dbtk2 Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 So I'm driving the STE and I stop at a stop sign. I drop it down into first gear manually, roll up to ~10mph and go WOT. It is obviously smoking the tires and whatnot, so I hold it WOT up to ~100mph ish. When I stop at the next stop sign, I go to step the gas and its really slow, I realize its in 2nd gear. So I drop the shifter manually down to first gear and no change, still in 2nd gear. So I keep driving to my friends house (where I was going). So I go to leave his house and go to put the car in reverse to get out of his driveway, and no reverse. I'm like WTF!?!? So I had to push it down his driveway a little until I could get it turned around. So it lost 1st & reverse. Its still driveable (and actually quicker than I would expect from a stop in 2nd gear) but it just doesn't back up or have first gear. So this transmission has been in the car since December 28, so thats what 6 weeks? With a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty I'd say GM will be paying for this one.... So, thats one GM trans down. I'll see how many more I go through in the rest of the warranty period. Now I need to find the time to go home and bring it to the damn dealer so they can figure out the trans is screwed and they have to give me a new one. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl3196 Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Wow that blew quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 That was quick. You're going to have a hell of a time with this car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 That was quick. You're going to have a hell of a time with this car. Yeah, I pretty much figured that out by now.... I think a 282 swap is in order but I fear it won't hold up, and I don't want a w-body 282 either the gears are too short IMO. So for now we'll just keep blowing these things up. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 I think a 282 swap is in order but I fear it won't hold up, and I don't want a w-body 282 either the gears are too short IMO. So for now we'll just keep blowing these things up. Shawn take advantage of the warranty while you can but in the meantime hunt down a J/L-body 282 even if all you can find is a W-body 282 i would still go for it. i'm sure some sticky 245s would really help those ultra steep 1st & 2nd gears. but yeah, J/L 282 would be the best choice for our cars. hope the next Goodwrench tranny lasts a little longer than this one did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 I think a 282 swap is in order but I fear it won't hold up, and I don't want a w-body 282 either the gears are too short IMO. So for now we'll just keep blowing these things up. Shawn take advantage of the warranty while you can but in the meantime hunt down a J/L-body 282 even if all you can find is a W-body 282 i would still go for it. i'm sure some sticky 245s would really help those ultra steep 1st & 2nd gears. but yeah, J/L 282 would be the best choice for our cars. hope the next Goodwrench tranny lasts a little longer than this one did! The 225's on the car now are noticably stickier than the Nitto NT450 245's that were on it. Obviously I can get stickier tires, but mine are pretty sticky. However, theres no traction in first gear now as it is, so with a steeper first gear, combined with the power this car should be making once I get injectors, I can't see how even with really sticky tires that they would stick... I'm seriously not going to waste my time using a w-body 282 because I believe 1st gear and probably most of 2nd will be basically useless. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 i would bet you'd still have little to no traction in 1st gear with a J/L 282 considering the torque output of a modded LG5. 2nd gear should be ALOT better though. i wish you could drive my car and check it out. it's still fast as hell down low and really easy to launch once you get to know the car. but yeah.... J/L 282 would be really nice. there is a 2.8/5-speed Beretta in a j/y near me i need to check out...my TSTE will be getting a 282 this spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prospeeder Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Do they have the ability to upgrade the internal parts more to make it even beefier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 i would bet you'd still have little to no traction in 1st gear with a J/L 282 considering the torque output of a modded LG5. 2nd gear should be ALOT better though. i wish you could drive my car and check it out. it's still fast as hell down low and really easy to launch once you get to know the car. but yeah.... J/L 282 would be really nice. there is a 2.8/5-speed Beretta in a j/y near me i need to check out...my TSTE will be getting a 282 this spring. I'm pretty sure 1st will still be useless with a J/L but 2nd won't be as useless and thats what I want. I know 1st will be useless because it already is, so obviously going with a shorter first isn't going to fix that. I'm just going to look and see what I can find, but ultimately I'd like to have a w-body donor car, and then a 282 from a J/L body to use in place of the one in the donor car. So getting everything I need won't be the easiest. