Hi, welcome to the site.

I don't have a manual 5 speed, so I can't speak from personal experience.

But from what I've seen here, your experience isn't that different from many others:

Input shaft bearing NOT Clutch

Hey everyone, I have been searching for a month for info on the input shaft bearing in the manual transmission patriots. I have a 2011 sport 5 speed. It has 81k miles on it and started making a terrible noise when in neutral and clutch released. The noise went away when clutch was pushed in. I...

www.jeeppatriot.com

Repairs can sometimes be made but don't always last long, and people have been having a difficult time finding replacement transmissions as they are apparently not in production and salvage yard inventories are quickly being depleted.

If it's truly a scrap yard transmission and not a Mopar remanufactured unit, 7k to me is a pretty high price to pay for an unknown quantity, and I'd be skeptical of the "lifetime" warranty.

Bottom line, to me it comes down to whether not you can find another car that will work for you as well for around the price of the repairs that will last as long and be as reliable otherwise.

if the Patriot is in otherwise excellent condition it might be worth it, but if it's got other problems like severe rust or engine / electrical problems it may be time to move on.

 

Thanks Sandstone!

Yeah, I'm skeptical as well. Especially because they wanted an extra 1000 from the original 6100 price to give it. But my partner wants to proceed and I don't have anything but a gut feeling to offer in opposition, so we'll go ahead with that plan.

The car is otherwise in excellent condition. No electrical issues and no rust either. So, hopefully the bet pays off. I'm guessing we'll need more research poured into the selection of a second vehicle when our finances recover after this.

Thanks again!

 

You're welcome, best of luck!

 

Welcome @RoroBlue!

I have a 2014 Patriot with the 5-spd. It has run fine with very few repairs. The transmission is about the only repair I've had; it went out around 190,000 miles. My dealer installed a factory rebuilt transmission for around $6000 and that included the clutch.

A few months later the new clutch began slipping. I did some good-faith research using a local mechanic first and then my dealer and we all agreed it was the output bearing that was leaking tranny fluid onto the clutch. Since the problem was the recently replaced tranny, my dealer replaced it again under the warranty. (Shout out to Hillsboro CDJR, Hillsboro, NH!)

I'm now at 220,000 miles and as I said, my Patriot has given me very few problems. I expect it to go to 250,000 miles. My 2008 made it past 300,000.

So to answer your question, I'm gambling that my Patriot was worth the repair. The $6000 I spent couldn't touch even a decent used car, and who knows what problems I'd be buying? I knew my Patriot and my previous Patriot was durable, so I took the risk.

 

This was 3 yrs ago maybe 4. I purchased a rebuilt one $2000 ( web) & had my local Aamco ( Freight dropped to Aamco) they put it in for $1500.... (a T355!

Still going strong!

Shop around & get a 12,000 warranty with the tranny

Good luck!
Riicr48

 

Agreed, if the tranny runs for 12,000 miles, it will probably go the distance. You got a good price, but I really didn't shop around. I went to a dealer because my local guy doesn't want to do transmission work. He was willing to help me with diagnosis and gave me the info I needed to hold up my end of the discussion with the service manager at the dealership.

 

Is it still possible to pick up Feul Tank guards or skid plates???


Riicr489

 

I think the new stock Mopar plates are gone, but maybe used on ebay:

Pardon Our Interruption...

or a salvage yard.

 

The manual transmission really doesn't need to be replaced, but that's the easiest solution for those doing the work. 90% of the time it's the bearings on the imput shaft or such. At about 120,000 tranny failure, couldn't get it in any gear. My local dealer analyst was to replace. I went to the next closest dealer and they said they would replace every bearing and anything else found when they opened it up and get it covered under our extended warranty. I said replace the clutch since you're in there and they said smart move and we won't charge book since we're already removed tranny. 7 workdays later everything done.

 

@winchester22lr I like to hear good dealer stories. Seems so many have a bad reputation, and so many customers make unreasonable demands and then blame the dealer. Looks like you handled things well and were treated well.

 

Update for anyone that might still read this: we've got our vehicle back and it works like a dream! Now we can tell that it had been complaining for a while and I can't believe we missed the noises for so long. It took a total of 8k (clutch was also replaced) but I think it was worth it. Thank you again to everyone who read my panicked rant and provided their valuable info and support!

 

You're welcome, glad it's working well!