Thats pretty insane. I had my tranny fluid changed and was worried about the fact that the Dexron was reduced to somewhat pink sludge, but no such metal shavings. How many miles are on this guys Impala?

Under 100k

While ominous, that sounds normal according to the Impala guys at their forum.

i think trans longevity on any car is more about the drivers right foot then mechanical issues. i put 170k on my 03 monte with not one trans issue before trading it in. my wife on the other hand, any car that is her DD hasnt made it past 150k without having to be rebuilt

Hmmm the noise is concentrated more to the drivers side or passengers side?

Seems more on the drivers side, or perhaps center. Hard to tell for sure.

Have fun trans swapping.

Well, got the sub frame out in about a hour, and the trans out in another hour. Then a half hour to get it mounted on the stand and clean up a bit. Pulled it open and started pulling parts. Everything looks good. Nothing broken, bands all look good. I then grab the output shaft and turn it. Hmm, that should turn easy and smooth. Turn it again. It'* hard and not smooth at all. In fact, rather noisy. Flip the trans on the stand and remove the diff cover. I start pulling the diff out. I didn't remove the diff last week, just put the roll pin back in place. As I pull it out, a piece falls out. Hmm. Ya, I think this might be a problem.

Thrust bearing under the diff.


And a closer inspection of the diff. All the teeth on all 4 gears look like this.


Chunks of metal


More metal

so many metal shavings so little time....that trans should have been died on him

It did, that'* why it'* in my shop. I got 1st and reverse working, but wont go in to 2nd. Still trying to figure out why. I had it working in all gears. Thought it was just the roll pin. Nope, much more then that.