Transmission shop: a hat tip
I needed to check and probably change my tranny fluid since I didn't know its condition and the shifts were just slightly rougher than when I got the VX last summer. At first I read through all the great how-tos on here (with the usual clear photos) and was ready to tackle it. But then I thought if I can find somewhere I like to do this it will save me a probable huge mess and I can get the rest of the underside fluids, parts, and suspension checked out at the same time by a pro. I have some wrenching experience, but claim no expertise, and I haven't had a shop look at my VX since I bought it. And it has 142,000 miles on it...about 4500 since I bought it.
So long story short, I want to thank Walker Transmission (http://www.walkertrans.com/) in Arvada, Colorado (NW Denver) for being totally friendly, totally honest, totally reasonable, and totally accessible (I made the appointment yesterday and had it done this morning).
For $250 (which is about what I expected) they changed the fluid, inspected the tranny (dropped the crossmember and pan - all looks fantastic and the old fluid was used but not burnt). They checked all the other underside fluids and said they looked good. And they checked the suspension out and said everything looked fine. They lubed a few parts and checked out the drive train, shafts, seal, boots, and gave them all a clean bill of health.
Oh and they have worked on Vehicrosses before...I don't know if anyone here has used them but they knew when I called that there was no dipstick or fill spout for the tranny. They are also familiar with the TOD system.
They also said I could bring one of this forum's recommended timing belt kits in and they would do the labor (normally they don't like customers bringing their own parts). He said the ebay prices I told him about sounded like pretty good deals. I haven't pulled the trigger on that yet, but I do not know if the belt got changed at 120k or not as I have no records. Probably cheap insurance to just get it done.
Anyway, I really liked the guys and the place, and they did a good job. The shifting is smooth as silk. Oh and they put the latest Dextron ATF in. We discussed synth but he said aside from the cost, with my mileage it might leak. Which I know to be a consideration from when I switched to synth oil in my 2000 Audi S4 and had an expensive puddle for about 4 days before everything saturated and seated properly - and that was an almost new vehicle.
I also checked out their shop (pretty clean and well organized - a good sign). It is divided in to two main areas: the usual large work bays with lifts etc (maybe 10 car capacity) and then a machine area where they do the full tranny rebuilds which was very well equipped and stocked.
Anyway if you're in the Denver area and need any work done, I highly recommend them.
