I lost first gear today. 2000, 4WD. A while back it was in at the dealers and they found teeth in the transmission fluid, so it was no big surprise.

I'm wondering what my options are. I just talked to the dealer, and they expressed shock that I could lose first gear. Based on a couple posts here, it doesn't seem that uncommon. They recommended against a rebuild.

I do a fair amount of off roading, fully loaded getting to various kayak put ins and take outs. I'd like to keep costs down, but on the other hand, I don't want to have problems down the road.

Any input on rebuilding vs. used or new? If I go with a local shop, are there other things they may not know about that I'll need to have done (I saw something about getting an alignment performed after changing out the transmission)? Any idea on ballpark costs for the various options?

thanks for any input,

Rob