A week ago, I had my mechanic install bushings on the front tires of my 98 Honda Accord(120K miles on it). When I drove it again a couple of days later,it
sounded worse. Took it back to the mechanic who stated that his worker installed the left sided one wrong. After correcting this, the next day the transmission went. Do you think this is just a coincidence or are the two
related? Especially since he installed it incorrectly the first time. Thanks for your help!
Tires don’t have bushings. If anyone is going to make any guesses about what happened, you’re going to need to specify a couple of things.
First, what - exactly - was replaced. Provide an actual part name. Also provide details on what led up to this work being done (what the car was doing etc.)
Second, what does “the transmission went” mean? What exactly does the car do now? Has an actual mechanic - preferably a transmission specialist - actually looked at the car? If so, what do they say is wrong with it? If any error codes are involved report those?
I’m clearly not an expert. He replaced two bushings. Not positive but, I’m pretty sure that they were connected to the sway arms. All I know is that they’re near the front tires. Sorry, I wish I could be more specific. I do know that he definitely replaced the bushings and that’s all.
Prior to them being replaced, the car was making a creaking noise on the right side that almost sounded as if something was stuck in the tire. I checked the tires and nothing was stuck in them. The noise continued even after the bushings were replaced. The mechanic stated that the entire sway bar would need to be replaced in order for the noise to go away. He said that I could wait about a year before having to do this but the new bushings were needed now. After the bushings were replaced, the care sounded even worse. Not only was the original noise still there but it also sounded as if something was about to fall apart on the left side. When I returned the car to the mechanic, it was discovered that the left sided bushing was installed wrong. After they corrected this, the second noise disappeared. However, the original “creaking” remained. The next day, while driving, the car all of a sudden had a hard time switching into different gears. It would get stuck in one gear and the engine would just rev. Then, all of a sudden, it would jump another gear. It was an immediate and quick decline. Meaning that I had never noticed this before. I immediately took the car over to a transmission specialist and the term that he used in reference to what was going on was that the transmission was “slipping.” He said that the car would last maybe one more day and that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. Interestingly enough, the transmission specialist is right next door to the mechanic.
My Father has been going to this mechanic for awhile and we trust him. However, a buddy of mine told me today that the same thing happened to him. A mechanic incorrectly installed bushings and then his transmission went kaput the next day. Someone, later on, told him that his transmission needed to be replaced because they screwed up when installing the bushings. Granted, my car has approximately 120 K miles on it. However, it seems strange to me that all of this occurred within one week and I don’t want to pay 1500.00 if it wasn’t my fault. Thanks again for your help!
Well, see what you can do about getting details on the bushings. It sounds like you’re either talking about SWAY bar bushings or control ARM bushings (you said “sway arm”).
Anyway, in neither case could this even remotely cause a transmission to start slipping. There are really only 3 things I can think of that could happen where work on sway bar or control arm bushings would affect the transmission. One is that a wiring harness to the transmission was inadvertently damaged. (There is likely wiring stuff on the driver’s side in the vicinity of these bushings).
Another is that some other kind of thing (such as a cooler line) was inadvertently damaged creating transmission fluid loss and thus an inoperative transmission. However, this would be the first thing anyone should check (the fluid level) and should certainly not be missed by a trans shop.
The last I don’t think can apply b/c you would have lost all locomotion entirely. That would involve someone doing the control arm bushings which would likely involve pulling at least the outer end of the CV halfshaft. Then if that wasn’t reinstalled correctly the axle could come out or the joint break - but then the car would go no where at all and there’s also no way a transmission shop wouldn’t figure that out.
So I think your best guess is going to be coincidence. I have no idea what this other person is talking about either in terms of bushing replacements and transmission failures.
Thanks so much!
My guess requires a really wild and exaggerated interpretation of the descriptions, but I’m wondering of you have a bad motor mount.