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Shawn, so your really not interested in my car anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z284pwr Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Damn, haha, that was fast. Maybe you should consider a different cam with LESS bottom end, AKA, get a BIG ASS CAM. Your top end would be stellar, then get a high stall convereter. That or stop beating the thing Oh yeah, and this is just a run of the mill 4T60, not an HD right? If so, plan to go thru them alot, apparently the few differences between the two are enough to allow a TGP/TSTE to fry one fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Damn, haha, that was fast. Maybe you should consider a different cam with LESS bottom end, AKA, get a BIG ASS CAM. Your top end would be stellar, then get a high stall convereter. That or stop beating the thing Oh yeah, and this is just a run of the mill 4T60, not an HD right? If so, plan to go thru them alot, apparently the few differences between the two are enough to allow a TGP/TSTE to fry one fast Its an HD. Thats how fast it went through every HD I've ever had in the car. Its a torque monster, you don't even know. I got the topend swap finished the 3rd or 4th week of August of '04, and the 1st week of October my stock trans went out (~6 weeks, although only 3 of them were with boost). Got that rebuilt and drove on that for 3 weeks before having a trans shop tear it apart because it wasn't 100% right to begin with. Then the next trans is this one, which lasted 6 weeks. I'd be interested to see what kind of torque this car really is making because apparantly its a good amount. I would get a cam with less low end, however with the T25 I can never really make power on the top end so I need to make as much power as I can down low where the T25 will actually move air. With a different turbo maybe a bigger cam wouldn't be a bad idea. The plans are to eventually get a bigger cam and turbo for it but I have to get the trans problem resolved first. Shawn, so your really not interested in my car anymore? I am interested in it, because it would definately make a 282 swap way easier since it would be a donor car (although I wouldn't be using that tranny since w-body gears suck even though it is virtually brand new). But I just have to find a time when I am able to take a day to come get the car, which isn't easy for me to do. Like I said, if the car was driveable I would've already came and got it. But as I explained to you, getting a truck and trailer for me isn't the easiest thing to do especially with my schedule. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay3800 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 It's cool the tranny has such a great warranty, but would GM be insuring it if they knew it is absorbing WAY more than stock power? Let's hope they don't realize the car is far from stock... If they DO know the motor isn't stock (which I would guess they do by the easily visible intake swap), they aren't too smart in giving it that kind of warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeZ34 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Is the warranty something you pay extra for or does it come with the tranny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Is the warranty something you pay extra for or does it come with the tranny? It comes with the tranny. I believe all GM Goodwrench trannies come with a 3 year/100k warranty. Which for $1700, they should IMO. It's cool the tranny has such a great warranty, but would GM be insuring it if they knew it is absorbing WAY more than stock power? Let's hope they don't realize the car is far from stock... If they DO know the motor isn't stock (which I would guess they do by the easily visible intake swap), they aren't too smart in giving it that kind of warranty. IMO, if they give it a 3 year/100k warranty, and with 1.5 times the power (if that) its meant for it dies in 6 weeks/1500 miles, then the power isn't the only reason it failed. I do actually think that there might have been a problem with this one to begin with, it just never seemed to be quite right. See, if it failed a year later maybe I could understand, but in 6 weeks I hardly doubt it was all due to the added power/torque. Plus, they have no idea this car has as much power as it does. I turn the boost down to 4psi when I bring it in there so when they do drive it to verify the symptoms, its a turd... (compared to usual anyways) If they say/ask about the 3100 stuff (if they even notice that it isn't normal) I'll just say that I had to replace the engine so I put in a 3100 since its all I could find or something to that effect. They don't know about the P&P'ed heads, cam, or ported manifolds. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossman429 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Low and reverse often times run off of the same clutch. Sounds like you may have fried that particular clutch. Hows the trans fluid look? When I fried the L-R clutch in my Nissan, the fluid was brown, and I had flushed it less than 1000 miles prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 The fluid sucks...I know its fucked. It smells badly burnt and is a brownish orange color. Since the trans was new 1500 miles ago, obviously the fluid isn't very old... I think the low/reverse band is broken or something. I think I can get it replaced now matter what they say however, because the trans would never go into first gear on its own since I put it in, I had to manually downshift it into 1st gear to make it go (otherwise it would start in 2nd), I was gonna bring it in and have them look at it but never got around to it. So I think because first gear was fucked up and I had to use the band to make first gear worked, thats what broke the band and why the trans doesn't work. But just a hunch. So basically I think the trans wasn't right to begin with and thats why it broke so soon. