reputable trans shop in metro detroit?

**tomsteve** · 03-22-2019

my baby('08 GP named josephine) is starting the slippage at stop lights. transmissions are one area of a vehicle i havent been into other than filters(wrenched on pretty much every other part of vehicles,though). pulled em and put boneyard ones in, but open em up?nope. so im thinking josephine is going to need some transmission work but dont know of reputable transmission shops around here so hopin maybe someone here is in the metro detroit area( preferrably west metro detroit) and knows of a reputable transmission place. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

**tomsteve** · 03-24-2019

doin some diggin i came across this place thats pretty much around the corner from me:
prompttrans
i'll be stoppin in tomorrow and finding out more about em.

**tzerilli** · 03-25-2019

im sure most of them are doing decent work cant imagine there is much work in fixing transmissions most people just get new cars or new trans when they go. so for a shady mechanic it dosent seem like the best business model I used to know a couple good ones in our area but even they went out of business because property taxes were getting high and people in the area were just getting new cars (area went from low-middle income to middle-high income)

**tzerilli** · 03-25-2019

always thoroughly check google reviews beforehand though my marketing teacher once told me 1 out of 2 bad customer experiences will leave a review while only 1 out of 10 or sometimes even 20 phenomenal customer experiences will leave a review.

**tomsteve** · 03-26-2019

google reviews was the first thing i checked. only 26 reviews but they seemed good. stopped in yesterday. its not a huge shop and independant. explained to the guy at the desk what was happening and he led me back into the shop to which i assume was the owner/ transmission repair man. he had a trans on the bench he just started tearing down on what looked like the tear down bench. i said what the symptoms are. asked me some questions. said it sounded like the pressure sensor solenoid but couldnt be positive as,"those 4t65's can have quite a few different problems and i'll have to take it for a test drive and hook the scanner up to read codes before anything. " wouldnt be able to get to it until end of the week, which seems like a good thing- he's busy so must be doing something right.
had that transmission on the bench tore down in the 8 minutes we talked. i'd still be there starin at it.

**tzerilli** · 03-26-2019

yea if he can tear it down without breaking anything with you bugging him imagine what he can do with some peace and quiet haha

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

If you are willing to travel a bit, Fenton Holly Transmissions is worth it. Gary does great work. Did the trans on my 04, and fixed things like the radiator support rusting out. I can't say enough good things about the guy.

**tzerilli** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by GeosGP

If you are willing to travel a bit, Fenton Holly Transmissions is worth it. Gary does great work. Did the trans on my 04, and fixed things like the radiator support rusting out. I can't say enough good things about the guy.

oh man I might head out there my radiators being supported by zip ties right now support can be completely bent vertical now with ease due to rust haha. theyre quality zip ties but theyre zip ties

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

FWIW, if you need parts, I can hook you up with parts off my 04 GTP roller on the cheap. I'm located off US23 and Center Rd.

**tzerilli** · 03-26-2019

I drive up to flint for class mon and wed I seen you had the turbo kit for sale wish I could get it but don't have a comfortable place to install it and don't have that kind of money haha. but do you have any other aftermarket parts? or just all stock replacements? maybe I can stop by sometime.

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

Comically enough, the aftermarket mods that I have lying around you already have (aside from the turbo setup.)

-Trailing arms (never installed them)
-Sway bars (never installed them)
-60# injectors (never installed them)

**tomsteve** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by GeosGP

If you are willing to travel a bit, Fenton Holly Transmissions is worth it. Gary does great work. Did the trans on my 04, and fixed things like the radiator support rusting out. I can't say enough good things about the guy.

im in commerce and holly is just up the road to me so i might take a ride up there. thanks for the info!

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by tomsteve

im in commerce and holly is just up the road to me so i might take a ride up there. thanks for the info!

No problem! I know these cars can be problematic with the transmission, and I HATE having others work on my stuff (like most car guys.) But Gary was really good about it. Good price, great work. No bull****.

He even put on my ZZP downpipe and exhaust for a bit extra. I didn't have to lay down in my driveway in January! That was totally worth it.

