SiskMan

Went for a quick drive yesterday and all was well. 1,2,3,4 and tcc lockup all normal. Car ran just as good as ever. Then got to a stop light and car died. Started it up and had to rev it before I put in gear for it to move. Limped it home like this. Reverse is the same story. Car dies immediately. What gives???

transgo kit installed maybe 500 miles ago. Fluid always flushed once a year. Trans has been solid up to this point. No slipping no nothing. Auxiliary cooler installed as well.

I took my exhaust off the other day in prep for my new setup. So the car has an open Y pipe right now. Did some lightweight carpet as well, so I had to take the center console out. Car is super loud and has crazy vibrations from the lack of exhaust.

unplugged battery, no changed. Reflashed the tune on HPT, no change.

Anyone have any idea what I should check first?

bbond105

Unplug the trans electrical connector on the passenger side of the trans. Start the car up and put it in gear. If the engine dies as before the problem is inside the trans. If the engine still dies with the trans connector unplugged you can drop the trans pan and remove the TTC solenoid and inspect it for any defects, or just replace it. Or you could remove the TTC solenoid, wire tie it out of the way, reinstall the pan and fill with fluid and retest. If engine does not die replace the TTC solenoid.

mrvedit

Mr Bond means the "TCC solenoid", the one held by two bolts to the pump housing.
As he cleverly suggests, by unbolting the the TCC solenoid, the converter cannot get any lockup fluid.

Since the main trans connector can be very hard to remove in a Gen-4, you might just start by unbolting the TCC solenoid for a test.

If the engine still dies, your converter clutch is seized and will need to be removed.
What converter do you have in it?

SiskMan

You guys rule. Exactly what I was looking for, I can't thank you enough. I will test asap and get back to you.

i put a 2006 6 cylinder trail blazer stall in it. Cheap 100 dollar 2600 stall. Worked flawlessly until now.

my thread https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic-transmission/1808793-oreilly-brand-trailblazer-stall-what-do-you-think.html

bbond105

I remember seeing that thread.

SiskMan

I did exactly what was suggested. Dropped the pan, and pulled the TCC lockup solenoid out of its bore. There was no where to zip tie it out of the way and let the pan bolt back up, and since it is part of the harness I just let it hang down while still part way in the bore.

The car went into gear with no issues after this. So I replaced the solenoid and all seems to be back to normal. There was quite a bit of aluminum shavings in the fluid, so I hope that doesn't cause problems later. I added 5 qts of new fluid even tho the trans got a full flush mere months ago. We shall see what happens I guess

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. I will update the thread as needed if anything comes up.

mrvedit

Excellent news that you only had to replace the TCC solenoid.
As you probably figured out, even though that solenoid is wired into the harness, you can buy a replacement that is spliced into the harness.

Also, my method of testing the TCC solenoid is to unbolt it, using some 1/4" thick oversized nuts as spacers and longer bolts, bolt it back to hold it out of the way. This way it won't rattle around during the test. Or if you want to drive extended period of time without lockup.

SiskMan

good idea with the spacers. I just put the car in reverse and drive and made sure it moved without dying.

what could all the aluminum shavings be that I saw?

SiskMan

Update: shortly after this (probably around 100 miles) the trans let go. 3rd gear to be more specific. I decided to rebuild it myself. When tearing it down i noticed the shaft coming out of the pump, i believe called the stator support?, was damaged quite badly. One side is really ground down from the converter it looks like. This is where those metal shavings came from and probably the reason why the 3-4 clutch failed. I suspect they ate up the 3-4 piston seal.

I talked to the guy from Pro Built transmissions on the phone pricing a kit. Super nice guy and willing to discuss and answer any questions you have. He said that it is extremely rare to see the TCC solenoid fail in such a way to keep the converter locked like that. But hey, im not complaining. This is just an opportunity to make it better than it was and learn something new.

Game ova

Congrats on doing the job yourself.

SiskMan

Thanks. I figured Ive done the engine, port work, rear end, and tuning all myself why stop now. Its always been more fun to learn a new skill and say "Yea I did that."

SiskMan

UPDATE: upon teardown of the pump, it was littered with metal from the stator support shaft. Huge gooves were ground into where the pump veins spin. I believe his caused a lack of pressure and helped the already weak stock 3-4 clutch let go. the 3-4 piston was still tight around where it sealed, and no other checkball leaked at all to cause pressure loss.

New pump and sonnax high rpm spring to improve this

Long story short, in the unlikely event that the TCC solenoid does this to you, get ready for a rebuild.

mrvedit

Thanks for the update and good luck with your rebuild.

Timber

seems common. picked up a "rebuilt" pump from a distributor that had the internal part of the stator shaft worn away like this. 300 down the drain because i waited so long to pull the Trans. used my old shaft which was good, that pump body and re bushed the whole Trans. new issue is tcc keeps staying locked up. think a dropped converter as well as fluid leaking into harness connector,( convertor had metal dust still in it so its pretty conductive I guess.)
yell have some good points on diagnosis, so I'll start with tcc pull to test, then more pematex to seal.
hope I don't see my stator support chewed up from the convertor.

Game ova

Holy thread resurrection batman!!

performabuilt

iTrader: (25)

I don't know how long the trans has lasted for you but food for thought. In regard to the aluminum and gouged up pump, to save you some future headache and added security - recheck your converter spacing and make sure your flexplate is in good shape when you go to reinstall. Flexplate over flexing or spacing being off the 1/8 inch to 3/16 mark could have compounded your problem as well. Congratulations on solving!

mrvedit

This thread is too old to continue, especially since the OP solved it.
@Timber - You can just start your own thread to continue.