1-USA

I hope nobody will top this one.
Last month on the 28th I flew from Alaska to Huston and purchased a 2006/Z06 with 8500miles. After wrapping up the paperwork I headed for phoenix AZ where I planned to store the car until our summer arrives. Driving 900 miles at 2:30 am east bound on I10 in the middle of nowhere I heard and felt a large explosion losing all my gears and power to the rear wheels…a very sick feeling!!!!!!!! Jumping days ahead the transmission was pulled at a Chevy Dealer in Tucson and they told me there was very little fluid in the trans and that it literally burned up. There were no leaks on the case. I had them ship in a new one, install it and the car is now in Phoenix $7000.00 later. Anyone ever hear of something like this? I contacted the plant on KY and they have no record of anything like this happening. The mystery is where did the fluid go or was it like this from new?
Jim
Palmer, Alaska.

KX

Really sad happening and at such a horrible time. I purchased a used ZR-1 back in 1993. Car only had 5,000 miles on it but I still stayed over night and took the car to a quick change place to have all fluids checked and/or changed the next day! May have cost me $75 or so but that is far better than the $7,000 you had to spend. Hard way to learn though.

66biskwik

You would think with 8500 miles on the car and that little fluid you would notice it. It would shift hard and be noisy as hell. Something doesn't seem right. Usually when you run something dry it locks up. I had a 66 coupe that broke a posi spring and put a small hole in the case when I was on a trip. Driving along and the rear just locked up.
Was like someone put on the brakes. Car was an L72 with side pipes and was so loud it rattled your teeth

1-USA

You make some good points!

It shifted a bit stiff but then all my othet vetts were Automatic. There is a big difference with the new one. it is smooth and quiet. Must be a tought transmission to go that far on so little.

It got so hot it blued the case in spots......what a hard lesson!

Other than that the car is unreal. It was cammed / hedders etc. done by a shop in Houston. Cranking out 580hp is a big differnce from my base C6s. I can't wait to drive it back home next month! The trip is 3600 miles to the Anchorage area.

VET4LES

Congratulations on the new to you Z. My guess is the shop in Houston changed the oil and didn't put the correct amount in.

KX

You did not say it was cammed, etc in your original post! My guess is that car was not babied by the previous owner and hammering a transmission low on oil let alone empty sure as you know what led to your explosion!! On top of that it is a Z car. Plenty fast enough on its own & then it gets modified. And you wonder why the tranny blew like a small grenade..!!
Let the buyer beware...a rule to live by!

1-USA

Thanks for the thumbs up...it is a rocket I am not fully qualified to drive yet. At 58 , and a pilot it has respect written all over it!

The Transmission was never checked.....with no leaks / 8k miles and hard to get at even i did not think it was an issue.

The crankcase oil was fine......to bad they do not have a transmission temp like they do for the motor oil!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill Dearborn

Could be the PO had the the transmission fluid changed and whoever did it drained the fluid but forgot to refill it.

Bill

Silverado Desperado

Sorry to hear that, terrible that it happened, I feel for you. I'd ask GM for help on the cost of it, 5yr 100k drivetrain warranty and not too far out of date, and very low miles...I bet they'd either pay for it, or pay a portion of it. Goodwill goes a long way. Good thing you had it done at a Chevy dealer. Give GM a call, might be well worth the effort.

On a happier note, I'd be glad to drive it to Alaska for you, and I don't even mind walking home afterwards either. What a great trip that would be!

cor28vettes

This could be the clue. And FS is the 2nd clue. Raises some flags

06 C6 vert

You should have bought a new A6 , never want to buy a used supercar. Steep learning curve...

1-USA

Yes.....you have a great point, and that is sometimes how we learn, knowledge usally comes with a price.

1-USA

I contacted the GM Bowling Green plant....they said there were no recorded issues like this and offered nothing more. I am going to take your advise and keep going with it, I have nothing to loose.

The drive is great, I drove both my other cars back too! I think my wife wants to drive back with me this time.......she's hot @ 125lbs and hard to turn down. I'll let you know if she changes her mind! :-)

1-USA

You are correct..... I was told that MTI Motorsports of Houston did the work.....the only problem is that the shop has closed up so ther is no contacting them. Maybe they were going to do a trans fluid change and????????????????? *&%#()(&$&__)

Ketchum

I have seen this in other manual transmission cars. Its one little drop over time. They also experienced no warning. One or two I remember did make noise before letting go. Seen this on transfer cases also. One little drop at a time over time.

1-USA

Please remember, 8500 miles on the car and no leaks...none!

AORoads

sorry to hear of your issues. frankly, though with it being an '06 which could have been produced as early as 8/05 (or as late as say, 5/06), I don't think you have any warranty left on the car. as said above, it is the roll of the dice when buying a car, even one w. 8500 miles on it. I know I took that chance when I bought a 9 year old Vette back about 5 years ago with slightly less miles than yours. But the one I got was stock all the way except for OE-sized wheels.

GOLD72

BINGO!!! BG didn't screw up with the original assembly build. The tuner shop most likely did.

EuroRod

Good judgement come from experience.

Experience comes from bad judgement.

Mike Siska

My 06Z06 had clutch pack issues. On left or right turns, there would be a semi-grinding noise coming from the trans. Believe there was a TSB on this. The dealer changed the clutch packs (they were metallic) out and no more noise. But they had to change the trans fluid too.
Have you checked the service history of your Z06 at a dealer?