4L60E problems

[formula31]

i have a 1994 formula firebird, lt1 and a 4L60E tranny, i was getting on my car and i heard a loud bang, almost like a tire blowing and i have lost 3rd and 4th gears, first gear wont shift into second unless i take my foot off the gas and the rpm is around 2 grand and up, it drives just fine other than those problems, and it has no problems going into reverse. if anyone can help i would really appreciate any info. thanks

[Joe 1320]

Time for a rebuild. there is a good chance you mangled the low sprag, maybe even cracked the sun shell. It needs to come apart for inspection.

[AmericanZ28]

I had a similar experience with my first 4l60E, and as it turned out, my tranny was shot! I've heard bad stories about rebuilding the 4L60E, so if you decide to go that route, I would suggest finding a shop that has experience with this particular transmission.

[fastTa]

3-4 clutch and the sun gear (reaction shell) are common weak links in the 4L60E. Once parts break like yours it is just a matter of time before the valvebody gets clogged up and/ or an entire failure.

There are lots off online rebuild kits for the 4L60E. Just do some searching.

[Squat13]

Time for a rebuild. there is a good chance you mangled the low sprag, maybe even cracked the sun shell. It needs to come apart for inspection.

I broke my sprag and planetary befor my first 4L60E rebuild....... 4 more rebuilds eventualy fallowed

[95TransAm]

a month after i got my ride, my tranny went out as well. I decided to go with a beefed up tranny and higher stall converter from roadmaster transmission. So far, so good, but if i could go back in time, i would have saved up the extra $$$ and converted to an M6. When the time comes again, thats definitely the route i am going.

My suggestion is if you dont know transmissions, dont try and start now by doing your own rebuild...it will only cost you way more $$$ in the end.
Get a good place to do it for ya. However though, a good way to save some $$$ is by taking it out and installing it yourself. I did that...piece of cake...except for that top drivers side trans-engine bolt...can you say tilted back motor + 3 feet of extensions + 4 total hours of my time + a horribly bleeding hand when i finally got enough torque to break the bolt loose

Good luck

[Squat13]

...My suggestion is if you dont know transmissions, dont try and start now by doing your own rebuild...it will only cost you way more $$$ in the end.
Get a good place to do it for ya. However though, a good way to save some $$$ is by taking it out and installing it yourself. I did that...piece of cake...except for that top drivers side trans-engine bolt...can you say tilted back motor + 3 feet of extensions + 4 total hours of my time + a horribly bleeding hand when i finally got enough torque to break the bolt loose

Good luck

Oh yeah...... I second that.... way tooo many things packed together, too many thing to mess up.... and if one thigns not right, it most likely woln't work at all.

Also I pulled my tranny every time I blew it...... I can do it now in two and a half hours now with out a tranny jack and on my back(First took 5)..... but a littel trick is to remove the oil pressure sending unit and remove the tranny mount, then lower the jack on the tail shaft as far as it will go..... the motor will rest on the firewall but should be just fine. but if you dont remover the sending unit..... your going to have to buy a new one.

[lt14mla]

sprag and sun shell are crakced . the same thing happend to me. You should have seen my gears as well. They're supposed to be flat rings, but mine looked like bent frisbees lol. i blew my trans because of a tranny cooking burnout, which im am finding out also cooked my rear end. the lt1 puts out alot of toruqe so its no suprise to blow your tranny. Make sure you have a performance tranny put in or just have it rebuilt with all hardend parts. it will be costly either way, but will prevent more problems and be a worthwhile long term investment.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

but a littel trick is to remove the oil pressure sending unit and remove the tranny mount, then lower the jack on the tail shaft as far as it will go..... the motor will rest on the firewall but should be just fine. but if you dont remover the sending unit..... your going to have to buy a new one.

Do you know this from personal experience? When I got in my car this morning and fired it up, my oil pressure was around 15-20 psi. Normally it is around 60-80 when it's cold. There was no lifter noise or clattering. I'm wondering if I messed up the sending unit when I let the transmission down to get to the bell housing bolts.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Do you know this from personal experience? When I got in my car this morning and fired it up, my oil pressure was around 15-20 psi. Normally it is around 60-80 when it's cold. There was no lifter noise or clattering. I'm wondering if I messed up the sending unit when I let the transmission down to get to the bell housing bolts.

Yea I broke the sensor off when removing the trans. Which brings me to the clutch replacement thread. http://www.f-body.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9075