| Author | Message | ||
     Whisperstealth |
Well, two years after having the transmission rebuilt I'm having problems with it again. The torque converter is definitely failing. It's grabbing and then letting go, making the truck shudder at constant speed. It's okay when accelerating, or when off the gas completely, but shakey when I'm just trying to cruise down the road at 45mph. I took it to the shop, and they confirmed my fear. $4600 for a Jaspers remanufactured transmission, new torque converter and mass airflow sensor. It comes with a 3yr / 100,000 mile warranty. The truck has 220,000 miles on it, but the engine still runs great. With the cost of used vehicles so high, I'm torn between saving up and replacing the transmission, or junking it and try getting something else. Any thoughts from the wise minds here? | ||
| Mnscrounger |
You didn't say what year, but it doesn't really matter. One thing that can kill a 4L60 trans is not using the "tow mode" when towing a trailer, (any trailer). Better yet, if its over 2000 lbs of trailer, don't use overdrive and drop down to D, (actually third gear). If the engine is good on compression and isn't leaking, a yard transmission with a quick once over before going in might be a good option. I think all Tahoes used the 4l60, but the 3/4 ton and up trucks used a beefier 4l80 transmission. I haven't had my Suburban 4l60 go out yet, but its approaching 300,000 and I bought it with 195,00 on it so seriously I doubt its the original unit. The aftermarket has enough Chev truck stuff to put almost anything Chev truck into any other Chev truck. If you own a Buell, I know you can turn a wrench. If you have a spot to do the work, it may only be a couple weekends as a DIY, less if you have refreshment for your helpers when its done. | ||
| Ratbuell |
If it's not rusty, runs well, and you like it...fix 'er up. I'm sure a local trans shop can do a less expensive rebuild for you, and personalize it ("I do a lot of towing"; "I never tow but I drive a lot of mountains"; whatever - they can pick a stall speed, band and clutch material, and a valve body that matches your usage). The 4L family is as ubiquitous as the 350 (or now, the LS family) - you can practically get parts at 7-11 for them, they're everywhere. | ||
| Patches |
Put a new "Throttle Position Sensor" on it. Its the only analogue that tells the computer what valve in the transmission to open or close for each gear. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Sorry for not mentioning the year. It's a 2002 Tahoe 4x4, with the 5.3 engine. I can turn a wrench fairly decently on a motorcycle, or used to be able to, as things are easier to get to. Getting under a Tahoe and changing out the transmission is a different ball game for me. I don't have a good spot to the work, and don't have the necessary tools. The local transmission shop is 45ish miles away, and they are the ones who rebuilt the transmission two years ago. I'd rather not go back to them. Last time it took well over a month to get back after telling me two weeks. I'm also wanting a better warranty, the Jaspers seem to have a good reputation for quality and honoring their warranty if something does go bad. The truck does have some rust, but not too much. I do like the rig, and it's a seller's market out there in vehicle land. I can't afford a new vehicle, and used is a stretch as well. I wish it was the throttle position sensor. That would make my life so much easier. I doubt that it is though. The transmission fluid was low when I checked it after the problem cropped up, and smelled kinda burnt. I added fluid to no avail. The shop I took it to has a good reputation and I trust their diagnosis. I've been there for repairs a few times and while they are a little on the expensive side, their work is solid. | ||
| Zane |
If you like it, keep it. Putting 2 grand a year into it to keep your Tahoe on the road is cheaper than car payments for 3 to 5 years. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
With two people it's somewhere around three days of work replacing a automatic transmission. Just did a 47re switch on my 99 dodge ram 2500 Cummins together with my Dad. The truck has now 365.000 miles on it and the transmission we removed already was a rebuild one with a bigger converter. But it was slipping already in lower gears when I got it three years ago. Did some adjustments back then, but the previous owner had run it low on transmission oil a couple times because the seal from the shifter was leaking. Last couple weeks it got worse and the truck was in need of some other maintenance and repairs,so it was a good moment for replacing the transmission. Already had a low mileage replacement transmission ready for it from another parted out project. Most of our time went in converting the 2wd transmission to 4x4 and measuring the overdrive spacer and play. If you like the truck and it does its job for you go for repairing it! (Message edited by Brother in buells on August 18, 2022) | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Patches, Do you have experience with the 4L transmission family and the TPS causing transmission problems? I ask because on a whim I did a little digging on the internet, and found cases where that was true. In a couple of different articles it talked about how a bad TPS can cause trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd. If the transmission has trouble going from 1st to 2nd, but shifts when you take your foot off the gas a little the TPS can be at fault. I have that issue. I forgot to mention it in my earlier post, and didn't really think about it until I read about it online. | ||
| Patches |
My truck has the 4L60e transmission, it started not wanting to shift gears and taking 3 city blocks to get to 35mph. When I manually shift it worked fine. Another symptom was gas mileage droped to 4mpg. I also had the same problem with the torque converter not wanting to stay engage, this caused an intermittent spark misfire code. The spark misfire code only showed when the torque converter engaged. The OBD-II code reader never picked up on shift solenoid fail code for the trans not shifting or the TPS being at fault. The truck sitting in park seem to run fine. Local transmission shop technician I trust told me to try the TPS Sensor first, $40.00 dollars is alot cheaper than $1500.00 for a new transmission. He also told me to manually shift the transmission if it changed gears good the transmission was not bad. Transmission fluid normal level not burnt. Check OBD-II codes first. I use the "Actron cp9125 pocket scan tool" $52.21 on Amazon.com is plenty adequate for home diagnosis. If you have multiple fail codes clear PCM first then drive the truck repair fail codes. If you don't have any fail codes the TPS is one of the few thing that doesn't always give a fail code in the OBD-II system. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Okay Patches, thanks for the information! | ||
| Griffmeister |
This is probably off the mark but could help others. Something about older Chevy and shift problems dredged up some memories in me. I had issues with shifting a number of times and what it ended up being was a bad ignition switch. There’s three or maybe four power circuits that are switched on with the key, one of those feeds the transmission control module. I don’t know if that circuit has more demand on it or if it’s just poorly made but I had to replace it twice in my truck. Like I say, probably not the case here but just shows how many different things can affect one system. |
