One thing that wasn't on my list was a new Transmission. A few weeks ago while "driving" on the freeway next to a Mercedes AMX GT-R at 130 mph, "in Mexico" (I won) the rear seal decided to give up the ghost. It wasn't gushing gushing thankfully and I hadn't noticed anything wrong until I exited the freeway and spotted a bit of smoke coming out from under the hood. Figured she may have puked a little oil out of the breather tank and pulled over to check. I was and wasn't surprised to find that one of the fitting on lines to the AC compressor had broken and the hose was against the header. No big, those where on the list of things for CHC to address anyways. I secured the hose, mopped up the AC oil best I could and pressed on to meet friends for lunch. Still had a little smoke coming out the back of the car, but figured it was residue burning off. Hitting the freeway on the return trip and shifting into 5th resulted in a crazy vibration. I slowed and pulled off at the next exit expecting to find something stuck in a rear tire. Instead I found the rear of the car covered in transmission fluid. I limped a few blocks home at a 20 mph, cleaned her up and got her up on jack stands.
Thankfully the bottom of the car is coated with UPOL Raptor and all the rear end/suspension parts are powder coated. This made clean up easy. A bit of simple green and a mountain of rags did the job. The Ricks Stainless tank took a bit more work, but it wasn't bad.
With the car set to leave for CHC i was pressed to get it fixed and started looking at how to address the issue. Jody pointed out that the rear seal is a known defect and that basically the fluid get trapped in the tail housing and builds pressure till the seal pops. There is a fix and it's possible the tail housing would be covered under a recall, but that would take time. After adding up all the possible costs, time, etc. the smart money seemed to be upgrading to the new T56 Magnum-F. It's a direct replacement for my old school T56, so no shifter relocation or cutting required. Plus it will hold a lot more TQ and it should shift a lot nicer from what I've heard. I called the guys over at American Powertrain and had them ship one to CHC. Great guys. Helpful and easy to deal with. The new trans arrived yesterday, which is the day after the car arrived.
I didn't expect any work to start until after the new year, but CHC jump right on it today and made quick work of swapping out the transmission. Chris was nice enough to send photos.
It's a bummer having to swap the trans, but I have to say that working with American Powertrain and Chris Holstroms has made what could have been a major thorn, painless.
There will be more to come.
Thanks for looking and Merry Christmas!!
