Lost 3rd gear

so i've been outta town pretty much all summer. i was driving home last night (3 1/2 hour drive) i got about halfway home with no problems whatsoever. i stop to fill up with gas and as soon as i pull out of the gas station i loose 3rd gear. R, 1st and 2nd work excellent, no slipping. the fluid and filter were changed a month ago without any bad signs in the pan or in the fluid. i just checked the fluid today and it still smells and looks new.

its weird, when the transmission wants to shift into third the engine just winds up as if its in neutral. i've heard it could be a "modulator valve" (??) through internet research i've also heard it could be the tv cable adjustment or setting. (are TV cables adjustable?) are the clutch bands adjustable??

my wagon has over 200k miles.

It might be just the 3-4 shift solenoid. It is about a $10-15 part. Easy to replace. Pull the pan slide out the old part. test it QUICKLY with a 9 volt battery but do not test for to long as it is looking for 12v not 9v. Takes about 3 minutes to replace once the pan is off. While you are there you may want to replace both 1-2 and 3-4 as well as put a SONNAX performance kit in. You will enjoy the results.

This guy is little annoying, but does a great job teaching you how to on the 4L60E.

EDIT: This is the removal



Then the valve body rebuilt



This is the kit I put in my wagon and my spare tranny (sold to Jason).

http://www.sonnax.com/system/instructions/HP-4L60E-01-IN.pdf

I am by no means an expert, but I lost 1st gear in my 94 and the solenoid was all that the problem was.

More info from Sonnax

http://www.sonnax.com/technical-library/transmission/filter?filter%5Bmake%5D=1&filter%5Bunit%5D=244&filter%5Bsubject%5D=

mines a '92 btw. so i have the 4l60/700r4 ( are they the same thing?) im REALLY hoping its something simple and cheap. but my limited experience tells me transmissions like to rape you in the wallet.

thanks for the vid. i probably wont be doing this work my self i have no free time.

i keep reading that its more then likely the 3rd/4th clutch pack that is burnt out, but i thought when a clutch pack burns it leaves the fluid black and burnt smelling, no?

The 4L60 & 700R4 are the same thing. The 1993-later 4L60E, however is not. The 'E' is for electronic and uses the aforementioned solenoids for shifting as opposed to a governor and TV cable.

Since your transmission is not simply hanging in second gear as evidenced by your comment about going to a neutral state, it's not the 2-3 shift valvetrain in the valve body or governor as they are still functioning. Sorry to say, but I too conclude that your 3-4 clutches are history. They aren't necessarily burned up. With over 200K miles (esp. if the transmission has never been rebuilt), they're probably just worn too thin to get the job done.

update. took the car for a spin to try and gather some more info. there's a rattling sound when shifting from P/N to any gear. tranny is toast. going to the shop tonight. i found a used trans for $400. any idea what labor will be on a trans install?? im away for the rest of the summer so i cant do it myself. thanks for the help guys! my guess is a snapped band.

back from the shop; the governor let go so i had that replaced. the 3,4 clutch bands were worn pretty good also so i had those replaced at the same time. new trans mount was also installed. im back on the road! havnt driven the ol roady since the 20th of july, feels good!

Good news. I hope you didn't get 'raped in the wallet'.