I thought i blew my tranny this weekend!(long and overly dramatic)

[Tommy B]

Coming to a stop sign, the jackass on the cellphone in front of me jams on his brakes and doesn't move... Not expecting this(shame on me) i react by downshifting into 1st. Must have been a habbit i picked up from driving non-915 equipped cars.

I hear the loudest crunch i have ever heard. As i pull away from the corner with my heart pounding over what i may have just done, i shift into second and hear an even louder crunch.

Now I'm sweating, and my 4th of July weekend is looking quite dismal. Luckily, i'm only a few minutes away from my destination, and i coast there in second.

I stop, turn the car off, get out, and try to regain composure. Many crazy thoughts are going through my mind right now...

I SHOULDN"T HAVE BOUGHT A 911, I CAN"T AFFORD MAINTENENCE

THE PO IS A PIECE OF ****, HE TOLD ME THE TRANNY WAS IN GOOD SHAPE.

I walk back to the car hoping it's just the clutch, and with the motor OFF, the car won't even go into gears. Now i'm really scared/angry and about to start breaking things.

To make matters worse, my girlfriend is asking if this is gonna make us late for the wedding we're suppossed to be at in an hour.

Now i'm in dispair thinking of the repair costs. I remember that RPMraicing is nearby, so i give them a call. I ask him for the worst case number to prepare myself. He says it's hard to say without seeing the car, but a rebuild to "like brand new" will be about 2400. That's what i expected so i didn't hit the floor. It could have been worse.

Since he was only a few minutes away from where i was at the time, i limped the car over there in second gear. I get there and am happy to see a large, clean, mostly Porsche shop. His 915 "expert", the guy who would actually rebuild it for me, jumps in the car. He quickly says, "I might have some good news".

He showed me that my clutch pedal was not as high as it should be and he said the linkage could be broken or twisted. He said they'll start there and see what happens.

I also tell them to give the car a once over since i never got a PPI. (again shame on me)

Two days later, yup they worked over July 4th weekend, they called me to tell me they fixed the linkage and the car is driving normally again. He clocked 2.7 hours including the linkage, fixing my broken pass side mirror, and inspecting the car.

The only thing he found was a rusty brake line connection that needs replacing.

WHAT A RELIEF!!!

Moral of the story, optimism may have saved me a few gray hairs.

The guys at the shop were really great, and true enthusiasts(sp). I'm not sure if i'm allowed to plug them, but their site is

www.rpmracinginc.com

If your in Long Island, they may be worth a call. They definately did right by me.

[stomachmonkey]

I plug Russ and Taso all the time.

I live right down the road from them.

Had my car 2 weeks when the computer went.

Had taken it somewhere else and the guy wanted to do a $2000 tune up so he could properly diagnose the problem.

That night I found this board and based on the advice of several Pelicans I promptly yanked the car from the first shop and dropped it at RPM.

Had the car back within hours for the cost of used computer.

I love those guys. They truly are the best.

Scott

[Jack Olsen]

Good news.

Now, in the future, don't ever downshift to brake.

[mike f]

So did you get to the wedding on time?

[Tommy B]

we were late to the wedding, and more bad news, the car's not done.

they adjusted everything they could, but the car's just not dring the way it should.

there's a chatter during acceleration and stil crunching. i think they're gonna drop the tranny today.

boooo.

[Doug Steinel]

Tommy B, let that be a lesson to you. ALWAYS spend the bucks and get a PPI. It just ain't worth the risk.

[stomachmonkey]

Well that sucks. Just be comforted by the fact that the car is in good hands.

RPM treat your money as if it were their money. They won't spend a dime more than necessary.

Regards,
Scott

[Tommy B]

turns out the pressure plate was cracked in half. not really something a PPI may have told me. there were some while your in there things they suggested i fix, here's the list....

Part:
- Sachs Clutch Kit
- Pressure Plate bolts
- Pilot Bushing
- Rear Main Seal
- Breather plate gasket
- Oil pressure switch
- Thermostat O-Ring
- Throttle Linkage Bushings
- Oil Line (t-stat to tank)
- Oil Line (t-stat to engine)
- Torsion Bar End Caps

My first major repair, welcome to the 911 world

[jwetering]

You're lucky to have a good shop working for you. They sound great. Don't be fooled - you WILL spend money on your 911. You'll be poor, but it's a good poor.

I've got a good mechanic too..he does me LOTS of favours and I bring him beer on the occasional friday. I pay him too. He likes that. He built my tranny when I lunched it a few years back. I've had a lot of compliments on the box since then.

I'll plug my guy - not that there's a lot of Vancouver types on this board who don't know him yet. Andy Haglund over at SCAN automotive (he's swedish). He's absolutely GREAT with "real" 911's, and probably the best 944,951,928 guy in town.

Oh..hey - I've got a picture of his shop...and the 930 is for sale too if anyone is interested. It's a 1977 with a fresh engine. The owner (not Andy) is *anxious* to sell it so he can complete his intercooled 930 project. Let me know if you're interested.