Link to ls1tech thread


I need some help!! The trans was rebuilt about 2 years ago by a local transmission shop. The trans worked before being rebuilt! I don't know exactly what went into the rebuild but I know it was supposed to be a premium rebuild kit from Six Speeds Inc. I know the kit had shift forks, pads, synchros, bearings and some other stuff. It was a total of $919 just for the parts.

The transmission was used for about 6 months in a sbrc Chevy with a full bolt on 408. and 4.88's. When took it out I noticed the input shaft had about a 1/4 inch of play at the very tip from stop to stop. It went into another sbrc with a very mild 5.3. with 4.88's for close to a year and a half before I took it back to the builder because it was popping out of second gear if the engine speed wasn't faster than the vehicle's speed when engaging the clutch. The builder charged me $800 to replace the 1'st and 2nd gear's and the bearings for the input shaft I believe.

Here's the pics of those parts.


After I got it back from him and put everything back together I took it for a gentle ride to try and get it broke in. I didn't make it 4 miles before I heard a loud ping followed by the trans whining. it happened at about 50 miles an hour in 5th or 6th gear. I drove it less than a quarter of a mile back to the house at about 10-15 miles an hour. it wasn't whining at that speed.

After that I parked it while I went to Indiana for a week and came back to a couple really busy weeks at work. It sat until I asked him if he'd pull it for me and figure out whats wrong with it. At this time the builder had me under the impression that I wouldn't be charged for anything. I told him what it was doing and he said it should be fine to drive the truck a few miles to his shop. On the trip there it felt like the trans started binding up in 5th and 6th. After the binding in each gear and taking it out of gear I couldn't get it back into 5th or 6th. Just grinding. 1st-4th where a little noisy but seemed to drive fine.

After getting it apart he tells me it had nothing to do with the assembly. The main shaft warped and took out reverse gear and some other stuff with it. Now he's trying to charge me MORE money to fix it... (its been a week and he still hasn't got me a exact list of what it needs or a price)

The only thing I know to do is take it to a reputable transmission shop and get them to rebuild the thing. Hopefully they'll be able to tell if it was really the builders fault and hopefully if that's the case they'll be able to put that in writing and I can take him to small claims court. I'm thinking AAMCO just so it will be a well known reputable shop and I would get a nationwide warranty in writing through them.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Dunno if its relevant to the situation or not, but some folks had some real bad times with Six Speeds Inc. They've shut down some time ago. Hope you didn't inadvertently get caught up in their issues and get bum parts from the get go.