Need help from someone who has had tranny work done

[blackedOutTsi]

The car is a 1997 Eagle Talon Tsi 5-speed with 87k miles on it.
Ok here goes my story...

Back in May I was having trouble shifting into 2nd gear (no, I've never went hard on the tranny and/or had it at the track, and the fluid was full and had been changed by me at about 60k miles) so after explaining that I would get a grinding noise when shifting into 2nd at 3500 rpm's or higher to a reputable transmission mechanic he decided the synchronizer had went bad on 2nd gear.
However, a few days later the mechanic called me up to say that the only way he could get a set of synchros' for my car was to buy the entire 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear gearset ($1100+) and I told him thanks but no thanks.
We called another local trans mechanic (Tim) and he said he could get a set of synchros for my car no problem.
Me and my dad proceeded to take the transmission out of my car (a two weekend project) and then took it to Tim to have the synchros replaced.

The synchros were replaced (yes, I got the old ones), and the transmission put back together. Me and my dad put the tranny back in (replacing the clutch along with it ... didn't want to go through this much work again) only to find that the tranny was making a low growling noise at idle and it kept throwing out of reverse. It shifted great though with no problems in 2nd.

The work had a 30 day warranty on it so we took it back to Tim and he took out the tranny and went through it again. The growling was fixed but it still threw out of reverse. He went through the tranny 2 more times with the same results. Finally he sent the tranny to another mechanic (his golfing buddy) Leroy. Leroy went through the tranny 3 times with the same results, still throwing out of reverse.

After 11 weeks of the tranny being torn apart and put back together with the same results I got my money back from Tim and payed him for just the parts put into the car. Tim wanted to replace the 2 reverse gears, but I didn't understand why anything should be wrong with them when it never had this problem originally.

As of now, the tranny sits at another transmission shop waiting to be worked on. The owner says he has done 2 Talon's before, but replacing gears, not synchros. For the record, he is also able to get a synchro set for the car without buying an entire gearset.
I wanted some answers so I went to a major chrysler dealership in the detroit area and the mechanic there said they've only done a few Talons and if I wanted them to fix the tranny they would replace the whole gearset, not just the synchros.

So that is where I'm at ...
Is it impossible to replace synchros on a dsm tranny or am I dealing with idiots?
Has anyone had it done?
If so, who did it?
Any information/help would be extremely appreciated .... I'm 16 weeks car-less.

- Nick

 

[pneumo]

You can get just the syncros, but most of the time when you're grinding the gear you are grinding down the edges of the splines that help engage the gear, so most tranny shops will only replace the syncro with the gear. That way it reduces the risk of having a dissatisfied customer coming back asking them to do the work over again for free. Replacing just the syncro usually doesn't stop the grind, although it may help a little.

 

[miguels3000]

Okay if youre ready for a real answer call Tony at Road Race Engeneering
http://www.roadraceengineering.com/

He took my tranny apart and put it back together, my understanding is that working on our dsm tranny's is what he dedicates himself on doing.
Either call him or send him an email ar rre att tony. ask him for advice.

Good Luck

16 weeks is not bad, try 7 months.... doing car payments.
Ive owned my car for 3 years its been down for a total of 18 months on and off. half the time. been threw 3 trannys two engines 2 turbos etc etc....
I bet you can start a thread with people saying how long there car has been down for.