IF your automatic tranny goes, just ditch the car???, transmission, rebuilds, maintenance Options

[previasc96]

Hi...Im chiming in from toyotanation camry forums...I came across this site while googling images of 7afte set ups...
I've been sensing that the automatic on my 1994 Toyota Camry is about to give up the ghost.
I bought the car about 1 1/2 year ago with about 123k miles. My sister had a 96' Camry with the same engine and also automatic, but I don't remember hers being as slow as mine. Some times when I come to a stop and go to move off again, it behaves as if I accidentally shifted into neutral (slipping). I checked the tranny fluid and it was dirty, but when I stopped by a transmission place and asked how much for a service, the master tech there told me that I should just leave it alone if it's not leaking. He explained tha if my tranny fluid was dirty that the clutch disks are screwed but the particles in the fluid from the worn clutches is what's keeping the friction going. IF I service the tranny, the new fluid plus worn clutches will equal major slippage and then failure. I know one shop that will rebuild my tranny for 600 bucks, but the shop forman made it seem as if rebuilding auto trannies is stupid because the die a little over a year later.
If An automatic transmission is made of interchangable parts that are available on the market, why the hell are people making it seem like rebuilding an automatic tranny is not worth it? Is it impossible to rebuild em to factory specs? The car cost me $1800 bucks, rebuild could possible cost that same amount. Im willing to drop that kind of money, but only if the rebuilt tranny can carry me another 123k miles with proper care.
Please give any input or opinions if you have experience or knowledge with the whole deal of Automatic transmissions. I never owned an auto before my Camry and probably never would have, but manual Camrys are super rare.

[SwissFerdi]

With an automatic transmission, the fluid should never be fully drained - just partially replaced. If you're at the point where the transmission has to be rebuilt, may as well do a manual swap as it will cost the same. The S54 from a 6th gen Celica will fit.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Nov 23, 2012 - 6:04 AM