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z284pwr Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, I guess on the good side, you are going to get really good at taking the trans/engine out So when it does break every so often, it won't be much of a problem getting it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, I guess on the good side, you are going to get really good at taking the trans/engine out So when it does break every so often, it won't be much of a problem getting it out Takes me about 5 hrs. with it on jackstands using hand tools and minor air tools in my garage. So needless to say I've gotten pretty good at it. The hardest part is lining the trans up with the engine. I can get the crossover/turbo setup off in less than a half hour, probably more like 15 minutes and I think that usually takes a few hours for somebody to do their first time. I know the TGP guys bitch about how much of a PITA it is when they change to the Jeff M one. From what they were saying at the dealer it sounded like they do the labor though??? Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl3196 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Dealer should do the labor too. I know they did on my cutlass when my GM trans blew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z284pwr Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 So do you take the engine and the trans out or what do you do there? And yeah, these engines are easy to work on indeed, once you know the sizes and where the bolts are and the tricks, it comes off pretty easy. Hardest part for us was that damn lower heater line just down by the downpipe, or trans bolt on the back. Last time we used like 5 extensions running clear to the passenger side to get it Oh and lining the 2 up isn't to bad, imagine a 5spd Then you have the even longer input shaft to line up, much easier to pull the engine and 5spd together that way they can line up outside the car, autos are fine doing one at a time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted February 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 All I do is pull the trans out the bottom. Just support the engine from the top and its really easy. The engine has never been pulled out of my car.....I even left it in when I did the cam/topend. The trans bolt on the back is simple to do. I just sit on the floor on the passenger side and run my extension (I have a few really long extensions) and 18mm socket over there and it comes right out, very simple IMO. I think a 5 speed would be easier to line up. You would actually be able to see the input shaft to line it up, whereas on the auto you can't really see in between the engine and trans to line them up very easily. Plus the auto is a lot heavier so its a bit harder to move around on the trans jack, a 5 speed would be a little easier. I guess I'd have to put one in myself to see, but IMO it seems like it would be easier. Of course probably not as easy as it was to line up my T5 with my SBC on my T/A. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 holy crap :shock: you should really consider pulling it all out together and seeing just how much easier everything is that way! after disconnecting hoses, pulling the hood off, draining fluids and pulling axles out it literally only takes 2 minutes to have the engine and transmission out of the car and on the ground where you can work on it with ease. you don't even have to disconnect the wiring harness from the engine...just unplug the bulkead connector from the firewall, unbolt the ECM from the fender area and and pull it all out with all sensors still attatched to the engine. you couldn't pay me $200 to install a 5-speed with the engine already in place. it would be next to impossible. it's hell enough lining up the splines with the engine hanging off a cherry picker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z284pwr Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 holy crap :shock: you should really consider pulling it all out together and seeing just how much easier everything is that way! after disconnecting hoses, pulling the hood off, draining fluids and pulling axles out it literally only takes 2 minutes to have the engine and transmission out of the car and on the ground where you can work on it with ease. you don't even have to disconnect the wiring harness from the engine...just unplug the bulkead connector from the firewall, unbolt the ECM from the fender area and and pull it all out with all sensors still attatched to the engine. you couldn't pay me $200 to install a 5-speed with the engine already in place. it would be next to impossible. it's hell enough lining up the splines with the engine hanging off a cherry picker. Ah yes, I think I'm a simple kind of person like him. I think its much easier this way. There was no way in hell we would have lined up the engine and the 5spd in our Beretta when we did that engine. Things tend to be much easier to line up when you can get to them to move around and get to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted February 11, 2006 Report Share Posted February 11, 2006 Should