1998LS1SS

iTrader: (8)

Im making close to 400hp with a 4k stall. Transmission was having trouble shifting out of second so i decided to check the fluid and this is what i found. Looks like really fine metal shavings. Could it be the clutches?

The fluid was really clean when I upgraded my stall about to years ago and around 10k miles. My stall was/is working perfectly fine. Should i get it flushed and throw it in a lower mileage 4l60e 'till i save up for a built tranny?

Thanks for looking

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Fine metal shavings are normal.

SuperSport01

+1 on normal. If the fresh fluid makes the trans act worse then its time for a build.

72blownvert

That amount of grey is not normal.It looks to me like something is coming apart for sure most likely the converter.

z99ls1

iTrader: (12)

Looks normal to me

TheBlackPlague

iTrader: (1)

normal, looks good actually.

Jays_SSZ28

iTrader: (2)

If you think thats bad, break open the filter. Sometimes theres more garbage in the filter than in the pan.

Badazz 97 TA

iTrader: (18)

that looks the same as when my other brand transmission took a dump. that does not look good. you can see all the nasty metal in the fluid. Looks like alot more then jsut your "normal wear and tear."

heymoej

iTrader: (67)

i agree.....to me,looks like a bit more stuff in there than normal.
good luck!

TurboStangJON

iTrader: (27)

That looks like a hurt transmission and it doesn't look "normal" to me. I use to build transmissions at a GM dealer and that looks pretty bad (sorry just being honest). Usually a normal transmission has material on the magnet but not that amount of grey/black material in the pan. Plus in one picture it looks like a chunk of metal possibly from a planetary set. Hard to say but flushing it won't help especially if it's already having trouble shifting out of second. If I had to guess I'd say burnt clutches or the 2-4 Band is having trouble applying in 2nd.

BlueMagicSS

iTrader: (4)

Yeah that looks like it's toast. I mean you could always put clean fluid in, if the shifting gets worse then you need a rebuild.

red 95 t/a

Yep 3-4 clutchs are prolly starting get a lil thin. Thats a problem with the 4l60e. They get low on fluid like a quart little over and they burn up. Id say 90% of the 4l60's we do thats whats wrong with them. I have seen around 1/4 inch clearence in the drum from the top steel to the snap ring.
Plus the heat from the stall dont help.Heat kills trannys cuts there life in half. Do you have a external cooler along with the factory cooler in the rad?

1998LS1SS

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the input guys. Like stated before, the fluid looked nothing like this when the torque converter went in and it hasn't been shifting out of second gear at WOT.

Will the torque converter be ok if i fill it up with tranny fluid a couple of times to try to flush it out?

1998LS1SS

iTrader: (8)

Thanks. And what looks like a chunk of metal if from running my finger through the pan.

What should i do with the torque converter. Will it be safe to throw it back in a low mileage 4l60e after i run some tranny fluid through it a couple of times?

bigmac108

Either way the tranny is toast. A stall make heat which kills a transmission. If you don't have a temp gauge then you need to get one! Just around town a converter will heat up more than it is supposed to! Even though it needs to be rebuilt you can stick a magnet up to the metal and see if its magnetic. This tells you if it is aluminum or steel. Either a planetary or if it is a converter that went bad you have bothbecause the steel coming from the converter eats away at the pump! Typically if there's non magnetic material in the tranny its aluminum and its from the pump!

bigmac108

converters are hard toflush so my recommendation would be to freshen the converter. A tranny and converter share fluid. A local converter shop can always cut apart a converter and freshmen them. It's usually fairly cheap. Remember that the cooler lines are filled with metal too so the cooler at least needs flushed probably replaced!

heymoej

iTrader: (67)

yes.....cut & clean it now,or your next tranny you put the converter in is toast tooo...

1998LS1SS

iTrader: (8)

Never noticed the temp go above 190 and i had a pretty big transmission cooler after the stock cooler/radiator. It always ran fairly cool. I think the fact that i have a 160 stat and the cooler ran after the stock radiator/cooler helped out alot. Ill check and see if the particles are magnetic. Good advice.

Looks like ill be sending it back to yank.


thanks.

garygnu

trans fluid exposed to some heat should be changed every 5000 miles or less. more power or higher stalls heat the fluid up and wears the stock clutches alot faster.a filter is $18 and tranny fluid is another $20.

TurboStangJON

iTrader: (27)

I agree on sending it back to Yank because it's better to be safe than sorry. If you put a newer trans in cannot stress the importance of flushing the cooler lines. More transmissions are toasted after people rebuild them and leave all of the old fluid and metal particles in the cooler. Flush it and once you think you've flushed it enough, flush it again. I flushed 10 quarts of new fluid through the lines after one trans rebuild (just to give you an idea). I hope this information helps and good luck getting your car back together.