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Possible Transmission Failure in the works (again)

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Old 12-17-2009, 12:04 PM
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what did supercatxr7 do that would be considered going all out?
Old 12-17-2009, 02:25 PM
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I believe he's running well over 600 hp. You can check is signature for a list of mods.
Old 12-17-2009, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by DP 08 GXP
what did supercatxr7 do that would be considered going all out?
More boost, Radials, dont quote me on this, but I think he has a bottle in the car...
Old 12-17-2009, 04:32 PM
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Great writeup Tempest. Thanks for the insight into your project!
Old 12-17-2009, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by hexxLS4
Yeah I get on it a bit. Not nearly as bad as the first transmission though... =P Both transmissions lasted a little less than 20k miles each.

So far, the dealer said that the factory rep said no. I'm going to set an appt to talk to the service manager myself to see if they can try again. If not, I'm going to try and call he factory representative myself....I'm not through with them yet.
So I talked to the Service Manager today and he said the reason that the claim was rejected was due to the CAI intake and "catback" exhaust mods. Firstly, I don't have a catback...I just have the resonator removed and flowmaster 40 cans. Neither of those exhaust mods add any HP...so that leaves the intake...I told him I added that for a little fuel efficiency and there is no way 5hp increase is going to send a transmission to the grave at 20,000 miles.

After a little talkin and convincing, I got him to make another call to the factory rep. He asked me what was the best I was willing to do and I told him I'd pay for labor if they paid for parts. Hopefully, if they do it, they'll include the 3yr 100k warranty that come with out of warranty dealer transmission replacements.

So now I wait...he should be back to me by tomorrow. *crosses fingers*
Old 12-17-2009, 04:45 PM
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good luck man...hopefully it all works out for ya.
Old 12-17-2009, 05:06 PM
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I don't mean to sound like a moron as I don't have one of these cars, however has anyone ever thought of doing a 6t70 swap instead of getting these trannys built? I know it would take some or probably an *** load of work and some tuning, but wouldn't a 6 speed be more fun with these monsters? Don't mean to hijack, but ever since my dad got his Lacrosse Super (love that car) I find myself lurking in the LS4 posts. A lot of thornly header post reading lately too. Anyway sorry again these cars intrigue me a lot.
Old 12-17-2009, 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Breathing Fire
I don't mean to sound like a moron as I don't have one of these cars, however has anyone ever thought of doing a 6t70 swap instead of getting these trannys built? I know it would take some or probably an *** load of work and some tuning, but wouldn't a 6 speed be more fun with these monsters? Don't mean to hijack, but ever since my dad got his Lacrosse Super (love that car) I find myself lurking in the LS4 posts. A lot of thornly header post reading lately too. Anyway sorry again these cars intrigue me a lot.
No, nobody has attempted it but I believe it has been discussed. We would benefit from a closer ratio set of gears, our trannies fall off a cliff from 1st to 2nd.

Somebody named a company in the midwest IIRC that was looking for a LS4 mule to do a six speed swap but it never came to fruition.

There's also that video on youtube of the GP GT with a northstar 32v and a 6 speed I believe that everyone always comments on and brings up in here.

I would eventually like to see this, I think it would be an interesting twist in a FWD v8 car.
Old 12-18-2009, 04:58 PM
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I wish...I hate this transmission
Old 12-18-2009, 06:57 PM
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I missed your earlier post...that's good news and bad news. I guess we will have to see how this one turns out. If the dealer has any brains then they will service the tranny because that will possibly buy them loyalty and a return customer in the future.
Old 12-18-2009, 10:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Nacho SS
No, nobody has attempted it but I believe it has been discussed. We would benefit from a closer ratio set of gears, our trannies fall off a cliff from 1st to 2nd.

Somebody named a company in the midwest IIRC that was looking for a LS4 mule to do a six speed swap but it never came to fruition.

There's also that video on youtube of the GP GT with a northstar 32v and a 6 speed I believe that everyone always comments on and brings up in here.

I would eventually like to see this, I think it would be an interesting twist in a FWD v8 car.
If you're talking about Milzy Motorsports, I think they are still looking for a 3800 powered W-Body to swap a 6 speed manual into. http://www.milzymotorsports.com/

I agree about the 6 speed auto. It is a beauty. My Mom has an Aura with the 4 cylinder, and even though it doesn't have a lot of power it always seems to be in a good gear.

