toasted tranny, need advice on new
10-09-2005, 08:54 PM
#1
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fort wayne, IN
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
toasted tranny, need advice on new I just toasted my tranny saturday night. No second gear at all. I have the 4l60e A4 in a 99 trans am. I need to get a new one in it ASAP. I need advice on what have other people done. Rebuild or new tranny? If new, what kind and how much? where to buy? need lots of advice VERY fast. Please HELP!!!!!!
thanks in advance
thanks in advance
10-11-2005, 05:06 PM
#4
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fort wayne, IN
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
thanks guys, i went with rpm transmissions out of new castle,IN. hope he does a good job, everything sounds good so far. Supposed to be rebuilt to handle up to 700hp
10-11-2005, 08:06 PM
#5
12 Second Club
iTrader: (18)
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Nor Cal
Posts: 1,255
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
tranny Same thing happend to my tranny power brakn it heatn up my tires.. no second gear i burnt out the band in it. 
im rebuilding mine as well. But ive also considerd a T-56 swap..... saterday nite was a bad nite for both of us..
im rebuilding mine as well. But ive also considerd a T-56 swap..... saterday nite was a bad nite for both of us..
10-11-2005, 10:49 PM
#6
TECH Resident
iTrader: (9)
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Rochester, MI
Posts: 967
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
quick99WS6: Are you getting your rebuild done with vaccuum modulator kit? I'm also gonna need a new tranny soon, and Dave at Rock-On, as well as many of our sponsors, recommend going the vaccuum modulated route. It removes all of the variables when it comes to line pressure. There are like 10 different sensors (MAF, MAP, etc) that tell the trans how much line pressure to apply. By going vac mod, your builder will set up the line pressure, and the only other factor that determines line pressure is how much throttle you're giving.
10-12-2005, 12:48 PM
#7
TECH Apprentice
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For some reason FLP doesn't respond to my emails about their trannies. I'm not looking to buy right now, I was just wondering how good they are and if they can hold all of that power through WOT downshifts. I've heard 700 rwhp for their 4l65e but that seems like a lot even for a built 4l series.
Trending Topics
10-12-2005, 12:55 PM
#8
TECH Veteran
iTrader: (11)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Elmhurst, IL
Posts: 4,332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by FLeXNuTZ
For some reason FLP doesn't respond to my emails about their trannies. I'm not looking to buy right now, I was just wondering how good they are and if they can hold all of that power through WOT downshifts. I've heard 700 rwhp for their 4l65e but that seems like a lot even for a built 4l series.
10-12-2005, 02:07 PM
#9
TECH Apprentice
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh no, thats okay. I'm not upset. My email address is tj1320@excite.com and I believe I sent 4 emails a couple months ago to sales@flp2win.com. Maybe that was the mistake I made and I should have found your email address instead.
My main question was about your 4L60e or 4L65e holding power through WOT downshifts. I have heard that automatic WOT downshifting (on the street from a roll, for example) is just about the worst thing for the stock 4L60e tranny and I was wondering if your level 4 and 5 trannies will hold up to it or not with around 700 rwhp.
My main question was about your 4L60e or 4L65e holding power through WOT downshifts. I have heard that automatic WOT downshifting (on the street from a roll, for example) is just about the worst thing for the stock 4L60e tranny and I was wondering if your level 4 and 5 trannies will hold up to it or not with around 700 rwhp.
10-12-2005, 02:20 PM
#10
TECH Veteran
iTrader: (11)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Elmhurst, IL
Posts: 4,332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can do WOT 4th(OD) to 3rd without a problem but 4th to 2nd is not recommended because it puts too much load on the sprag in 2nd. It is recommended that you manually drop it down to 3rd before you go WOT say if you were on the highway.
10-12-2005, 02:52 PM
#11
TECH Apprentice
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks Phil, I've been searching other posts/threads about your trannies and just about all of them are very positive. I guess the 4L series trannies can be built to hold a lot of power after all.
10-12-2005, 03:42 PM
#12
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fort wayne, IN
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
that is exactly what i did....WOT from OD to 3nd gear on the highway... DONOT do this the tranny will not take many off those huge downshifts. Nobody warned me about it and now i have to get mine rebuilt.
10-12-2005, 03:50 PM
#13
are you talking about manualy shifting into 3rd while going full throttle? i shift from od to 3rd nd then into 2nd to do 50 rolls on the freeway, not florring it obviously....is that bad?
