So I’m drivin into work Mon. morn. and I notice a very subtle “whine” in the trans as I’m driving at a constant speed. That basically told me that the trans fluid was a little low or something like that. So I get to work and get it up on the rack and this is what I see:
A loose bolt got inside the trans and one of the gears inside the differential housing put so much pressure on it that it shot through the side of the housing!
I removed the bolt which involved pullin out the VSS and using some magnets. I then did what any other broke-ass bastard woulda done….JB Welded the bitch and let it sit overnight. I actually did 6 thick coats of JB Weld and let it each coat dry overnight. Before JB Welding it, I dug up a short bolt with slightly larger threads than the size of the hole and screwed it in place. That’s so that the bolt takes all the pressure and the JB Weld only seals it up. That way it should last. Then excessively flushed the trans to get rid of small metal fragments and then filled it with all new fluid. It’s good to go now.
Here’s the bolt:
The transmission still works fine and this bolt is not an internal part of the trans. I’m not worried about anything being seriously messed up. I’m not sure how the bolt got in there but luckily it didn’t do any serious damage to the differential internals.
I tried to figure out exactly what happened so that it won’t happen again. I thought about the whole install process and where this bolt coulda slipped in without me knowing. My best guess is that it happened sometime durrin the transport from Chesapeake to Richmond or long before I even got the trans. There was no VSS on it for that time frame and it’s possible that it coulda fell in at any point then. It’s a bolt identical to the ones used to mount the intermediate shaft. I know I didn’t have any bolts like that anywhere near the opening for the VSS. The day I finished the swap and backed the car out of the shop, I noticed that it felt like an axle “kinked up”or “locked up” for a quick second while in reverse but cleared up instantly. It only did it that one time and drove perfect at all times after that. So I’m guessing that’s when the bolt got crunched and then shot through the trans housing. It then slowly lost fluid over the past week. Luckily I got it in enough time before something major happened. Scary thought…I was unknowingly running it in this condition at the track last week!
Let this be a lesson to all of you. Just cause everything LOOKS good doesn’t mean that it is good. Test parts out before installing them on your car and double or even triple check your work before putting it on the road. If you can, have another knowledgeable person check behind you. Could save you lots of headaches and $$$.
A loose bolt got inside the trans and one of the gears inside the differential housing put so much pressure on it that it shot through the side of the housing!
I removed the bolt which involved pullin out the VSS and using some magnets. I then did what any other broke-ass bastard woulda done….JB Welded the bitch and let it sit overnight. I actually did 6 thick coats of JB Weld and let it each coat dry overnight. Before JB Welding it, I dug up a short bolt with slightly larger threads than the size of the hole and screwed it in place. That’s so that the bolt takes all the pressure and the JB Weld only seals it up. That way it should last. Then excessively flushed the trans to get rid of small metal fragments and then filled it with all new fluid. It’s good to go now.
Here’s the bolt:
The transmission still works fine and this bolt is not an internal part of the trans. I’m not worried about anything being seriously messed up. I’m not sure how the bolt got in there but luckily it didn’t do any serious damage to the differential internals.
I tried to figure out exactly what happened so that it won’t happen again. I thought about the whole install process and where this bolt coulda slipped in without me knowing. My best guess is that it happened sometime durrin the transport from Chesapeake to Richmond or long before I even got the trans. There was no VSS on it for that time frame and it’s possible that it coulda fell in at any point then. It’s a bolt identical to the ones used to mount the intermediate shaft. I know I didn’t have any bolts like that anywhere near the opening for the VSS. The day I finished the swap and backed the car out of the shop, I noticed that it felt like an axle “kinked up”or “locked up” for a quick second while in reverse but cleared up instantly. It only did it that one time and drove perfect at all times after that. So I’m guessing that’s when the bolt got crunched and then shot through the trans housing. It then slowly lost fluid over the past week. Luckily I got it in enough time before something major happened. Scary thought…I was unknowingly running it in this condition at the track last week!
Let this be a lesson to all of you. Just cause everything LOOKS good doesn’t mean that it is good. Test parts out before installing them on your car and double or even triple check your work before putting it on the road. If you can, have another knowledgeable person check behind you. Could save you lots of headaches and $$$.
GHETTO RIG 
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