Dead 4L60e

[Screaming mad]

Well my 4L60e has been sentanced to death! About 8 months after its rebuild I had various troubles, phoned automatic gear box rebuild specialist were I had it rebuilt, guy sed bring car down and we'll fix it under warranty. great!
1....I kept loosing gears totally- he fixed this no trouble, Earth/ground wire pushed back in main plug
2....At low oil temp rapid fluctuating gear change 2-3-2-3-2-3 etc. at 30mph- fixed with solinoid
3....When guy took my car out he found something else he did not like! car went through gears 1-2-3-lockup but rarly 4th, 60 70 mph 4th would only come in down hill on little / no throttle.
He rebuilt gear box several times, replaced everything! Speed switch included. 3 or 4 full rebuilds, each time he took it out for road test it burnt up 2-4 band. pressure checked. ok. tried after market uprated overdrive servo. But was still burning up 2-4th band.. Some how it was not clamping gear tight enough, was burning band out, loosing pressure some how?!
GUy decided in all his life of many boxes, and thousands of 4L60e's He had only ever had this once before, and it was a hair line crack in the case!

So at present..... Im sat in the United Kingdom, carless! He's bought me a second hand box that currently is in Florida, beening shipped to Chicargo to were his other stuff is then over to the UK it comes! Hes's then going to do a full upgrade and rebuild on this box, junk my old box and hope for the best!

Anyone else had any fun like this?!

Wish me luck!

[Jeff_in_Atl]

When mine died I converted to a 6 speed. Problem solved.

[Screaming mad]

When mine died I converted to a 6 speed. Problem solved.

I love my auto box! Must be alot of work to put a 6 speed in, clutch pedal engine comp etc etc etc!

[Ponyrider]

Yes, I've been where you are. I had mine trans rebuild about 5 times now. Its working now but I don't trust it. So when get back from Iraq I will transplant my T-400. I had it build to hold the Hp.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Ahhh...the 4L60E blues. I've been there...rebuilt once. Ended up selling it before anything else cropped up thankfully. I babied mine. Flushed the fluid once a year. It developed a leak that I didn't catch until it was too late. It's a great tranny in a lot of ways, but longevity doesn't seem to be one of it's strong suits.

I've heard manual swaps aren't too difficult. I think getting parts for a reasonable price is probably the hardest part.

[Screaming mad]

Well my box is supposed to be uprated and fully modified! so when its rebuilt this time it should last?! get two years warranty with it anyway! do alot of people swap to m6's? how hard is the swap?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Well my box is supposed to be uprated and fully modified! so when its rebuilt this time it should last?! get two years warranty with it anyway! do alot of people swap to m6's? how hard is the swap?

Since your car has a V6 it never came with a M6. There was an option for it to get a M5 5 speed manual.

The physical swap isn't really hard but it takes time. The only problem I had was a defective clutch disc which gave me major headaches. The hardest part (except what was caused by the bad clutch) was getting all of the parts. I can't think of any reason the 5 speed conversion would be any harder. The 5 speed is lighter than the 6 speed so that would make it easier.

[Screaming mad]

Since your car has a V6 it never came with a M6. There was an option for it to get a M5 5 speed manual.

The physical swap isn't really hard but it takes time. The only problem I had was a defective clutch disc which gave me major headaches. The hardest part (except what was caused by the bad clutch) was getting all of the parts. I can't think of any reason the 5 speed conversion would be any harder. The 5 speed is lighter than the 6 speed so that would make it easier.

Well if it all goes wrong its something to consider, as it will be better performance? especially with it been lighter

[Screaming mad]

Fixed

Well after along wait its all over! New recon box fitted and setup, is now running better than it has for years! Cost nearly half the price in fuel on way back! and so much quieter!!
Gear changes are firm, holds gears at low rpm up hill.
So it would appear the old gear case had a hair line crack? And was loosing pressure through this and causing it to not hold gears mainly 4th, then burning 2-4th clutch.
The guy who has done the work has been great, done the whole thing under warranty and has put me a trans cooler on. Engine seems to run a little hotter? But he reconds it will prolong life of box, and also I dont run the risk of dumping water in my box if I was to ever split radiator!
In fact Ive been without my car for so long, im going to go for a ride out now!

[Dave M]

he likely fitted the trans cooler in front of the radiator and that may be blocking some arflow through the radiator, causing the higher temps you're seeing. Nothing really to worry about.

[Screaming mad]

he likely fitted the trans cooler in front of the radiator and that may be blocking some arflow through the radiator, causing the higher temps you're seeing. Nothing really to worry about.

Just taken a look, ya right! No problems at all, just the gauge is showing higher engine temp..
Going to have a look at changing thermostate soon, that should bring temp down?

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Just taken a look, ya right! No problems at all, just the gauge is showing higher engine temp..
Going to have a look at changing thermostate soon, that should bring temp down?

The lower temp thermostat just opens at a lower temp.

If your car wants to run at 200 and you have the stock 190 stat and swap in a 160 stat, the car will still run 200.

If your car wants to run 180 and the stock 190 stat is keeping it at 190, then putting in a 160 will let it run 180.

Also keep in mind that the temp you see in the dash is the head temp for display only, and the temp you have at the thermostat is the water pump temp which the PCM looks at for engine parameter adjustment. Not usually the same.

[Mr camaro]

Was just curious at what mileage did you all start having tranny problems? And did you do allot of burnouts in overdrive? also did you always drive in overdrive?

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

Was just curious at what mileage did you all start having tranny problems? And did you do allot of burnouts in overdrive? also did you always drive in overdrive?

I had a 4L60E fail at 127,000. Clutch for 3rd and 4th gear failed, so it would only shift to 2nd. I did regular fluid flushing (annually). It failed mainly due to a fluid leak. I didn't catch it in time and it ran too long on too little tranny fluid.

The shifter position shouldn't have any bearing on tranny failure...unless of course you're driving down the highway in 1st or 2nd gear. If you're doing a burnout in a V6 you'll be in 1st gear no matter what. Also, if you're doing a burnout in a V6 you've either done a LOT of modification or you're holding your brakes in which case you're damaging mostly the pads and rotors.

Also, I think the tranny cooler is a good idea!! From what I've read, lower transmission temperature is key to a longevity and durability.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

102,000 on mine. The first thing mine did was the shifts were delayed. It didn't shift until ~6500 rpms. The second sign was it would drop out of gear when going around a hard corner.