is my transmission done!

Hi,
I was driving today and all of the sudden the transmission start acting up, changing gear at high RPM.
But the last few miles from home D and OD were like Neutral, I got home in 2nd gear.
As soon as I got home checked the fluid and is VERY LOW.
Did I killed the transmission or adding fluid to normal level may solve the problem.

I'm fikking out a bit, just got it fix after hitting a deer and now this!


thanks in advance.


PS.
I added a Transmission cooler couple days ago.. not sure if that can make any difference.

Did you account for the extra capacity in the cooler system you added?

Put more fluid in and see if that fixes it. My guess is that it probably won't.

It sounds like a 3-4 clutchpack failure which is common in these transmissions. If 3rd gear feels like neutral, then yeah.

yes, is done!

I added ATF to full and exactly the same.
Go good till 40mph and then RPM gos up and no more power to the transmission.

Go into gear and reverse no problem, 1st and 2nd gear work fine, but that's about it!

is that an expensive fix?

Called AAMCO, the minimum to have it fix is $2600.. I'm officially FUKK!

Yes, 3-4 clutchpack. Keep shopping. Also try AC Delco, or Jasper. Drive it in 1 and 2 for now, it won't hurt it.

Thanks,

what's the name of the transmission in the 93 Roadmaster wagon?
Will a 95 Caprice with 5.7LT1 transmission work in my RMW?

Or IF I was to swap to a 5 speed manual, from what car/truck can I get the transmission?

thanks again.

You want a 4L60 from a '91-93 Caprice, Roadmaster or Fleetwood.

You may be able to get one from a similar vintage truck but you will need to make sure the electrical connectors fit. GM used many different styles.

your trans is called a 700 R4 it has a cable thats attached to your throttle,.it has a lockup torque converter too.
The trans in a 95 is very similar, but its all controlled electronically and will not interchange with your car,..its called a 4l60E

Also check out car-part.com to find a used one locally, I saw quite a few in this area.

thanks,
what's the ballpark price for a swap ?

and what should I look when buying a used trans?

$300-500 is the price to swap it, IIRC. Depends on labor rates and time quoted by the shop. The last one I had out I went from car to bench in 90 minutes but I had just practiced it the week before . Reinstallation took 2-3 hours I think.

Warranty is big, otherwise look for clean fluid and a clean pan. No metal on the magnet either.

Personally I'd rather get one with 30-50k miles on it so you know it's going to last for awhile. The last "low mileage rebuild" got had such a scratched-up pump that there's no way it would have lasted much longer than the 13k that the previous owner claimed it had.

thanks,

best I got is a shop about 10 miles away that will do it for $350 plus tax (5 hours labor @ 75$PH)
And there is a guy about 40 miles away selling a trans from my same car for $300, he claims that the trans have 90k miles.

I just see damn money flying away!

Go price a new one from GM.

In my experience with repairing/replacing major components, this is not the time to be stingy with the money. It's kinda like buying cheap tools...by the time you buy a cheap tool, break it, bleed from tool breakage, spend time going to buy replacement for cheap broken tool, you'd been better off to spend the money for a better tool to begin with. How much can you afford to be broke down again because you went cheap on a replacement transmission? JMO...something to think about, I know times are hard & money is tight

same thing happened to mine 1 year and a half ago. i payed $1700 including tax to get mine rebuilt

Does anyone know if GM sells a new/rebuilt tranny for our cars? Mine is a 96, and based on what I've read here, is the best trans of all? I drive back and forth to Florida every year, with wife and dogs in tow, and the thought of a tranny break down while on the road really freaks me out. A few years ago, I had the transmission on my wife's 93 Mountaineer rebuilt at AAMCO for about $3200 (4 wheel drive and extended warranty) and while I could have gone cheaper, I know they will be here tomorrow, and the warranty is nationwide. We replaced that car, by the way, with the 96 Roady we have now.

Twin Transmission in Indian Trail NC is an expert on the 6t70 transmission. Even if you aren't local to their area, you should read through their blog. They have a lot of tips on there about fluid changes, tranny problems, repair solutions and more.

GM updated the 4L60E pretty much every year. If you buy the ATSG 4L60E update book (it's green), it'll tell you all the fixes they did from year to year.

As far as transmission failure on the road, just plan ahead for it. First, if you're driving on a known route, just look ahead of time for the locations of national chains, and keep their addresses on file in case you do have a failure. Second, open accounts with rental car chains like Hertz or Avis (premier accounts are usually free!) - if you do have a failure, just rent a car from them and keep going if you have to get somewhere in a hurry. Third, check with your auto insurance company. Very often they have towing coverage AND rental coverage way cheaper than AAA.


