bad trannys?

[Branden]

i have had a two friends with eclipses one a 91 and one a 99 and they have both had there trannys go out at least once and they said its a pin in the tranny that wears out and falls out. what i wanted to know if there is a way to fix this before it happens if you could buy a after market tranny or motor or something ? thx

[RockinWRX]

Check out Team Rip Engineering (TRE) They make some pretty bullet-proof stuff. Also BM tranny rebuilds these too , I guess.

[aves911]

I guess your friends would be talking about the pin that holds the spider gears in the front differential. Yeah, I've seen those go and it isn't pretty. But that's more along the lines of how old the tranny is, how abused it is, etc. Of course there are retaining pins everywhere in a transmission so it could have been a different pin in each of you two friends trannys. But think about it this way, there are millions of DSM's running around and how often do you hear about tranny failure due to a pin fallin out? It's not that common of a problem. But if you want to fix the diff pin for good and have a grand. Buy a Quaife LSD and your problem is solved.

[turboawdgsx]

This has got to be the first time I've heard of DSM tranny failure from a "Pin" falling out or something. Now I have heard & experienced tranny problems due to synchro's & bad shifting issues, but that's about all. And Team Rip does fantastic work from what I've seen & heard from other DSM'ers. Check out their site, awesome customer service too, I've ordered several small parts from them.

Rob

[kjewer1]

The most common failure is AWD center diff. I've broken several. I even broke the indestructable Speed Design 4 spider center diff in a way the world hasnever seen before. I split the damn case in two. SD still helped me out with it though, and they actually do things slightly differently now because of that failure. BM tranny also makes center diffs, but they arent recomended as often because they may not adequately heat treat the cross shaft, though they may have fixed that by now. Shep racing is an awesome shop to get a tranny done. TRE is very good as well, but shep will get it done much quicker. This is of course John Sheperd, they guy running low 9s in the Street class. I have never heard of any pins that fall out, in fact I cant even think of one that could. But 2nd gear synchros are the first to go, and since so many DSMs are now getting up there in the mileage, you hear a lot about poor shifting into second gear. A basic rebuild is only ~800-900 bucks and will take care of all shifting issues. You can spend up to 2000 however making it stronger as I did, "while i was in there."

I just joined by the way, so I might as well say hello

[Branden]

yeah they both used and abused there eclipses but one sold his and the other is looking to tho... i've always wanted a eclipse but i have heard a lot of people complaining about the trannys falling apart or breaking...what websites could i check out for those after market trannys?

[kjewer1]

I believe the URLs are www.shepracing.com, and www.teamrip.com. Our trannies do fail, but when you consider how easily we make a lot of power, and that the wheels dont spin to dissipate that power, the drivetrain takes a lot of punishment. All in the name of launching hard

[Talon007]

No our trannies are crap. Ive busted mine twice in my N/T, and my buddy has 3 times, also a N/T

[kjewer1]

I never paid much attention to NT trannies. Not too much to talk about there. But for the turbo cars, every night at the track I see high mileage stock trannies going 12s and occasionaly 11s before the center diff lets go, and thats usually from wheel hop. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I think its unfair to make a blanket statement so brad as "our trannies are crap," or "DSM trannies suck," or whatever. They work quite well for the majority of us.

[Talon007]

Yeah my statement was a little off, but DSM's definetly have more than their fair share of tranny issues

[Branden]

i just want to find a tranny i could put in a eclipse or talon that could take some abuse and still be reliable...

[RockinWRX]

Originally posted by 95 GSXracer
I never paid much attention to NT trannies. Not too much to talk about there. But for the turbo cars, every night at the track I see high mileage stock trannies going 12s and occasionaly 11s before the center diff lets go, and thats usually from wheel hop. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I think its unfair to make a blanket statement so brad as "our trannies are crap," or "DSM trannies suck," or whatever. They work quite well for the majority of us.

