Friday I pick up my car from the dealer. New transmission mount, new motor mounts, new torque arm mount, transmission flush, fix tranny cooler line, adjust fuel pressure.

I am told the car feels like is has a "hundred more horsepower"

I drive it and the transmission feels "soft"... Bring it back and the mechanic says yea, it felt soft to him too but he didn't drive it before flushing it so he didn't have anything to compare....

He then says he "might" have gotten some silicone in the tranny line????????? I'm like, well, you either did or you didn't. What will it do? ('Cause I don't know)....

Anyway, the mechanic and the tranny guy say it might cause low line pressure which could cause it to shift soft. I informed them it was crisp and firm when I brought it in, and they said the softness could be from silicone...

So...... Sunday, car runs like crap. Goes from 12.02 at 102 to 12.61 at 105 over the course of the day.

In the final round I launch decently, when I pull second it pegs the rev limiter so I pull third and the same thing.... No gears. None.... Not even park. No reverse. No leaks, no drips...

I was told a puff of black smoke came out of the car, kind of like the clutch dust you see when a funny car launches, but I have an automatic.

Triple A brought me home.

Question. Could silicon in the transmission cause this and if so how and why?

Transmission is a "built" 700R5 from TCI with manual valve body and TCI 3600 stall converter.

Sounds like they are feeding you a bunch of BS because they know you race. Its been my experience that most dealerships don't know their butt from a hole in the ground.

Just guessing here, but they could have possible removed or misadjusted the TV cable on the tranny. I know on the older F-bodies you could adjust some shift properties by adjusting this cable. Also, did you check the transmission fluid after picking it up? It sounds like something may have happened with the transmission flush or the tranny cooler line fix. It is possible that a tranny cooler line got blocked off and stopped the flow of tranny fluid, but this is just speculation.

Alan

They just called. There is no fluid movement. Their guess is either the front pump or the converter and in either case they need to drop the tranny.

The mechanic isn't as bad as he sounds. he is a young guy in school for mechanical engineering and new at the dealership. I have known many of the guys there for years.

They know I race but also honor warranties for stuff that is not race related.

Hope everything works out for you. I know it sucks for your car to be in the shop. Keep us updated on how everything turns out.

Alan

The front transmission pump failed.

You get the tranny serviced and then the front pump fails????????? Why? A big glob of silicone could have plugged off a port, orifice, or valve the the valve body starving some part of the trans for the proper oil pressure.
Sucks big time.

No silicone found anywhere, however....

Pump is in pieces.
Metal shavings in torque converter.
Cracked band.

Dealer thinks I should be talking to TCI because although I race.... It is a 12.00 second street car with limited use and the tranny should easily be able to take more than what I have been doing.

Two years ago I exploded a similiar transmission from TCI in Ohio.

I just figured they are a good brand...

Anyway, I have been having an ongoing dialogue with them. Because I have had valvetrain issues my car has only seen a half season at the track each of the last two years. Plus the prior trans exploded in October so my season was done when it was replaced anyway so 2003 at one track and the car was only at half the events.... Hmmmmm. Plus it was instantly 4 tenths slower after the transmission and torque converter were installed.

I will keep updating. Any experience, guidance is welcome.

I'm with Al on this one. First you were warned that silicone MAY be present, then it dies like it did. Silicone in a passage would starve the pump, causing it to gernade itself, as well the heat from the lack of fluid would be the cause of the band and frictions being cracked or burned. Just sounds fishy to me that they warned you, and it felt different, but it felt good when you brought it in. Espically being it was a TCI pump, so I am sure the put the upgraded pump, 7 vane I believe, in it. I have nuked 6 trannys in the last 3 years and out of all the abuse and wear and tear, I have yet to break a 7 vane pump.

And to be brutally honest, I dont think any shop would fess up that there was silicone in it after they checked it out. But I am a untrusting kinda guy.

Q

It was a 10 vein pump. I must say the folks at TCI, thusfar, have been as good as I have experienced.

The dealership and I go back many years. They have found ways to asisst with warranties and have eaten a fair share of labor when they have made a mistake in the past. They have always been up front with me about stuff and the same people ae still there. If they are uncomfortable with something, they let me know. I'm not saying they are covering their tracks but tomorrow I will have a decision by TCI in terms of whether or not they will accept a return on the transmission torque converter setup and the dealership is aware of this.

I wager the dealerhship will fess up prior to shipping back to TCI.

TCI is sending new parts in advance of my shipping the old parts back to them. They have taken the time to really help with my situation. I cannot say enough good things about service after the sale.

I have seen the transmission. The pump actually is a mess. There was no contamination.

Thats good to hear, glad to see they are taking care of you. It does happen to pumps, they do die. Hope you get it done up soon and get to enjoy the rest of the race season.

Q