Blown Tranny. . NEED HELP!

**jimmyjones** · 07-28-2008, 11:15 AM

Well Im a fairly new owner of my 2002 WS6 M6. I was driving through Long Beach this weekend and my tranny got stuck in 4th gear. It cant be moved. I went to a mech in LB and he said I needed a new tranny. I then had my car towed to San Diego and dropped it off at another mech. He said the same thing. He also said these cars are known for tranny problems. I have never heard of this. SO my question is should I just have him look for a used tranny or is there a better option to get now since I have to dish out all this money? Is everyone here just running a T56?

**jeremy_m70** · 07-28-2008, 09:30 PM

I believe its the 3-4 synchronizer key. According to T56 shops online, they recommend you get the following (**Solid Synchronizer Keys **- These keys are a necessity for the T56 transmissions. The stamped steel keys commonly break when shifting aggressively. When they do break, they usually lock the transmission into a gear or make the transmission very hard to shift.) These solid keys are also known as Billet Keys, Billet Struts, or billet inserts, but I would at least upgrade the 3-4 keys and forks.

Since you will be pulling the transmission, I would upgrade it while you have it torn apart. As long as the gears are good it should be done at reasonable cost, but here are some links for you to check out for parts and service. These sites also allow you to buy a transmission and send in your old as a core, you can pick which stage you like or get ideas as to what you would like done to your T56. Good Luck.

http://www.ddperformance.com/T-56%20Parts.htm

http://0174de9.netsolstores.com/inde...ATS&Category=2

**jeremy_m70** · 07-28-2008, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by jimmyjones

Is everyone here just running a T56?

The T56 is used in vettes, vipers, Fbodies, etc.... Our (fbody) internals are not as strong as others, but can be upgraded. Most problems are with the 3-4 gears....I have problems with 3rd and sometimes 2nd, but I have 125k on it too......GM cut the quality down on our T56 to save a buck, but with some upgrades, they can handle 700 RWHP.

Unless you want an auto, the T56 is the best manual IMO, and ii is used in 250k dollar sports cars too.

**jimmyjones** · 07-29-2008, 10:28 AM

The guy I have talked to about rebuilding my tranny has mentioned billet keys, syncho's, steel 3-4. I dont really know what all that is but he said it would cost $2200 for the materials, $600 for labor and then I would have to pay for fluids and tax. What do you all think? This guy was recommended to me a a family mechanic. Does the price sound right?

**Bottesini** · 07-29-2008, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by jimmyjones

The guy I have talked to about rebuilding my tranny has mentioned billet keys, syncho's, steel 3-4. I dont really know what all that is but he said it would cost $2200 for the materials, $600 for labor and then I would have to pay for fluids and tax. What do you all think? This guy was recommended to me a a family mechanic. Does the price sound right?

If none of the hard parts are damaged that sounds high to me. I just had mine rebuilt by Six Speeds Inc and the total cost was about 1200 including having someone else uninstall and reinstall the tranny. Six Speeds made all the shipping arrangements (which I never had to pay for).

**jimmyjones** · 07-29-2008, 06:35 PM

Bottinies,
Did you just take your car to any mech and sixspeedsinc took care of the rest? I tried going to there website but they are under construction. Which kit did you go with? What do I need to do to my tranny for future power? I want my tranny beefed up. No more than 700 hp will ever be pushed out of my car though.

**jimmyjones** · 07-29-2008, 06:38 PM

Anyone heard of Anahiem Gear? Thats where my mech is talking about ordering parts from. They said they dont have kits though.

**Bottesini** · 07-29-2008, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by jimmyjones

Bottinies,
Did you just take your car to any mech and sixspeedsinc took care of the rest? I tried going to there website but they are under construction. Which kit did you go with? What do I need to do to my tranny for future power? I want my tranny beefed up. No more than 700 hp will ever be pushed out of my car though.

Basically all of there packages are the same as far as how much power they can handle. The major difference is how much they need to change out. In my case all the hard parts were perfect (even the bearings). With that said what I paid is just about as low as you can hope for.

I went with the stage 1 rebuild since I did not have any damaged hardparts. I went to the place that does my tuning and they talked with Six Speeds and worked things out (I did have to make a few calls to move things along).

They warranty their trannys to 700 RWHP, but it is a fairly weak warranty (covers basically only if they screwed up). It is rare to find anyplace that will cover a M6 (except when you buy a new car). I have heard from Six Speeds that there are mulitple 1000+ RWHP cars with their trannys in them.

**jeremy_m70** · 08-03-2008, 05:56 AM

Originally Posted by jimmyjones

The guy I have talked to about rebuilding my tranny has mentioned billet keys, syncho's, steel 3-4. I dont really know what all that is but he said it would cost $2200 for the materials, $600 for labor and then I would have to pay for fluids and tax. What do you all think? This guy was recommended to me a a family mechanic. Does the price sound right?

Ouch that is high, but then again I assume that is Cali prices and everything is higher there lol. Unless your T56 is completely trashed then I wouldn't believe it would be that expense for parts. He may be quoting a worse case scenario with that part price, if not I would serious rethink about his quote "reputation". You could ask him to be sure, but for that price I would send it to six speeds inc in a heart beat. Just my two cents.

As previously stated, it depends on what has to be replaced and I can understand how they do not know until they get into the T56 for a true Quote, but to come out of the box with that price without an explanation of potential cost, I would be concerned. Also with six speeds you know you are getting the better quality parts, where as he "may" go back factory. If you are going to rebuild it, I would fix it right and not back with the factory weak parts. GooD Luck.

**jimmyjones** · 08-03-2008, 07:03 PM

Well I just got all the work done. The only thing wrong is I bought a skip shift eliminator off of Ebay and I guess it didnt work. Here is the list of things that got fixed on my tranny:

TRANS KIT, T56 CAMARO S/SY
TABS, T56 1/2-3/4 FORK
TABS, T56 5/6 FORK
SYNCRO DOG SET, BILLET 3-4 T56
FORK, T-56 34 STEEL
MAINSHAFT T56 VIPER
SPEEDO ROTOR T56 VIPER
BUSHING, REAR FORD31/CHY30
SEAL, REAR FORD/CHRYSLER
LABOR MACHINE WORK
and Drive line

All of that was $1975. The shop I took it to charged $540 to install and remove the tranny. After that The mech showed me that my clutch was burned up and about to go so I had to get a new one. I got the Luk Pro Gold w/alum flywheel. That was another $1250. Add another $145 for tax and the total was $3910. I went to start my car today and it was dead! I got the battery replaced and that fixed it. I originally thought I was going to leave this car stock but now the gates have opened and its game on. I just ordered my GMMG catback w/auto zone tips. (Had to be cheap cause Im broke) Ill get better ones later. SORRY THE POST IS SO LONG but what kind of a deal did I get?