[MIPS]

We inquired about that. It and its transfer case were pulled last week.
We also inquired about other salvage units. They are out there in the $800 range (new seals and installation extra, so about $1500) however I'm basing off the luck I had when I did the same with my Tracker. Sure it was a partial rebuild with a quarter the mileage but I barely reached Valemont 350km to the north and the needle bearing whine came right back. There is a chrysler equiv that some research seems to indicate however the AMC bellhousing mounts are not compatible. The option to go Manual still remains however the cost of getting a decent used transmission because of their desireability puts me close to the $3500 mark again after all the work is done.

I did the stupid anyways and gave the go-ahead to proceed on the rebuild. In the long run it will cost me money but if the Tracker sells I end up making even for the forseeable future and have to push paint and upholstry repairs until next summer as opposed to this winter and next spring. I already do 20000km in a car every year so the assurance that the transmission, which is the second most scary thing in this car besides the transfer case, will be covered under a warranty should it fail again under my initial ownership.
What gets me is that the previous owner was not a somebody in the boonies who dragged the car out of the woods, drove it for a few clicks and then decided to turf it before it went on him. Like, the guy had two other cars in excellent condition, a house, two kids and a wife. The purchase came with a mountain of replacement parts, service docs and we went on a lengthy test drive while allowing me to crawl in around and under the car. He didn't try to save his losses by holding to new parts nor prevent me from catching what might be an attempt to hide any problems. I'm starting to think that the car actually was fine for the decade he owned the car as a leisure wagon to the local hotsprings and simply the drive through the mountains was the point that pushed it from "I'm old and my seals are going but I can still do a long weekend drive to Radium" to "If you are going to push me like this I'm going to teach you a lesson about old seals"

Anyways after this I'm swearing off automatic transmissions again unless I'm forced. Stupid things.