Tranny gone (manual)
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From: Moscow, Russia
Tranny gone (manual)
A few days ago I've noticed a whining noise coming out from the front-bottom of the car. The noise was only heard in 2nd gear in normal driving and cruising, when I shift to 3rd it disapears.
So I took the car to the shop and asked them to hear the noise. The tech listens to it and says that it normal, but there are some faint noises that should be checked. So we take it on the lift and he says that fluid level is low and needed to be topped up. He starts pouring the fluid in and it goes back on the floor from what appears to be a hole in the tranny case.
We took the thranny out and opened it. Here's what happened (my English is not good enough to describe it in technical detail, but the pictures will speak for themselves):
The oil was leaking though this hole:
Inside the tranny case there was a circle carving made by the "blockers" (or whatever they are called) of the "main couple".
Apparently, the rods holding these blockers in place snaped and they popped out and started grinding against the tranny case:
So, metal shavings are all over tranny now (even though internals look ok):
There's a clear trace of impact here and the casing is deformed. Although the cause of it is not clear (on the outside there is no trace of impact):
I'm very disappointed to say the least. I've never changed any clutches r transmission parts in any of my other cars. On this Evo I'v already changed clutch and now this. And the car has only 4500 miles on it.
I wonder if clutch install could have caused this, because it happened soon after the clutch install, and no hard driving or seriouse abuse took place afterwards?
So, how much are new trannies these days? For me it's going to be a problem as I don't have any warranty (USDM car in Russia).
So I took the car to the shop and asked them to hear the noise. The tech listens to it and says that it normal, but there are some faint noises that should be checked. So we take it on the lift and he says that fluid level is low and needed to be topped up. He starts pouring the fluid in and it goes back on the floor from what appears to be a hole in the tranny case.
We took the thranny out and opened it. Here's what happened (my English is not good enough to describe it in technical detail, but the pictures will speak for themselves):
The oil was leaking though this hole:
Inside the tranny case there was a circle carving made by the "blockers" (or whatever they are called) of the "main couple".
Apparently, the rods holding these blockers in place snaped and they popped out and started grinding against the tranny case:
So, metal shavings are all over tranny now (even though internals look ok):
There's a clear trace of impact here and the casing is deformed. Although the cause of it is not clear (on the outside there is no trace of impact):
I'm very disappointed to say the least. I've never changed any clutches r transmission parts in any of my other cars. On this Evo I'v already changed clutch and now this. And the car has only 4500 miles on it.
I wonder if clutch install could have caused this, because it happened soon after the clutch install, and no hard driving or seriouse abuse took place afterwards?
So, how much are new trannies these days? For me it's going to be a problem as I don't have any warranty (USDM car in Russia).
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From: USA
Well, I hate to say it, but if you've already had to replace the clutch after 4500 miles, you've been launching the car repeatedly and/or incorrectly and this is probably your own doing. I know it sucks to hear that, but it's the truth. Now, I can't tell what part of the transmission that is because the pics are so close up and your description of the parts is not correct, but I believe that might be the input shaft that failed. This would make sense since the input shaft is one of the most common part failures from hard launches on an AWD car, along with the clutch and transfer case.
If I am wrong, and you just got unlucky with a bad factory tranny, then please accept my apologies. But, there is a scientific law called "ockham's razor" that holds very true time and time again, and that is that "all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one." Case in point: 4500 miles and already on a new clutch... that narrows things down to abuse pretty quickly. It's a road race car, not a drag car. Stop launching the damn thing and you'll be fine. Hope you get everything worked out man.
If I am wrong, and you just got unlucky with a bad factory tranny, then please accept my apologies. But, there is a scientific law called "ockham's razor" that holds very true time and time again, and that is that "all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one." Case in point: 4500 miles and already on a new clutch... that narrows things down to abuse pretty quickly. It's a road race car, not a drag car. Stop launching the damn thing and you'll be fine. Hope you get everything worked out man.
Last edited by STi2EvoX; Feb 9, 2009 at 01:17 PM.
Thread Starter
Evolving Member
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From: Moscow, Russia
Well, the car was totally drivable and I could launch it time and again with this broken tranny if I wanted to and nobody would ever notice (except for a faint whining noise it was making which many ppl said was normal).
I did launch it some before (who hasn't?), but not very often. And I MAY have burned the clutch since I know I slipped it a few times real bad due to high engagement point on the stock clutch. But THIS kind of failure may be due to excessive wheel spin or drifting, because AFAIK this is torque distribution mechanism for front wheels. And again, I did drive on snow some, but normal, nothing crazy. This is my summer car and it was parked for most of the winter (I don't even have winter tires on it).
May be this will help:
I did launch it some before (who hasn't?), but not very often. And I MAY have burned the clutch since I know I slipped it a few times real bad due to high engagement point on the stock clutch. But THIS kind of failure may be due to excessive wheel spin or drifting, because AFAIK this is torque distribution mechanism for front wheels. And again, I did drive on snow some, but normal, nothing crazy. This is my summer car and it was parked for most of the winter (I don't even have winter tires on it).
May be this will help:
It appears you can't launch it time and again...based on what happened!!
good luck with it.