TRANSMI$$ION TROUBLE!

hi, hello,

i have a 94 rmw with a transmission problem. it won't shift up to third gear.
i took it to a reputable transmission shop and theysaid i need a new 3rd gear clutch/rebuild for $1500.
but they didn't hook up any test equipment, just a did a road test only.
can it be something else that would be much cheaper and easy enough that i could fix it?

is there any diagnostic information accessible through the engine trouble code system which can be
viewed through the climate control? i know how to gain access through that system, but don't know
if it can be used in this circumstance.

the transmission was put in the car by the previous owner. it was taken from a wrecked car and only has
55,000 miles on it. previously it performed flawlessly.

thanks a lot for any help here.

anthony, in florida

All you ever wanted to know about the 4l60e:
http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=232899

I have the same problem with one of my cars (no 3 or 4). From the guide I posted, it sounds like the clutch pack as your shop told you. You can check for codes through the climate control as outlined in the link below, but doubt it will show you anything related to your problem.

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=230311

They usually perform flawlessly until they break. Then they're broke.

Can you install one yourself? If so, go buy one off of craigslist or get one from a junkyard and put it in. There's one here in upstate NY on CL for $150 right now. Who knows if it's good or not, but if money's tight and you've got time, this is the way to go. TO BE CLEAR - I'm not suggesting you use this particular one, only citing it as an example that there are good used cheap 4L60Es out there if you look.

If not, get a rebuild from a local shop with a good reputation. 4L60Es have been around for awhile now and their weak points are well understood. Any shop worth going to should know how to build you one to last. $1500 is fair as long as it has a decent warranty. Shops typically don't like "repairing" one because the Removal and Replacement (R&R) alone is usually $300, then you're talking at least an hour to go inside it and fix the clutchpack, and at least another hour to fix the leaks in the valvebody that are likely causing the 3-4 clutchpack to fail, and the putting it back together, road-testing it, etc. and it's likely that there are a few other things hiding in there waiting to fail too, so on their end it's better just to completely go through it and that way they can warranty it. Otherwise you're looking at a $600 repair that no shop in their right mind would warranty.

tim (bigblackbeaSSt) has 2 for sale he just put in a t56. dont know what shipping would be though. he is in pa.

where are you in Florida? I have a 4L60E out of a 95 Roadmaster that is broken. You can have it if you can pick it up and maybe just take it for rebuild and when it is done swap it out with yours. Just a thought.
Glenn

He's right down the road in Gainesville.

indeed, i am nearby in gainesville and sent a PM. thanks.

today a mechanic told me that if one had to get a new transmission, that it would be better to replace
it with the 700R, which preceded the 4L60E, because it was a better, more durable unit, and that
the 4L60E came into being as a way of cutting cost by making a cheaper product. still a good transmission
but not as durable as the 700.

is that true?

I'm sure sherlock9c1 will chime in on this, but the 4l60e is just the electronic version of the 700r4. Could you even put one in an LT1 car if you wanted to? Those use a TV cable setup to control shifts and the LT1 doesn't have provisions for that.
If you can do the swap yourself, I suggest checking the yards out for a low mile 4l60e as Joel said. Its a gamble with these things as you can't really test it until its in the car, but its a lot cheaper than a rebuild.

roadsurfer wrote:

today a mechanic told me that if one had to get a new transmission, that it would be better to replace
it with the 700R, which preceded the 4L60E, because it was a better, more durable unit, and that
the 4L60E came into being as a way of cutting cost by making a cheaper product.

That's a steaming pile of BS. As David said, the 4L60E is essentially the same transmission yet with fully electronic controls. Also, there were constant improvements in the 700 & 4L60E over the years. The pre-1988 700R4 was not nearly as good as the later units. Most high performance builds are based on the later cores.

and 700R4's never had to handle the torque of the LT1, so I imagine a dummy might think that the 4l60e is less durable.

greg, i like that your description of the mechanic's opinion is not merely BS, but "steaming".
sort of makes it sound even more bogus due to it's freshness.

I would cease asking that mechanic any more transmission questions.

yo Anthony,

just wondering if you ever got your trans fixed?

Mark

IT'S FIXED!!!

it turns out that the previous owner had put a 95 transmission in my 94 rmw.
the differences are few and small, but it is not compatible. it worked for awhile though. until it didn't.

the mechanic said that the torque converter had been overheated so much that it was purple in color. that there was no functioning lock-up at all, and that the third gear clutch was shot.

so they took out the entire unit and put in a 94 case and all the correct parts and updates, but when they installed it, it wouldn't work. they found the problem though. the pcm had also been replaced.( the vin didn't match the car). the pcm had been programmed to work only with a 95 transmission, so now it had to be updated as well to work with the new correct 94 transmission in the car.

it now shifts and runs beautifully ad i am very pleased. it also gets better gas mileage because now the lock up works. it's like getting a 5th gear overdrive. i can hear the rpm drop when i reach a steady highway cruising speed. this job turned out to be money well spent. i don't regret a penny of it. i had almost decided to remove the old transmission myself and deliver to a shop to rebuild it, and then i reinstall it, as a way to save money.
THANK GOD i didn't, because they would have rebuilt the incorrect transmission and i would have reinstalled it and pretty soon had the same trouble again.

so, thanks so much for all the comments and advice. i learned a lot.

anthony ackrill

Great to hear you got it fixed to your satisfaction Anthony!