4l60 no go

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Are you sure this isn't a TV cable issue? Improperly adjusted TV cable can cause low pressure and big problems. My apologies if this has already been mentioned.
 
He's a stand up guy, it's their standard practice to reuse the pump if it looks fine. On over a $3,000 rebuild bill, I'd certainly have preferred they'd replaced what is a pretty cheap part.

We haven't had the discussion yet of how much of this he is expecting me to cover.
 
I was gonna say.... My rebuilt 4L60 was about $600 out the door. It was not rated for high HP, nor was it the E model, but fine for a stock 305/350 engine. My first trans was built for high HP, but a bad TV cable from TCI killed it within 2 days. TCI was very happy when I explained why it failed since they found several defective cables on the shelf, but they were not happy enough to pay for my new trans.
 
It's talking it out and putting it back that's so expensive.
 
So, to his credit, he has repaired the entire thing - no cost to me.

But now I have tranny that has failed 3 times in less than 10,000 miles and there's been no obvious cause of the failure any of the three times.

This guy, who is good (Nor Cal Transmission in Santa Rosa - specializing in transfer case work) is very concerned that both times he's repaired this transmission, the TCC unlock isn't working like he thinks it should. On the freeway, when he hits the brakes, he's not seeing the rpm's increasing like he would on any other 4L60 based car. I took it down to Pacific Fabrication - supposed to be LS experts (on Georg's recommendation) and they said the TC appears to be locking and unlocking correctly, but they relied entirely on the computer. The car never appears to be 'dragging' when the brake is applied - there's no feeling the the TC is locked and 'fighting' the brakes. So I have no idea what to make of his concerns.


Peter
 
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Maybe I missed it, but did you replace the TC?
 
TC, original was destroyed when the pump went out.
 
That sounds like it was a pump issue or the stator either seized or fell apart (I had one of those prior to my last scrap run) - generally if it's a clutch issue you have 1 and 2 or 3, 4 and reverse. But he's replaced it, what did he say was it?

As for 3x.... do you have a cooler? do you clean the lines/cooler before you put the new transmission in? Outside of that, the only other issue would be the TV cable being misadjusted - but again, if that were it you'd typically see burned clutches...

so what was it?

I need a bit more history.... the first transmission died when the tc failed. You bought a new converter, did you do anything to the transmission? Did you use the 2nd tc on the 3rd transmission? if it's full of crap, you'll be on trans number 4 soon. With all that said, I can't imagine a pro shop making any of these (or the tranny cooler cleaning) mistakes....
 
He said it looked like the pump had gone, and given it had gone though one transmission failure I suspect that was it. But he said it could have also been the TC. Whichever one went took out the other. I"m not sure about flushing the lines. Heat did not look to be the cause, he saw no sign of overheating. It does have a good cooling system. However, the exhaust was routed around the front right by the cooling. I have having the exhaust rerouted today and I'll have a trans temp gauge in next week. That should let me know. I'd love to be able to see TC lock and unlock and sleepage, but I can't figure out a way to see that.
 
I miss it, but why was the rebuild done I the first place?
Sounds like you have a lemon.....
How much are you out on this rebuilt?

Given what the builder said, is he going to stand behind his work if it goes out it again?

Sucks to hear the issue can't be diagnosed..

Perhaps you be better off getting a complete new/rebuilt tranny elsewhere?

Good luck..

BTW a scangauge II can and will read tranny temps from the PCM...
 
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I have a scanguage II, never got it to read tranny temps, but I'll work on that. I can use that in conjunction with the mechanical sensor in the pan.
 
You said that the mechanic mentioned that it seems like the TC is not disengaging under braking. I was thinking the same thing. You should have wired a relay into the brake circuit when you did the harness. Basically power through the relay to the harness locking the TC normally, when brake is applied it turns the relay off, unlocking the TC.
 
Yes, that was done, and the confirmed with the computer that was happening. Pacific Fabrication was satisfied all was working correctly. But NorCal (who did the work) says it just doesn't feel right.
 
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