Anyone that knows me knew about my first transmission to go within 500kms of buying the car, I can attribute that to wheelhop from myself and the previous owner since the car was mostly stock (rebadge and springs) I noticed clutch slip within 100kms of ownership, but figured it was my learning to drive a manual.

I replaced the trans with another open diff and did solid mounts at the same time. I don't think I put 250km on the car before I felt clutch slip again. After getting home from basic training I decided to pull it and sure enough, it's cracked in the same place.

Now my only theory left is that it's related to the suspension that the used car lot put in. The car has always turned bumps in the road into bone-jarring blows. I'm not completely sure what the springs are, they're red(Eibach?) and the car's an 1.5-2 inches lower.

Any help or ideas appreciated, my driving isn't perfect, but I was nowhere near beating on the car the second time around and I've never raced or launched it.

I'll post pics in a while, my phone doesn't do any good.

Happy birthday, now drop another $3k on your ride with no gains.
Pics:



The last one:


Looks similar, yes?

Springs/struts in question:

 

you need to get everything back to stock, you will not know whats happenin when ur slightly modded and breaking shitt and not having a clue to whats goin on

 

Could it not be tig welded and the hole filled in some what to make it stronger.
I know aluminum welding reqires no contamination but you could ask a welder that specializes in
aluminum.

 

Not entirely sure, I was thinking that, the first transmission ran dry and wound up making more noise than my s/c, but I recognized it pretty quickly and pulled it off the road this time.

My big concern is that when I took it for a test drive to show that the clutch was slipping I lost gears(1st and 3rd I believe). I went to basic training for a few months. While I was gone my father was playing with the shifter with the car on jackstands and got gears back, but it make a horrendous "clunk" and stalled with the wheels off the ground. I've never heard of anything like it. Playing around today I got all gears save for first.

Really can't figure out if it's the transmission internals or something with the linkage/shift arms. I've been raking Google for a few days trying to find a detailed writeup on how the shift arms work.

 

get 50% 1st gear boost reduction.... no more wheel hop and better launches

 

Wheel hop might've killed the first one under the previous owner, but I literally never launched the second transmission. Looking at a tune if it lasts more than a month this time though.

 

Just a thought, my engine cradle has a dent from the previous owner at the front center, but I don't *think* it's pulled inwards or changed in dimension. Would it be worth be worth replacing?

I've spoken with several former GM techs and they're convinced that having a suspension hard as a rock(BC roads aren't the best either) would do any damage to the bellhousing, but I'm almost out of ideas.

 

it would or it wouldn't?

 

Convinced that it *wouldn't* do any damage.

Posting in a hurry to get out fishing FTL

 

I don't really see how it would either...

 

Well obviously something is wrong to keep breaking transmissions, usually what happens in the open diff trans is that the pin that holds the shaft that keeps the side gears in the differential shears off.
This allows the shaft to drop out of the diff and hit the case. Now this might not be the case for your trans, but i would definitly tear into that trans to find out what's happening inside of it. You will need a gm holding fixture if you plan to try to put it back together. I doubt the problem has to do with the suspension. The clutch slip is most likely from trans fluid getting on the clutch disk...

The last one i saw that did this, the guy was sliding around in a parking lot in the snow and the front wheels were spinning at a different rate and boom, she let go and blew a huge hole in the trans, lol...

 

I think that your problem is in your solid mounts. Yes they help with wheel hop but they put a lot of extra stress on the tranny because it doesn't allow movement. If I was you I would look into some rotated mounts from OTTP.

 

I think i figured it out, lol... This is in his sig, CSS.net RECORD HOLDER Most broken axles in a week on stock power

 

Solid mounts and abuse will definately crack tranny's!

 

I WANT to abuse the car a bit, but I haven't gotten the chance yet.
The axles weren't broken a la dragstrip, they pulled apart at the inner boot, dropping grease and needle bearings all over the place I wound up going through 6 in a week before I parked it and drove a pickup.

 

I would check to make sure the transmission shim isnt damaged, make the the engine mating surface isnt damaged, no debris was on engine or trans when they were installed, or that any ground wires or anything else isnt getting stuck in between engine and trans when bolted up. make sure oilpan and block are lined up properly, trans bolts are torqued properly. And of course, ditch the solid mounts to cya.

 

my buddy has had this happen 3 times in the last year cracked case after case first two underwarrenty now hes tuned and when he got a new trans it was already cracked