4L60E Input shaft stuck
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 5
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From: Calgary, Alberta
4L60E Input shaft stuck I have:
Taken out the valve body (including the parking pawl and rooster comb - yikes!)
Taken out the pump and stator.
Taken apart the 1-2 accum and 3-4 accum. Found the 1-2 had a broken spring.
Taken out the band and anchor.
Removed the upper assembly.
AKA, it's pretty much empty and ready to remove the input shaft and drum.
The bloody input shaft and drum won't come loose. I put a bearing splitter behind the splines of the input shaft for something to grab and pry against. I used a 6 foot snipe on one side of the bearing splitter while someone held the transmission down. I beat on it, hoping for shock damage to release it.
It moves a little bit side to side. There's a bit of play front to back, but it pulls the output shaft whenever I do so. I suspect the 3-4 clutches have baked, welding something together.
It sounds grindy, squeals whenever I spin it. I can (with use of vise grips on the output shaft) spin the input shaft while the rear end is locked up. The sun shell spins just fine inside. Still, grinding/squealing sound though.
Any nifty tricks for getting this thing apart? I'm about ready to sledge hammer the output shaft to break the retaining rings free and hope I don't wreck the case. Feels like there's a good amount of slop as it is.
Taken out the valve body (including the parking pawl and rooster comb - yikes!)
Taken out the pump and stator.
Taken apart the 1-2 accum and 3-4 accum. Found the 1-2 had a broken spring.
Taken out the band and anchor.
Removed the upper assembly.
AKA, it's pretty much empty and ready to remove the input shaft and drum.
The bloody input shaft and drum won't come loose. I put a bearing splitter behind the splines of the input shaft for something to grab and pry against. I used a 6 foot snipe on one side of the bearing splitter while someone held the transmission down. I beat on it, hoping for shock damage to release it.
It moves a little bit side to side. There's a bit of play front to back, but it pulls the output shaft whenever I do so. I suspect the 3-4 clutches have baked, welding something together.
It sounds grindy, squeals whenever I spin it. I can (with use of vise grips on the output shaft) spin the input shaft while the rear end is locked up. The sun shell spins just fine inside. Still, grinding/squealing sound though.
Any nifty tricks for getting this thing apart? I'm about ready to sledge hammer the output shaft to break the retaining rings free and hope I don't wreck the case. Feels like there's a good amount of slop as it is.
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
Did you ever get the input shaft/drum out?
We had a similar thread two week ago - the OP finally got it out and determined a 3/4 clutch had jammed on the front planet cage. This is about the only way the input drum could get stuck.
We had a similar thread two week ago - the OP finally got it out and determined a 3/4 clutch had jammed on the front planet cage. This is about the only way the input drum could get stuck.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 5
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From: Calgary, Alberta
I did, actually. I took it to a local shop, and he slammed it on the floor to shock it free. When he grew tired of it, I gave it a try, and it came. Since I was the one who got it out, he didn't charge me shop time. So, since I figured I was saving some money, I bought a case of beer for the shop.
**The apparent only ways to get the input shaft out when the 3-4 clutches are smoked is to put a bearing splitter behind the splines on the input shaft and use leverage, or slam the bellhousing on the floor and let gravity do its work.***
Now that it's apart, I can go through my diagnosis:
The previous rebuilder did not change the bearings.
He DID hone the bushes and replaced the seals.
The input drum had cracked a chunk off by the snap ring and I'm fairly certain he removed that debris.
He did NOT replace the cracked cast aluminum drum.
The left over alum cast that eroded under hydraulic pressure made little welds pretty much everywhere on the assembly.
So - lessons learned? If a part is broken, replace it. If a part is worn, don't figure it will last a little while longer. Replace your bearings every time and make sure everything is super clean.
There was more damage, aside from the crappy build - he sealed (but didn't rebuild) the transfer case. So, while in neutral, the shafts would still spin, not allowing proper synchro unless you shut the truck off to put it in 4x4. While in 4x4, driving would put extra strain on the transmission.
500 bucks for me to get parts for both. But, it should be worth it.
Tonight, I finish ordering parts, and dig into the TransGo shift kit.
**The apparent only ways to get the input shaft out when the 3-4 clutches are smoked is to put a bearing splitter behind the splines on the input shaft and use leverage, or slam the bellhousing on the floor and let gravity do its work.***
Now that it's apart, I can go through my diagnosis:
The previous rebuilder did not change the bearings.
He DID hone the bushes and replaced the seals.
The input drum had cracked a chunk off by the snap ring and I'm fairly certain he removed that debris.
He did NOT replace the cracked cast aluminum drum.
The left over alum cast that eroded under hydraulic pressure made little welds pretty much everywhere on the assembly.
So - lessons learned? If a part is broken, replace it. If a part is worn, don't figure it will last a little while longer. Replace your bearings every time and make sure everything is super clean.
There was more damage, aside from the crappy build - he sealed (but didn't rebuild) the transfer case. So, while in neutral, the shafts would still spin, not allowing proper synchro unless you shut the truck off to put it in 4x4. While in 4x4, driving would put extra strain on the transmission.
500 bucks for me to get parts for both. But, it should be worth it.
Tonight, I finish ordering parts, and dig into the TransGo shift kit.
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Joined: May 2018
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Thank you for this So funny story was rebuilding my trans for my 04 avalanche and ran in to this same problem. However instead of taking it to a shop me and a buddy of mine wrapped a cloth around the shaft then anchored a chain around the cloth and hung it from the rafter and used a rubber mallet force and gravity to get it loose. Well after several swings it worked and now I can move on with the rebuild. The only thing I would suggest too like we did is we had the trans body attached to a bucket which prevented it from damaging and of exposed internals.
Jwylde you had BETTER now check that the turbine shaft has not been pulled out of the aluminum drum. The method you used to get the input drum out may have now dislodged the shaft from the drum. It is a press fit. That press fit-on used drums-can easily have insufficient pressure to hold the shaft in. At my shop we have built a tool that will go down inside the case, grab the input drum under the splined section, and uses a screw type puller that braces on either side of the case, to extract the drum without damaging anything. Just like a harmonic balancer remover, we just screw the center bolt in and voila! it pulls the drum right out.
In your situation, I would be pressure testing that drum before putting it back into service. It is likely compromised at the feed hole to turbine shaft positions. It is not uncommon to have transmissions come in that you can physically feel the shaft has lost it's press fit.. In your situation, beating on the case while supporting the trans by way of the turbine shaft could easily dislodge the shaft. NO, Loc-Tite IS NOT the correct answer to fix it. Just replace the drum with a new, or known good used, one if the shaft has become dislodged. Just pressing it back in may allow it to move back out of position after it is put back into service.
In your situation, I would be pressure testing that drum before putting it back into service. It is likely compromised at the feed hole to turbine shaft positions. It is not uncommon to have transmissions come in that you can physically feel the shaft has lost it's press fit.. In your situation, beating on the case while supporting the trans by way of the turbine shaft could easily dislodge the shaft. NO, Loc-Tite IS NOT the correct answer to fix it. Just replace the drum with a new, or known good used, one if the shaft has become dislodged. Just pressing it back in may allow it to move back out of position after it is put back into service.