I know that I don't have even close to the skill to pull off this swap, but I'd love to see some one swap the 6 speed out of an AWD Traverse or Acadia. "Just" cut the car in half down the middle, weld in a tunnel for the prop shaft and then install the Traverse's rear differential and suspension. After thinking about how much work that would be, I decided to just pay someone good to build mine. Not to mention that I am still making payments and need the car to get to work. I would be super impressed if anyone pulled off even a FWD 6 speed swap.

hexx, good luck getting the extended warranty. Hopefully the labor doesn't break the bank.
Old 12-23-2009, 01:06 PM
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bad news. After a second round with the service manager, they still said no. They still made the same argument about the exhaust modifications and intake. Again, all I have is flowmaster 40 mufflers and deleted resonator. For the intake, all I have is the CAI intake with the stock elbow.

So, I took my case to GM customer support and try to attack it from the top down. GM was very responsive and communicative. However, in the end, all they gave me was a big fat "NO". The reason: My intake. wtf.

Moral of the story, swap out your intake for the stock air box before taking it in for any kind of warranty work. Apparently, our transmissions can't handle an additional 5hp and will cause it to fail at 19k miles.



Lucky for them, the G8 is AMAZING (I test drove one) so I'll probably be swapping my car for one soon if all works out right.
Old 12-23-2009, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by hexxLS4
bad news. After a second round with the service manager, they still said no. They still made the same argument about the exhaust modifications and intake. Again, all I have is flowmaster 40 mufflers and deleted resonator. For the intake, all I have is the CAI intake with the stock elbow.

So, I took my case to GM customer support and try to attack it from the top down. GM was very responsive and communicative. However, in the end, all they gave me was a big fat "NO". The reason: My intake. wtf.

Moral of the story, swap out your intake for the stock air box before taking it in for any kind of warranty work. Apparently, our transmissions can't handle an additional 5hp and will cause it to fail at 19k miles.



Lucky for them, the G8 is AMAZING (I test drove one) so I'll probably be swapping my car for one soon if all works out right.
That is dogshit. But hopefully you can swing a G8. I would be so jealous.
Old 12-26-2009, 06:58 PM
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G8 it is. I put a $1000 deposit on one today to hold it until Mon\Tues. Get this, the dealership is disregarding the transmission problem for purposes of the trade-in value. They're going to give me $11,500 for the trade which is a little more than I owe...that's right in line with KBB (on a good to excellent vehicle with no tranny problems).

I got a fully loaded 2008 (originally delivered 8-8-08) with 6000 miles for $23,995. Yes, I realize that the new ones have the $6500 incentive which will put a fully loaded one right about $28,000. But there aren't any in my area. Closest ones which don't even have all the options I want are like 100 - 200 miles away. My transmission will NEVER make it that far. If I can find a dealership that will do a dealer trade and get one delivered to me, I'll ditch this deal and go for that one.

Either way, $23,995 with a full trade in value that disregards my borked tranny puts me right around the $5000 off new mark which is pretty decent in my opinion.

Any other opinions?

Last edited by hexxLS4; 12-26-2009 at 07:15 PM.
Old 12-27-2009, 12:53 AM
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That sounds like the best possible solution, but out of curiosity how did they end up with a car with 6000 miles on it? Whatever the answer, it sounds like you've turned lemons into lemonade. IMO, a good deal even if it was a demo car because you've got the longer warranty. I also give you credit for using the word borked in a sentence lol...
Old 12-27-2009, 02:01 AM
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Well done.
Old 12-27-2009, 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by nmp0098
That sounds like the best possible solution, but out of curiosity how did they end up with a car with 6000 miles on it? Whatever the answer, it sounds like you've turned lemons into lemonade. IMO, a good deal even if it was a demo car because you've got the longer warranty. I also give you credit for using the word borked in a sentence lol...
From what I hear the previous owner was loaded and just wanted something else and traded it in for another car a the mini dealership. Not sure if he went for another used car or a mini...not sure how one would go from a G8 GT into a mini...so I'm going to assume he traded it in for something else like a BMW...

borked being in my language is a result from working with computers for way too long.
Old 12-27-2009, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Breathing Fire
I don't mean to sound like a moron as I don't have one of these cars, however has anyone ever thought of doing a 6t70 swap instead of getting these trannys built? I know it would take some or probably an *** load of work and some tuning, but wouldn't a 6 speed be more fun with these monsters? Don't mean to hijack, but ever since my dad got his Lacrosse Super (love that car) I find myself lurking in the LS4 posts. A lot of thornly header post reading lately too. Anyway sorry again these cars intrigue me a lot.
More like the 6T75. 6T70 isn't rated high enough.

