a modern transmission is very complicated and attention to detail is critical for a successful installation. Having a quality Jasper transmission installed by an incompetent shop will not make you happy. The quality of the installation is just as important as the quality of the transmission. Alpine Auto Service is the only shop in the Glen Burnie area that is a Jasper Preferred Installer. Alpine Auto Service and a Jasper Transmission is a great combination for restoring the life to your vehicle.