10-13-2005, 09:13 AM
#15
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fort wayne, IN
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Z'mnypit is talking about what i am, that is exactly what NOT to do. Please spread this word and refer this thread to your friends. Nobody ever told me about that problem with the 4l60e. And i had to learn the hard way.......Saying it again.....while your car is in OD and you stomp it, what happens is it goes all the way back to second gear, and will fry the tranny. Prolly wont happen the first time you ever do it, but trust me, it will happen.
10-13-2005, 09:56 AM
#16
TECH Apprentice
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for clearing that up guys, automatic WOT downshifts is what I was talking about. I guess another thing that could be done is to give it just enough gas to get it to downshift, then punch it once it is in the lower gear.
10-13-2005, 09:26 PM
#17
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fort wayne, IN
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yea that would work as well, i was told just shift it down out of overdrive, and then you can punch it. so i will be doing this from now on, once i get my built tranny back saturday, with a new higher stall converter installed.
10-13-2005, 10:10 PM
#18
LS1Tech Administrator
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
Posts: 32,362
Likes: 0
Received 1,794 Likes
on
1,278 Posts
What is all this talk about 4-2 killing the trans in short order? That's news to me.
I've had 3 4L60E trans'ed cars, and two of them have retained the stock trans for as long as I owned them, the 3rd (my WS6) had an FLP built unit (level IV). I'd say that I've probably done hundereds of 4-2 auto downshifts from ~70mph rolls on the expressway and never broke a stock or built 4L60E doing it.
So these days FLP is recommending manually shifting to 3rd before going WOT at speeds where a downshift to 2nd will occur? That's odd, I remember when I bought my Level IV from FLP a couple years ago I was told that the best thing to do is leave the trans in OD at all times and let the PCM handle all up/down shifting automatically, that manual shifting was not recommended.
So what's the deal for the other gear changes, like 4-1, would 3-1 be better?
Personally, I'd be more inclined to beleive that just leaving the car in OD and letting the PCM sort it out would be best. That's how the factory set it up to be, if 4-2 is so hard on the trans, why are they programmed to do this stock? This is a pretty common gear change, anytime you're on the expressway and go WOT to pass someone you'll likely be getting a 4-2 downshift unless you're already at some pretty high speeds. I would think that every 4L60E out there would be broken within the first year of driving if this was really that big of an issue.
I've had 3 4L60E trans'ed cars, and two of them have retained the stock trans for as long as I owned them, the 3rd (my WS6) had an FLP built unit (level IV). I'd say that I've probably done hundereds of 4-2 auto downshifts from ~70mph rolls on the expressway and never broke a stock or built 4L60E doing it.
So these days FLP is recommending manually shifting to 3rd before going WOT at speeds where a downshift to 2nd will occur? That's odd, I remember when I bought my Level IV from FLP a couple years ago I was told that the best thing to do is leave the trans in OD at all times and let the PCM handle all up/down shifting automatically, that manual shifting was not recommended.
So what's the deal for the other gear changes, like 4-1, would 3-1 be better?
Personally, I'd be more inclined to beleive that just leaving the car in OD and letting the PCM sort it out would be best. That's how the factory set it up to be, if 4-2 is so hard on the trans, why are they programmed to do this stock? This is a pretty common gear change, anytime you're on the expressway and go WOT to pass someone you'll likely be getting a 4-2 downshift unless you're already at some pretty high speeds. I would think that every 4L60E out there would be broken within the first year of driving if this was really that big of an issue.
10-13-2005, 10:11 PM
#19
I guess I am the exception to the rules......WOT downshifts from OD to 2nd all the time and she keeps on ticking. 70K on the clock! Honestly, I think it's starting to catch up with me. Tranny just started slipping so my days are numbered. Guess I'll use the drop it to 3rd then go WOT to milk it through till she goes boom.
10-13-2005, 10:17 PM
#20
LS1Tech Administrator
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
Posts: 32,362
Likes: 0
Received 1,794 Likes
on
1,278 Posts
Originally Posted by 99Hawk262
Guess I'll use the drop it to 3rd then go WOT to milk it through till she goes boom.
In my experiance, this would only make things worse. Seems the only way I've ever managed to break any auto trans (including 4L60E) on stock/mild cars is with manual shifting. In my experiance, letting the PCM do its job always seems to work best and result in the longest tranny life.
Sounds to me like your trans has held up well. If you've got 70K miles of constant/regular WOT action plus track time and just now it's giving you issues that's not too bad.