Quick recap on what happened:
Reversed out of driveway, heard whining noise coming out of transmission, then the car became difficult to drive without considerable throttle input. Upon stopping, the car locked up completely as if it was stuck in park. Neutral did nothing. I lifted the front end and put the car in drive, which resulted in horrible grinding coming from the transmission, which slowly faded away. Now the car is drivable, but bucks and "catches," as if a tooth is missing on the differential. So, the transmission is essentially shot I think.
Facts: My father and I have approximately 7 grand+ into this car right now. It's as stage 0 as can be - EVERYTHING has been replaced. The engine has been totally resealed from the block up, and it runs like a peach. It's tuned with a rebuilt 15G, and is basically a fun money pit. When things go wrong, I fix them. I want to keep this car for a long time. Since this car is a keeper, the cost to repair this isn't a huge issue, as long as it makes sense, so:
1) What would it cost to BRING my transmission to a rebuilder and have it rebuilt, with a warranty? Since the shop wouldn't have to worry about removal/installation, could a good deal be haggled? I've got no clue what a rebuild runs these days.
2) Would I be better off buying a known working junkyard transmission to get rebuilt instead of mine, which has made horrific grinding sounds in the past? I'm not keen on putting a used transmission in, but would entertain the idea if it came from an old man, or had very low mileage.
3) Personally, I'd love a manual, but the current familiy+car situation would make it difficult if one of my parents needed to borrow the car, which happens a couple times every few weeks. Since they often help out with funding this vehicle, I've gotta give something up. However, we agreed that it's best to consider all options, so we'd like to know what a good manual swap would run as well. Do the M56's typically get grindy synchros after 100k, or is it really up to how it's been driven? Don't know too much about the 5spds, as I've never had a reason to read into them much.
4) If I put a FWD transmission in my car, will the axles work as is? Or, will I need to source FWD axles?......will the FWD axles work correctly with my wheel hubs? The car already lacks all AWD components, so this is a viable option for me.
Thanks for any help anyone can give.
Edited by burnout8488, 31 July 2012 - 10:46 PM.