not do this post, for some reason already having so many backed up emails, I have also been getting tons more, with some providing their phone number and demanding I call to help them figure out all that is wrong with their new purchase/TGP, and they have no clue about these cars and most likely, working on cars at all; troubleshooting/repairing, that makes for a lot of long-ass learning curves to deal with :shock: !! But short and sweet(?) You nailed that on on the head, pretty easy to see why this one failed; not rebuilt by GM proper the first time, and the fault is only a little common for rebuild shops as well, cutting corners and not doing the job right the first time, and from what you say about it not starting out in 1st gear but you can still access 1st gear manually is, the TV plunger hanging in the valve body, too often the extra 2 to 3 hours of taking apart a valve body and cleaning out all the years of collected shit in there is skipped over, but can bite you in the ass later. A trick when this happens is to shut off the engine, then hammer on the gas pedal repeatedly to force-exercise the TV Plunger in hopes it will free up, which a lot of times it does. As for other reasons for repeated failures, the most common is, what is left out and is not worked on/removed when a tranny is rebuilt, that is the cooling lines and cooling systems. We had here a few years back someone who was going through these trannies over and over, bitching once again like it was “these damn cars/TGP†when that had nothing at all to do with it, these cars have so many mechanicals that are no different than other car the statement was meaningless (but the frustration was understood!!!!! ), it’s the miles and care any car has that brings about the problems later owners deal with. And its odd or maybe not, but these cars with their 215 and 217 degree Fan-On set points :shock: in the stock chip and 195 stat running the engine and tranny hotter than shit since 1989-90 over the following 8-10 years or so had few tranny failures, but over the last 10 to 15 they started to need repair, that’s easy enough to understand, but when a rebuild, that has so many updates and corrections made to it over the original tranny that are too long to list here, then after all this won’t last at least the same 8-10 years or more then the stock one did, then there is something other than the tranny to blame, those cooling lines is most common, and lack of time spent on such things as cleaning out the valve body but also, any short-cut taken by the tranny shop that did the rebuild, that’s it. There is no reason why a proper rebuild done today or done over the last 5 years can’t outlast the original tranny that was put into our car 15 years ago, chip’d or not though upgraded tranny rebuilds are a better approach especially for the more powerful built motors here . So anyways , this owner with the repeated dead tranny was one of the good guys (aside from bitching about the “damn TGP†) and reported back when he found that the only problem after all these failures was just a plugged transmission line cooler, either the auxiliary or the one in the tranny, the tranny one is more likely as its passageways are complex and restrictive and more prone to collect shit (then the aux cooler), and plug up from too much shit caught in there over time. Once he flushed his lines, which IS ANOTHER COMMON thing that any tranny rebuild in any car gets skipped, never had a problem again. So, when any tranny work is done, hell as a practice even when you flush/drain the fluid, it should just be done, flush the tranny lines!!!!, this is what they call Wisdom (I did not invent it ), you either Learn from Doing or, Die Denied 8) . Last and I have already spent too much time posting this, if GM installed the tranny then the warranty will include them taking it out and putting another in, if you bought it from the parts guys directly, then its yours to swap . Knowing quite a few dealers and the guys that run these repair/parts shops, might be a good idea for you (if you take it in for the work or for whatever reason!) to swap out the most obvious performance mods you did, dealers WILL LOOK for an excuse to void your warranty. Syclone and Typhoon owners all found out this the hard way, GM had a Check-Sheet for the dealer to run through when one of these trunks came in for a drivetrain repair (or even other types of repairs ), things like checking the length of the wastegate rod, seeing if the stock chip was still in place and/or if the taper proof tape was taken off the ECM’s memcal access door, or if the mufflers were upgraded, or the air filter, of there was a boost controller added, etc etc, If they found shit like this then it was recorded and sent back to GM and entered into their system so that any future drivetrain warranty work could be denied since they found you mod’d your truck once, even if you came back the next time with no mods, you were branded/black-listed :x yea real nice, but understandable. So, good luck, and if you or anyone do "around the off or on-ramps under power (yea haaaa)", add in 3 to 4 more quarts over full, again, either do it now, or die denied later (oh shit, since I don't got time to come back and argue, here; Gil Younger/TransGo says to do this and says don't argue with him about it , that enough proof :!: ). Much later 8) Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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