This 1989 GMC truck - yes, we still have a surprising number of 1980s vehicles in our fleet in 2011 - was towed in for a no crank concern. Specifically, trying to start the truck resulted in a lot of intense grinding.

In a lot of cases, the bendix drive of the starter has an issue and will grind on the flywheel gears instead of engaging them and turning the engine over. However, the starter in this truck was replaced a little over a month ago. While it is possible for new or remanufactured parts to fail in short periods of time, this isn't that common.

Looking at the flywheel, there is some damage to the teeth, but nothing that I would describe as severe.

I did some searching and soon discovered my issue.

For reasons I am unable to explain or verify, something punched a giant hole in the top of the transmission case.

The transmission case is broken.

And by "broken," I mean a 6 - 8 inch chunk of metal is missing from the top of the case.

I have no idea what happened here.

I don't know if something came apart on the inside of the case and blew a hole outward, or if something hit it externally and broke it inward.

Regardless, the damage had been done. Witness marks were clearly visible on the torque converter.

There was no saving this transmission. It had to be replaced.