4L60e question

I'm on the hunt for a wagon and found a 94 Chevy caprice at a nice price. It's a really nice car that's been pretty well maintained. It has 122k. It has a posi rear and 2.93 gears. The only issue is the transmission. The guy told me that while he was driving it a couple months ago the check engine light came on. He took it to a shop and they determined it was the 1-2 and 3-4 shift solenoids so they replaced them. Now he says it slips into 3rd which it apparently didn't do before the shop. If you give it extra gas it won't slip. From reading on here it sounds like it could be the solenoids (which were replaced) or the clutch packs are on their way out. He also said the gas mileage has suffered since the mechanic. I'm not very familiar with these transmissions yet so maybe one of you has some insight.

Sherlock 9c1 is the resident trans expert on here,.

it's unusual to have both shift solenoids go bad,..

I'm wondering if the lockup on the converter isn't working right,.

IF it doesn't slip with more throttle i,d also hazard a guess the force motor screen might be plugged,.

3-4 clutchpacks are notorious for wearing out in these trans'

Your problem my be as simple as a plugged filter,. maybe a simple fluid/ filter change might improve the situation,.

If you don't do your own work,. i,d visit 2 transmissions shops and compare stories,.

I,m sure you will be told a 1200 rebuild will cure everything,

In any case, I'd budget $1500 for a transmission rebuild into your offer on the car.

122K is not an unusual time for a trans rebuild. Some last longer, and some less. I got one from a junk yard (4L60 not E) and it was shot with 103K on the clock. It cost me $1300 installed, but the builder did a couple of upgrades, so it slams second instead of just a smooth shift. I would have a little less slam if I did it again.

I figured a rebuild would be in order. I'm going to call around and check prices. If the guy will knock the price down I think I'm going to go for it. Supposedly it was garage kept for most of its life and the current owner is only the second owner.

Great time to upgrade the torque converter.

I spoke to a shop and they quoted me about $1000 for a full rebuild. He was familiar with the torque converter upgrade so that's a good thing. They guarantee their work for two years. I'll see how low I can get the seller. He's asking 2500, it's cosmetically in good condition. I'm going to offer him $1000 and see what happens. Here's a picture of it.

A $1000 is a good starting point , cause the worst he can say is no .

That is a pretty car.

Very nice looking wagon.

I offered $1000 and he said no. He said he had 2 offers for 2k. I told him to give me a number and he said he'd get back to me. I'll go up to $1700 I think. Wish me luck!!

Getting an offer and getting the money are two different things. The offers may be fake as well. A lot of people think that if they tell you they have offers, you will make a knee jerk decision and spend more than you want to.

Exactly. That why I didn't throw out any other numbers. One of his offers the guy couldn't pick it up until mid September and the other has some paperwork complications. I'll wait and see what he comes back with. I could always fake him out too and say I'm looking at another that I'm ready to buy. Which isn't entirely untrue. There's one in Staten Island that's ok.

Matt

I can relate.  I bought a 94 Caprice (in my signature) several years ago.  Mine has the 2.56 rear end, other than that it is identical.  When I bought it, the man had just had the tranny rebuilt at 102K.  I have the receipt for $1300.  Great, I thought, one thing I won't have to deal with.

I bought it, hardly drove it for 6 months.  Took it to VA for a WagonFest.  Ran great on the way down.  On the way back it rode on a flatbed, 700 miles with a bad tranny.  Luckily, I had a relatively low mileage tranny at home.  With the tow and tranny swap it was $1200.

My 2 cents, the car looks very nice, but I would not pay anywhere near what he is asking with the bad transmission.  

I doubt he has 2 buyers at 2K, if he did, that car would be gone.  I think your offer of $1000 was fair with the bad tranny.  I would not pay more than $1200, period, as you know, you are looking at a $1200 bill to rebuild.

Tom

Check out some southern cars as well. Rust free cars are a lot cheaper to keep.

Haven't heard back from him yet....