Trannsmission Woe's... Need help!

[King Monza]

So after a 2 year build, hours of sourcing parts, saving money, spending money, and building an all around great car, problems come up. As I was building the motor I decided to take my perfectly good running 100k 200r4 to a supposed "200r4 specialist." 50 miles later, the thrust went from 7 to 14! So we pull off the oil pan on the motor to see what the damage could be. Sure enough, two bearings are worn down from the crank being pushed forward. Putting our heads together and my friend talking to several tranny guys and a well known engine builder, we determined that the line pressure in the transmission must have been to high. We inform the transmission builder of what has happened and after a good amount of back and forth, they finally agree to "inspect" their work.

Of course, they find "nothing wrong" with the transmission. Their torque converter was also sent back to them in case something was wrong with it. First, they send the TC back saying there is nothing wrong. The funny part is, that they forgot to weld it back together. So we took a look inside and found a ton of metal shavings and worn out internals. Nothing wrong?!?! lol. We point this out to them and send it back. They then send me another one basically saying "no refunds" and for me to deal with it. So I then do my research here and get a PTC.

Transmission comes back about two weeks ago and the new PTC TC goes in with it this week. We check thrust and it's perfect at 7. I then put about 100 miles on it. The car feels great! Transmission shifts feel a little weird, it locks up the TC instantly and it goes into 3rd after a slight hesitation. I then put it up on my friend's rack to verify that everything is good. Sure enough, it's back out to 15 with more metal now in my BRAND NEW MOTOR!!!!

So for the long read, but what can I do with these guys? Fool me once... etc. What I want is my money back and money for a core so I can get a transmission from somewhere else. Also, can I get my money back for the storage I had to pay for? For the bills I had to pay my friends shop for the trans R/R?

 

[King Monza]

Also, I checked the trans cooler lines, no kinks, restrictions, etc.

 

[quickt]

I would check the charge pressure in the cooling lines. Thats the first thing I would do even before engine repair.

 

[King Monza]

If the crank is now moving back and forth twice of what it was, why would the line pressure make a difference? From what I understand, the pressure is mainly affecting the 2-3 shift.

 

[mikestertwo]

I would check the charge pressure in the cooling lines. Thats the first thing I would do even before engine repair.

+1 Check the pressure in the cooling line, not the line pressure. Too much charge pressure in the converter will force the converter forward up against the flywheel causing excessive wear on the engine thrust bearing.

 

[bison]

+2 on the cooler circuit pressure. Line pressure and converter pressure are two different things. I doubt it has high line pressure. I highly doubt you will get any money back on the trans or converter. Its he said she said on what went wrong first. You assuredly will not get a cent back in storage fees either or the cost for your friend to R/R the trans. You would have to prove that one of the components caused the other to fail to be successful in a lawsuit and since you are not a transmission specialist you would have a very hard time proving anything. You havent even proven the cooler pressure to be a problem yet even though its likely since the thrust was going south. Id chalk it up as a loss and deal with vendors on this board from now on.