**tomsteve** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by GeosGP

No problem! I know these cars can be problematic with the transmission, and I HATE having others work on my stuff (like most car guys.) But Gary was really good about it. Good price, great work. No bull****.

He even put on my ZZP downpipe and exhaust for a bit extra. I didn't have to lay down in my driveway in January! That was totally worth it.

i dont like other people working on my cars,too. however, ive never dug into a transmission other than filter change. ive pulled em out,put em in, replaced a couple clutches and throw out bearings but diggin into them? dont feel comfortable doing that.
lookin like its gonna be pretty nice tomorrow so think i'll head up that way tomorrow.
ive owned this car since january. spent quite a few months before lookin at quite a few GP's.ive done brakes/rotors at all 4,struts,lca, and tie rod ends up front, plugs,wires,filters,water pump, hoses,PS pump,serp belt, and probably a few things i dont remember. rear struts and front sway bar in a month or 2-waiting to head up to a friends place in whittemore to do that- he has a lift and should make the sway bar a little easier.
but the transmssion first.

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

If the car still drives, it's typically cheaper to fix than waiting until the car is dead/not mobile. See what Gary says.

**tomsteve** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by GeosGP

If the car still drives, it's typically cheaper to fix than waiting until the car is dead/not mobile. See what Gary says.

still drives and its good for the most part. the problem is when taking off from a stop- slip then SLAM/CLUNK. thats if im not paying attention and dont take off easy. if i take off easy i can feel it slipping but it doesnt SLAM/CLUNK. not doing it all the time either. i was running around today and working good. yesterday a different story but not every time.
that was another ting i did shortly after buying josephine- trans filter/fluid. it was doing it beforehand,though.
oh-also engine and trans mounts.

**GeosGP** · 03-26-2019

Originally Posted by tomsteve

still drives and its good for the most part. the problem is when taking off from a stop- slip then SLAM/CLUNK. thats if im not paying attention and dont take off easy. if i take off easy i can feel it slipping but it doesnt SLAM/CLUNK. not doing it all the time either. i was running around today and working good. yesterday a different story but not every time.
that was another ting i did shortly after buying josephine- trans filter/fluid. it was doing it beforehand,though.
oh-also engine and trans mounts.

The 05 in my driveway does that if you stand on it. Slam-clunk. It hurts to feel that. I know the trans is gone, now I just need to swap in the other one I have.

And then sell the car. It's been fun, but I just bought something new. I need the break from wrenching.

**tomsteve** · 03-28-2019

had a little change of plans so wont be gettin up to fenton until monday.

**tomsteve** · 07-10-2019

a little update on this. it took 5+ months and about 6,000 miles but josephine is in the shop gettin her transmission rebuilt. my girl decided it was time yesterday- gave a helluva slip at a stoplight,made some beautiful sounds, then 1st and 2nd were slipping horrendously-i never experienced that in a vehicle with automatic. 3rd and4th still worked great but gettin up to speed for them? yeah-that was fun in metro detroit rush hour. actually, it really was fun for me. everyone behind me? they werent happy.
after talkin to a retired GM parts counter bossman ive known for some time but forgot about, he highly recommended waynes transmission in waterford. talked to wayne when i dropped it off. he seems to know these transmissions rather well. they dont do 'replace whats wrong' with these. complete rebuild or nothing.

funny- i was talkin to a good friend of mine a week ago about the clunking josephine had. he lives up in whittemore.weve known each other 35 years. he has an '04 with 345k miles on it.
"mines been doing that clunk for 5 years now. still running strong.it could last a long time"
" you drive from whittemore to saginaw daily. you have 2 stop signs and 2 traffic lights to contend with on that ride. yer car rarely comes to a complete stop when youre driving. i see that many stops going to the corner store."
"you need to move."

**GeosGP** · 07-10-2019

You can't cut corners on rebuilding these 4T65s. It's just too much torque from that V6. If you can spring for it? Get a trans temp gauge. An actual physical gauge. I don't know that I trust the DIC trans temp. Although mine WOULD hit 220-230 with going at higher speeds (80+ sustained) but that came down to the ZZP converter not totally locking up.

Glad to hear it lasted that long!