Are they typically on 1 or 2G cars? I actually think that you are making an incorrect statement , or do not know the nature of the trannies in the cars that you see. Most 12 sec DSM's have had the tranny replaced at least once , usually by a TRE or BM unit. Show me an example of ANY verifiable 10 or 12 sec DSM with the factory stock tranny , and I will beleive you. And that statement that they work quite well for the majority of us is incorrect. Would you like some links to a local DSM club where trannies and driveline issues are the general topic? And the tranny issues have been discussed on DSM-talk , DSM-tuners , and TEAM NABR to no end. If you havent broken a DSM tranny , you weren't driving it.

[kjewer1]

Perhaps when I was running 12s at only 103 mph I wasnt driving hard? I replaced my center diff, as those can go if you wheelhop (I did), and ran that into the low 12s. Then I broke the tranny mainly because I make ~300 drap passes a year, plus 35k hard street miles per year. There are both 1g and 2g in NEDSM running 12s on stock tranny, and one member just ran 11.77 on a stock tranny. He's been running low 12s high 11 all year. 2 guys I work with are running 12.7 each on a 1g and a 2g on stock tranny. There are about 3 1Gs with 14bs from NH running ~12.6 at 106-7 on stock trannies. Another member ran 11.85 at 115 on a 16g/2g, stock tranny with center diff. Etc.

Driveline issues may be a topic with lots of discussion, but when you look at some of the people having those issues, its no wonder why. The member of tooners and talk are a diverse group, to be kind. The arogant fucksticks at nabr have managed to keep my far away from that site too. I personally have broken every driveline part there is on my own. I twisted the output shaft to the Tcase, destroyed a tcase, broke the stock center diff, broke a Speed Design 4 spider diff (actually cut the case in half, never been done before), took all the teeth of 3rd gear, the list goes on. We wont even get into the 3 motors that crankwalked, the multitude of turbos I've run, at least a dozen clutches in the last couple years, failed tranny seals, etc. I know the drivelines of these cars as well as anyone else But I am still fair and objective enough to see that for the majority of people, 12s is easily attainable on stock drivetrain, if you dont wheel hop. If you do, the center diff will break. Once you get to low 12s high 11s, and/or drag race way too much (me) you'll start breaking gears without wheelhop from fatigue. At/over 500 whp, expect to rebuild the tranny every season. Especially if you are getting mid 1.5s like myself.

Moral of the story, you can break a center diff running mid 14s, or you can be nice to the tranny and run stock tranny into the 12s all day long. At any rate, its cheaper to upgrade the center diff before you have broken it. So if you are nervous, spend the money. Hope that clears things up a little.

[RockinWRX]

I don't like the guys at NABR much either. But I generally just go there to keep my mouth shut and read. Congrats on a catastrophic center diff failure , btw.
Wheel hop is rather unavoidable on street tires. But most of the tranny failures I've seen locally were caused by too MUCH traction. Something generally has to give when you do a hard launch , that driveline shock has to go somewhere. Unless the wheels can spin clean , or the tranny/transfer is pretty beefy , this is gonna result in driveline parts breaking. I would consider those that haven't busted a stock tranny racing are very fortunate.

[kjewer1]

I agree. It is tough to not get wheelhop on street tires. But also consider that I pull consistent 1.5s to 1.6s on my 17" all season Dunlops I do spin the tires a lot though, and it doesnt wheel hop. I do have full suspension and ful prothane mounts. Since my rear shocks blew out, the rear is very soft, and I can actually launch on occasion without spinning the rears, and thats when I get the 1.5s.

What i have also found, is that my fastest launches are the least violent. The key is to let hte clutch out slowly on the amber lights to take up the slack int he tranny, without rolling out, then let it up with a fast slip. I get no hard jolt, shock, or wheelhop. I believe those things are the diret result of the motor being allowed to rev up freely ofr a second while the slack is taken up, and the shock when it "catches" is enough to break the tires loose, then they regain traction, and the wheel hop cycle begins. Its acutally quite calm when I launch. People are typicaly surprised that I get he short itme I do when they are in the car to see it.

So we are both right. The average person is a lot harder on the drivetrain that I am I guess, and that brings on failures much sooner. While most of the people I race with in NEDSM are aware of my breakages and have learned from my expereinces perhaps. lol This is a good conversation....