This guy is doing it (http://www.fastfieros.com/projects/index.htm), albeit with the L76 (from the G8 GT).

I've tried emailing him before but he just seemed to be stuck on the L76.

Maybe if enough people show interest, we might get something done.
Old 12-29-2009, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by GXP25
More like the 6T75. 6T70 isn't rated high enough.

This guy is doing it (http://www.fastfieros.com/projects/index.htm), albeit with the L76 (from the G8 GT).

I've tried emailing him before but he just seemed to be stuck on the L76.

Maybe if enough people show interest, we might get something done.
These fiero guys never stop do they. You really have to give them props for keeping that platform alive and possibly paving the way for the LS4 community.
Old 12-29-2009, 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by hexxLS4
G8 it is. I put a $1000 deposit on one today to hold it until Mon\Tues. Get this, the dealership is disregarding the transmission problem for purposes of the trade-in value. They're going to give me $11,500 for the trade which is a little more than I owe...that's right in line with KBB (on a good to excellent vehicle with no tranny problems).

I got a fully loaded 2008 (originally delivered 8-8-08) with 6000 miles for $23,995. Yes, I realize that the new ones have the $6500 incentive which will put a fully loaded one right about $28,000. But there aren't any in my area. Closest ones which don't even have all the options I want are like 100 - 200 miles away. My transmission will NEVER make it that far. If I can find a dealership that will do a dealer trade and get one delivered to me, I'll ditch this deal and go for that one.

Either way, $23,995 with a full trade in value that disregards my borked tranny puts me right around the $5000 off new mark which is pretty decent in my opinion.

Any other opinions?
So after battling several dealerships (at times, simultaneously), I decided to go with the used 6000 mile one for a few reasons. 1, the dealerships that were going to do a dealer trade for me (I couldnt afford to drive too far with the state that my car was in) were just being shady. There were only a couple left in the area they they could get a hold on. A red one and a white demo with 5000 miles. White was one of my colors but there was NO WAY I was going to pay full price for a demo...I'm not a chump sorry. The dealership was trying to mark it up. So I called the dealer they were trading with and the price was significantly lower. Nobody seemed like they wanted to work things out with me and in the end they didnt want to do the dealer trade. I could have gotten the demo cheaper if I was able to move my car 200 miles....not worth it.

I ended up getting an additional 200 bucks off the used (I was trying for another 1000) bringing it to 23,795. Taxes were like $700 less than a new one, dealer fees were significantly lower... PLUS, I wanted a sunroof and the only car in FL that was fully loaded with a sun roof was the used one. Yes, a sunroof is priceless to me...and worth another $1000 when comparing the used to new imo. The people selling the new one were trying to get me to cut my roof to get a 3rd party one installed...ummm, no thanks!!

So I take delivery of my car....a dog jumps out in the middle of the road....I slam on the breaks...I get rear ended by a little freshman girl with a cellphone in a civic. LOL wtf!?!

Conclusions:
-G8 GTs are AMAZING cars and they make the LS4 cars feel like toys in every way. (no offense guys, I loved my car)

-G8 GTs have EXCELLENT stopping capabilities and are very easy to control in emergencies.

-G8 GT's make a MESS of little honda civics when they get read ended. *grin*

The damage was as follows. Since the civics have a hood that kind of dip downwards, the car essentially hit my bumper and sorta temporarily edged itself under my car. The lower rear fascia by the bumper is mangled as well as hard of the exhaust...mostly the mufflers and tips it seems. The civics whole front end was smashed in and the radiator was spewing everywhere.

My back hurt a little by the end of the night, but it seems ok today. We'll see how it feels tomorrow. Hopefully no permanent damage there.

I guess one good thing about it is that maybe I can manage to get a free flowmaster install out of it since they're gonna be down there anyways. Pics--> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...54094521&saved My profile is open to the world, so let me know if you have trouble seeing the album.

PS, just because I went to a G8 doesn't still I wont be around here lurking and seeing that you all are getting the much needed love you deserve. The LS4 wbodies really are nice despite their downfalls and really do have a lot of potential...it's just not something I want to (nor really have the proper experience) to sink money into. Good luck to you all!

PPS, I have the following for sale: Diablosport predator, Superchips tuner, and a CAI intake. PM me for details. I'll be posting them on ebay and in the sale forum within the next few days.

Last edited by hexxLS4; 12-29-2009 at 02:51 PM.


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