Manual transmission problems with 2001 saturn SC-2

I have a 2001 Saturn SC-2 I purchased new. It has 84000 miles on it. Two weeks ago I discovered a leak coming from the the differential were the axle connects. I assumed it was the differential oil seal. I took it to a mechanic to get it fixed. They replaced the seal but it still leaked. They called several transmission shops in the area and they told them it was probable a hole in the bell housing next to the differential. They pulled the transmission and did discover a hole were a gear had worn thru the housing. I was floored! I had never heard of anything like this happening. My mechanic sad that the transmission shops said the the gear in the differential is able to slide a little and it just slowly wears thru the housing. I call 5 transmission shop and every single one of them had come across the same problem. I called Saturn customer service up sense this is oviously a design fault on their part. All I ask for was to have the Bell housing replaced and the differential gear to be repaired. The car only had 84000 miles on it and this should not have happened. Saturn customer service was very polite when they told me what I could go do with myself! I will never buy another GM produced ever! They said that they only warrenty the transmission for 36000 mile and thats it. Even KIA seems to have better faith in there produces than Saturn & GM do in theirs. Could this be why GM is loosing so much market share? Has anyone else had this problem?

P.S. I have pictures of the transmission if anyone would like to see them.

Reply to
ptload
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Oh yeah one issue with a make that doesnt share a single part with anything else in the fleet causes me to stop buying everything they make too. Hence why I dont buy anything anymore...

It has nothing to do with better faith. You over pay for a cheaply made car and they wont mind keeping you're butt covered for a long time with cheaply made parts. Besides that warranty isnt all its made out to be. If you feel a car company should hold your hand for 10 years then you shouldnt be driving...

Sure upload them to photobucket.com

Reply to
blah blah

My condolences on your loss.

By my humble experience you should have changed your transmission fluid twice or more. Was this done? Do you normally drive in a "spirited" manner, with shift points regularly above 3000 rpm? or do you use aggressive downshifting at high rpm for increased engine braking? How is your clutch? Do you EVER allow one wheel to spin when trying to get unstuck in the snow?

The search for fuel economy has resulted in all components being made lighter and lighter. Transmissions in both cars and especially light trucks have seen vastly increased failure rates as a result.

I would normally suggest that you consider welding your case but I have trouble with the concept that gears could contact the case without first wearing away a lot of steel. If it was the differential cross shaft that failed then the transmission internals may still be serviceable.but may require rebuilding all the trust washers in the tranny and since (in my uninformed opinion) these transmissions are not really designed to be rebuildable it may be cheaper to price a new (find a friend or shop that can buy wholesale) or find a used tranny. If buying used I would suggest you pick one that does NOT come from either a SC or a twin cam.

There are few guarantees in life and those that are claimed almost always have exclusions that apply to you. The basic warranty is to cover infant mortality and poor quality control and does not claim to provide lifetime protection. I am not suggesting that 84000 mi is satisfactory service life but sh_t and bad luck are both facts of life.

Reply to
Private

i have a 94 wagon that the gas pedel went under the brake causing me to crash and saturn says they have been testing this scenario at the plant all day and it is impossible due to the pedel sizes- they will be able to get me those pedel sizes by Wed. next week-apparently no rulers at the plant.

Reply to
Jim Kane

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