Transmission made metal....

[PAFJ]

what are my options?

Wish I had a cool story to go along with this but I don't. This is the wife's rig i.e. mall cruiser, '96 with 113K mi. My wife notice the transmission making noise in 1st gear or "L" and reverse only. Like a low pitched growling noise. Dropped the pan today to check the filter and magnets and found a couple of large pieces of metal stuck to one of the magnets, plus numerous other small chips and flakes!

So am I basically looking at a new transmission? What would cause this on a relatively low mileage LC? My wife did not notice anything out of the ordinary before the noise started so no significant event associated with the carnage.

I took the rig for a spin before I dropped the pan and everything seemed normal other than the noise described... tranny shifted smooth, etc. How long do you think I can get a away with driving like this, or should a replacement be ordered ASAP?

Thanks for the help!

 

[CJF]

Huh.

Hard to say what's up since we've seen so few cases of that.

If it were me, I think I'd consider cleaning the filter, changing the fluid, and running with it for a while to see if any other symptoms develop. No idea whether that's actually a good idea or not though...

 

[PAFJ]

I know I find this really strange. Especially since there was no load noise, jerking, etc. associated with the chunks of metal, and really it drove and shifted good considering. I plan to drive it for awhile like you said and see if it gets worse, might as well, it is still drivable.

 

[js93cruiser]

Parts of the planetary gear sets??

 

[skintunes]

really... judging by your macro photo and grain on your kitchen table - that appears to be 1/100th size of most bugs i've eaten while riding motorcycles- get in you truck and drive....

 

[Flank]

Huh.

Hard to say what's up since we've seen so few cases of that.

If it were me, I think I'd consider cleaning the filter, changing the fluid, and running with it for a while to see if any other symptoms develop. No idea whether that's actually a good idea or not though...

x2. Don't freak out, fill it up and run it. She how she goes. There is no cause for alarm until there's a cause for alarm...

 

[PAFJ]

really... judging by your macro photo and grain on your kitchen table - that appears to be 1/100th size of most bugs i've eaten while riding motorcycles- get in you truck and drive....

Haha! The biggest piece is larger than it appears. Definitely not good or normal, but yeah, I will probably just drive it until it doesn't want to go anymore.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Drive it . Esp. around town, on the road maybe not. MIke

 

[betenoire]

I used to own an Audi, they were notorious for transmission issues after 100K. I was have transmission problem pretty bad and was dreading 3K to fix, decided to drain the oil (second time since I owned it) and replaced the filter, cleaned the magnets, etc. Guess what? Drove like a champ afterwords. I agree with the others, these are tank transmissions, they don't got out. Mine has 227K miles still shifts strong and smooth. Filler up and drive baby!