Did my trans just die? :(

[00GTP4ME]

I was returning to work after taking my wife to lunch for her b-day and as I pulled out of the parking lot, I began accelerating at a normal speed. Right when the car shifted into third I heard a squeeking/ping sound almost like the tires just chirped. The car acted totally fine after that and didn't do anything weird at all after stopping at a few lights. THEN when I got on the freeway I found that the car would not shift into fourth gear. Did my trans just die? Am I stuck having to replace the whole thing?

[BNaylor]

Bad news! Whats your current mileage? For one it sounds like the 4th clutch shaft went. It looks like a rebuild is in order.

[00GTP4ME]

Right now I'm at 157K miles. I'm trying to decide between getting a TEP and then paying a shop to put it in. Pros: It's a TEP with upgraded internals. Cons: My shop won't warranty another trans and TEP only offers a 1 yr/15K miles warranty. OR I can get a GM rebuild from the dealership and everything will be warrantied for 3 years. The end cost would be within a couple hundred or so.

Bob, if it is the 4th gear clutch shaft, would there be a benefit to having my trans rebuilt vs. just getting a new rebuilt tranny?

[BNaylor]

Hard to say. It would depend on the cost and quality of parts and service. It doesn't hurt to see what a rebuild would cost. Places like AAMCO could charge up to $2K or more though.

Regardless without 4th gear you'll have driveability issues and poor fuel economy as a result.

[00GTP4ME]

That's kind of what I figured. Ugh.

Aside from bad MPG's and high RPM's, what other drivability issues would I face? I plan on getting this taken care of ASAP anyway, but I'm curious.

[tblake]

Holy smokes Matt, thats no good. I agree with Bob though, sounds like a stripped 4th clutch shaft. What are your RPM's when cruising at 55-60mph?

Before you buy, make sure and do some hard core google research especially on places like aamco.

[00GTP4ME]

I'm really hating this car lately. It is robbing me blind in repairs.

From what I've researched so far, the 4th clutch shaft seems to be a sure bet.

My RPM's are just under 3K and right about 3K when I'm going 70.

[BNaylor]

You may not get the symptoms but another symptom of a bad 4th clutch shaft is the car will feel like it is in neutral when it tries to shift to 4th but that may not be your case.

RPMs in a GTP with our 2.93 gearing at 70 mph in 4th should be around 1900 rpms so you are about 1K rpms off since it is not shifting into 4th. Plus the TCC lock/unlock function won't be right unless it can shift to 4th.

[00GTP4ME]

Well the trans is being rebuilt as we speak.

[BNaylor]

How much is this going to set you back?

[00GTP4ME]

I just got it back tonight. The end cost was $2300. They replaced a good majority of the trans and put in an upgraded/hardened 4th clutch shaft and also a shift kit. The drive home was actually quite impressive - smooth, responsive shifts, it didn't bog, and most importantly I have 4th gear again!

The shop is very open-door and took us back to their build room to show us all the old parts and really walk us through the whole process. To boot, they made these videos just in case we weren't able to walk through the shop with them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oM99QVVh5s

Because they had to remove the sub frame I asked them if they'd flip my sway bar for me (I've been meaning to ever since installing that 3" DP because it rubs on the sway bar. They had no problem flipping it for me but found some damage on the ends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW9bibCv_k0

Oh! Remember how I've been dealing with this surging RPM's thing for like 2 years! Yeah. 4th clutch shaft going on. It didn't do it at all on the way home. The drive to and from work on Monday will be the ulitmate test because it would do it every time on this big hill so we'll see for sure. I told the trans shop about it and he said he was sure that was it.

[viggy58]

wow! that sounds like an awesome shop. wish there were more like that!