KCS

iTrader: (20)

I had my car (2000 Pontiac T/A) towed Wednesday night (8/4/2010) for reasons unrelated to the transmission. The wrecker driver deemed it appropriate to lift the car by the front wheels and pull the car by the drive wheels. The T56 was in neutral and the e-brake was off. Driveshaft still connected.

When we dropped the car off at the house (maybe 5 mile trip), I started it up and pulled it into the driveway and it started making an intermittent whining noise when it was sitting at idle. I immediately brought it to her (wrecker driver's) attention and she claimed it was a pulley going bad. Since the noise seems to come from behind the engine, all of the accessories are new, and the A/C was off, I disagreed.

She also claimed that you can't pull these cars by lifting the back wheels because they are "too long". Again, I disagreed.

I read that this can damage an auto transmission, but I'm not sure about a T56. I'm going to drain the fluid tonight to look for any obvious damage, but I'm not sure where to go after that. Is it likely that this tow truck driver just damaged the T56, or is this new noise unrelated.

Thanks in advance.

85MikeTPI

iTrader: (9)

With the trans in neutral and the drive wheels turning, the mainshaft in the transmission is still turning. If the trans was even slightly low on fluid (or not) and the angle of the tow was such that the mainshaft shaft bearing was uncovered, then the tow truck driver most likely burned up one or more of your bearings in the front of the trans. If the whining goes away in 4th gear, its' most likely the small mainshaft bearing.

thesource

iTrader: (60)

Probably wiped out the pocket bearing that is located on the end of the mainshaft that rides inside the input shaft.

Good luck getting them to pay for it. I had a tow truck driver rip the rear bumper cover off my wifes 2007 Gt. It was fine when the car left our place and showed up at the dealership with the bumper ripped off. The tow truck company said it was like that and would not file it on their insurance.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Thanks, that's what I feared.

If I pull the transmission, is there any way to inspect/measure for any damage?

thesource

iTrader: (60)

You will need to remove the midplate and input shaft to inspect the bearing I am referring to.

GMTECH4

before u do anything ^^^ it's pretty easy to isolate the transmission. start the car put it in gear with the clutch dis-engaged (nothing in the transmission is moving). if noise is still there then it is something else. maybe the middle section on the boom on the truck damaged or bent something on the front of the engine area (drive belt area). good luck

AUburn1

iTrader: (1)

t56 service manual says to disconnect drive shaft when towing and never tow in nuetral i believe.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Yep, you are correct. Thanks for the heads up.



Nothing new to report. I'll update this thread when I get an estimate and contact the wrecker service and my lawyer.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

At first it was just an intermittent whine when the clutch was depressed, but it's became a higher pitched whine and it's also constant. It's coming from directly beneath the shifter and under the trans tunnel. I luckily have a truck to get around in instead to keep from causing further damage.

If it's just a damaged bearing, how hard would it be to fix? I assume it would be similar to an engine's crankshaft, and the actual shaft may need to be serviced, if not replaced.

85MikeTPI

iTrader: (9)

It's a tapered roller bearing pressed on the end of the mainshaft, and the race is pressed inside the inputshaft. The shafts themselves shouldn't need service unless they have been heated beyond temper.

The trans will have to be completed disassembled to press off/on the bearing.