Differential Problems :(

[Frostbite545]

So as I took off from a traffic light, at about 1/4 throttle, my car kinda went "vroooooocckccckhckchhcchchchckhckchkchckhcccsssss skkk" and thats the best I can imitate it. My mechanic said it sounded like it was coming from the transmission, so my dad took it to a transmission shop. Apparently my differential is effed, and I dont exactly know to what extent yet. The verdict comes in tomorrow once its taken apart.

They gave me a price quote of around $1000 - $2700. I paid 5K for the car lol.

Any guesses on what it might be, or are there any known problems with the differential ?

[CharleyO99Alero]

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Bummer to hear about that!

Hopefully, it will be near the least amount of expense to fix.

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[jackal2000]

Originally Posted by Frostbite545

my car kinda went "vroooooocckccckhckchhcchchchckhckchkchckhcccsssss skkk"

LOL

tranny rebuilds are definitely expensive. i wouldn't think you are making enough power to mess it up though. you drive it like you stole it? if it is the differential, i would spring for a LSD or maybe even a Rossler tranny.

maybe those hard shifts when you first put your DHP PCM in really did have a negative effect?

[Redog]

IDK I had a 2" by 6" hole in my tranny and drove it for a week like that and it din't do that, It just started slipping by Friday (I did it at the track the Sunday before)

Hopefully it's something simple, but usually with a tranny, nothing's cheap

[Frostbite545]

Well, I drive kinda hard but not like a moron... Ok well maybe sometimes. I think the PCM might have helped burn the trans faster or something but I really dont know. Its probably me... I can't help but think how fast my car could be for the price of repairs lol.

[pawzbear]

HAHAHAH thats my fave thing about my job is hearing people imitate the noises their cars make. its fabulous and provides guaranteed amusement.
ANYWAYS..

What kind of shop gives you a window of 1000-2700 bucks?
Did they flat out SAY tranny rebuild?
If so, MAX charge for a full tranny rebuild on our aleros would be 1500. more likely to be in the 1100-1200 range at a decent shop, depending where you live.
Cuz im thinking.. even a huge chevy 4wd truck might pull in 1800 tops.

Sure i live in Garner and its not really pricey around here... But our main tranny guy is among the highest paid; even considering the major cities of NC.

Mind me asking how many miles you have as well? bc i have been real rough on my car, its high in miles, has even had the motor rebuilt but NEVER a slight trans problem.

Did they give u a detailed estimate? listing parts, their brands, and labor hours as well?
If not then they need to do a thorough diagnosis (may cost some $$, but its money well spent) to ensure they arent fixing something that doesnt need to be fixed. Most of our "trans problems" people that come in dont need a rebuild at all.
Also make sure they at LEAST offer a 12month 12k mile warranty.

hint- usually specialty 'transmission shops' are the worst places to go. find a full service shop with a decent rep... one thats not part of a chain business.


let me know what they end up saying in more detail and i can inquire more for you to make sure you dont get raped, here. My knowledge is limited, yet i have a wealth of resources.

[Cliff8928]

Well, as he describes it, there's probably some gears messed up (sun gear, planetaries, etc..)

[Frostbite545]

Haha yeah I'm really bad at decribing stuff. Talked to the guy a minute ago and it actually is the transmission after all. To quote him, they dropped the pan and found all kinda metal shavings and stuff in there. Then right before I passed out lol he said its probably the final drive that's coming apart or whatever. Its being disassembled right now so they can see what's really up n how bad it is. That's the price range cuz they dont know how extensive the junk is effed. Oh and the car has about 76000 miles on it.

[pawzbear]

wow u killed that sucker early. Mine is well over 100k and has never showed a sign of tranny issues. hmmm.

Shouldnt have let them dissasemble until you have gotten a rebuild estimate? Theyve got you in their claws now ooohhhh

[jackal2000]

Originally Posted by pawzbear

wow u killed that sucker early. Mine is well over 100k and has never showed a sign of tranny issues. hmmm.

Shouldnt have let them dissasemble until you have gotten a rebuild estimate? Theyve got you in their claws now ooohhhh

they already told him how much it could cost.

[AGT]

I think I had something similar to yours when I got rid of my Alero. It had this sound like a garbage disposal when taking off in 1st gear. When just revved at a light it wouldn't but when it was taking off it would and only on the 1st gear.

[pawzbear]

Originally Posted by jackal2000

they already told him how much it could cost.

a price range from 1k-2.7k is NOT a quote. its BS.

[Frostbite545]

In all honesty around here any mention of the word transmission automatically
means 1500 or more. I'm not surprised. And yeah I probably could have handled it better but I had to just give it to my dad and say fix it plz. I just figured out what'd been going on... After its half apart lol.

[Frostbite545]

Originally Posted by AGT

I think I had something similar to yours when I got rid of my Alero. It had this sound like a garbage disposal when taking off in 1st gear. When just revved at a light it wouldn't but when it was taking off it would and only on the 1st gear.

Hmm yeah its like that, except it keeps making the noise in any gear.

[Cliff8928]

Originally Posted by pawzbear

wow u killed that sucker early. Mine is well over 100k and has never showed a sign of tranny issues. hmmm.

Shouldnt have let them dissasemble until you have gotten a rebuild estimate? Theyve got you in their claws now ooohhhh

Well, an exact price is kinda hard to do when you don't even know if the trans is rebuildable. It's not like it's just your standard rebuild, it needs to be repaired if the case isn't damaged.

[pawzbear]

no, its not hard to do.
The actual tranny parts cost nothing compared to the labor charges involved. (esp with shop discounts)

We churn these things out at this shop.. Have been doing so since '74.


so is your dad helping pay to have it fixed? that would be great!! Hope they do a good job and use quality new part kits. We use Transtar and sometimes Dacco parts.

[01silveralero]

Originally Posted by pawzbear

wow u killed that sucker early. Mine is well over 100k and has never showed a sign of tranny issues. hmmm.

Shouldnt have let them dissasemble until you have gotten a rebuild estimate? Theyve got you in their claws now ooohhhh

i killed a tranny at 46k miles only had it for like ~14k miles raced it the track so much then it just lost 3rd gear. $50 bucks later new reman'd tranny

[TheEdgeofSanity]

i'm really sorry to hear about ur alero... i'm praying that mine doesn't do anything too wild. Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of owning my alero and since i've had it it will sometimes sound like a garbage disposal in 1st gear but oh well, its a car and it gets me from point A to point B. Also, i really got a kick out of your rendition of the noise your car was making. (I'm at a library right now and i got a few strange looks for bursting out laughing)

[Frostbite545]

Ok so my mechanic says that I killed my car from driving it too hard :P Time to recosider my driving habits. Anyway, I think I'm going to have the whole transmisson rebuilt while its still apart, instead of having little things fixed, then 10K miles down the road, having the whole trans die on me again, and paying the ridiculous labor costs to get it taken apart a second time, and rebuilding it at that point.

[Frostbite545]

Final cost, $1850. Thank goodness though my parents are going to try and split the bill with me, so its not quite as bad as I thought originally. I'm just happy to be getting her back tomorrow.