As far as GM remans, they do, or at least they did, probably through the Goodwrench or AC Delco nameplates. That said, I had a Jasper reman put in our 99 Town & Country, a van not known for transmission longevity, and it's been fine for the last 50k. Chrysler actually used Jasper as their source for remans back in 2008 - we had ours installed at the Chrysler dealer.

I agree - the nationwide warranty is what you're buying, not the trans itself. Based on some secondhand information I've heard, most of the big rebuilders are much better with the 4L60E than they used to be even a few years ago. Just read your warranty very carefully BEFORE you buy so you know what you have to do to keep the warranty valid.

When we had the Mountaineer tranny rebuilt, I went into the shop to see what they were doing. That particular AAMCO was very friendly (not that I've heard anything otherwise) and he went right to my tranny and showed me the problem. I would hope if I ever need a tranny in the future I will have the same experience. It's funny- I drive by the shop that re built the Mountaineer tranny almost every day, and the place is always filled with full size Ford SUV's-like about every third vehicle. He told me that they all fail due to a very small defect in the factory tranny, which they correct in the rebuild. He tired to talk me out of the extended warranty, saying we really didn't need it because the rebuild would last a very long time. I bought it anyway, not realizing we would be replacing it soon with the Roady. Oh well, the warranty is transferable, and my wife gave the car to her brother, so I guess it is all good.

AAMCOs are franchises but they do the rebuilds locally, so I suspect the quality may vary from place to place, like MAACO paint shops.

Well, one big difference is that MAACO is advertised as a cut rate body repair and repaint shop. And, they are. But AAMCO is far from cut rate. My guess from what I've read is that they are near the top, cost wise. Are there other places that could do the same job cheaper? Of course. But, when you are dealing with a national chain, you are going to pay more. According to the guy who did my transmission, like any other franchise, they pay part of their profits to the parent company. But, then they get customers who have a better level of trust/comfort dealing with a company that will (hopefully) be there tomorrow, and well into the future. Also, and this was a biggie for me, if the trans in my Mountaineer had ever failed when we were traveling, any AAMCO would take care of it, no cost.

MAACO and AMMCO were both started by the same guy.

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

MAACO and AMMCO were both started by the same guy.

Tom

I'm aware of that. But, what I said before is true. Certainly from my work experience as an insurance adjuster, MAACO was looked upon as a very cut rate repair shop. Now, if you wanted a cheap paint job, and ok body work, they were fine. But high quality, no. AAMCO, on the other hand, charges a high price, maybe the highest, for a basic transmission rebuild. Why the difference in business models? Maybe lots of people got screwed by cheapie transmission builds, and the people at AAMCO saw the potential of a product with a nationwide warranty. Whatever the reason, both franchises are everywhere, and seem to be busy.

AAMCO had a pretty bad reputation back in the 60s,70s and 80s around here because of their getting caught by the local news station.The news crew would take a car with a perfect transmission sometimes almost new and let AAMCO do their free inspection.They ALWAYS said it needed a new transmiision and then when confronted they would lock their doors and start making threats.I could never trust them no matter how hard they tried to clean up their act.

Like you, Jim, I am old enough to remember that stuff. But, for me, and maybe others, it comes down to risk assessment. If you drive an old car (we all do here) and you drive it far from home (I know I do) at some point a product/service with an excellent warranty offers peace of mind. I know when we got the AAMCO transmission in our Mountaineer, the warranty was excellent. It basically covered everything for 50,000 miles. I don't want to sound like I have some affiliation with AAMCO, because I don't-they just offered a product that met my needs. Locally here in Pittsburgh, I have seen 2 local transmission shops go out of business. If I had used on of those shops and needed service, where would I go? As long as a national chain is still in business, I think you have a better chance of getting help if you need it.

Bjackson wrote:

Twin Transmission in Indian Trail NC is an expert on the 6t70 transmission. Even if you aren't local to their area, you should read through their blog. They have a lot of tips on there about fluid changes, tranny problems, repair solutions and more.

1 post wonder?

Bjackson wrote:

Twin Transmission in Indian Trail NC is an expert on the 6t70 transmission. Even if you aren't local to their area, you should read through their blog. They have a lot of tips on there about fluid changes, tranny problems, repair solutions and more.

You mean like this one??

That looks suspiciously identical to this one?

Please feel free to send me the royalty check any time you're ready.