Too many problems to summarize, plz read (long)
Thread Starter
11 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,524
Likes: 1
From: The South
Too many problems to summarize, plz read (long) Background:
A little less than a year ago the clutch packs went out on my stock 4L60E that had a TransGo shift kit, 24k B&M trans cooler and TCI SSF 3500. Those parts had been installed for roughly one year. While on my way to LS1 Speed to have Dr. Evil's "Maximum Evil" transmission installed the converter stopped locking up. A TCI flexplate also went in at this time. I was already planning to ship it to TCI to be restalled to 4k to better match the powerband of the MS3 that had gone in last January, in doing so I was told something had given out on the converter with very good timing. There was also a minor flex plate incident after this that I think is irrelelevent.
Act I:
About a month ago my converter stopped locking up. The very next day I took it to a local shop that is highly recommended by everyone local (Lafayette Transmission). Went for a short drive with a tech who had a scanner hooked up. A couple times the computer sent the signal to lock but the converter didn't do it, then he had me play with the gas a tiny bit and it did indeed lock and stay locked as it should. Not but a couple hundred yards later it started slipping excessively while accelerating, not but 30 yards later it would not budge. At all. No matter what gear I put it in, it basically spun freely. Had it towed to the shop and taken apart to see what happened.
They opened up the transmission but not the converter. Based on the condition of the parts in the transmission they diagnosed that it was the converter that went out. I ordered a new Yank SS4000 and TCI (Kevin Winstead) agreed to check out the converter and fix it, if need be, if I would ship it to and from. (I have not yet shipped it to them.) They took the transmission apart, replaced the parts they felt needed it (not a lot of them), and put it all back together with the new Yank converter. At his point it has cost close to $2k total. I received the car on Friday.
The transmission temperature gauge reads high vs what a scanner reports. When I list temps they are as reported, which is 15-20* above actual.
With the above setup the hottest the gauge ever read, even when it was 100*, was just at 250*. With more normal weather and driving it would read anywhere from 160*-210*.
Act II:
I drove the car to pick up my fiance and then go home, maybe 20 miles in bad stop and go traffic. I then went to a buddy's (Ru2n00n3er on this board) apartment and noticed the temperature gauge was pegged at an indicated 250*. It was only about 45* outside so it definately should not be that hot. It seemed pretty loose for an SS4000, possibly even looser than my TCI SSF4000 had been, but with three weeks of downtime and the kind of driving I was doing it was really hard to say anything for sure. The transmission would heat up at a normal pace, then seemingly heat up faster than it should once >180* and would only run at a decent temperature when locked up in OD going 55 or faster. It would run cool locked up, though, just as normal. The trans cooler would feel cool, air temp actually, to the touch. When running the intake line felt a little bit warm, but not much, and the rest was all cool. Seemed odd considering the gauge was pegged at 250*.
Then on Saturday, after I had gone out and done regular driving in town and on the highway to determine that it was heating up a lot but would run cool on the highway it seemed to suddenly begin slipping a lot more than it had previously. I did not drive it Sunday. Yesterday I went about 20 miles and noted that it was driving very loosely and still getting very hot relatively quickly.
Act III:
I drove back to Lafayette Transmission and the guy went for a ride after I explained the heat and looseness to him. He said that it's simply an overly loose converter from Yank. This makes some sense to me as it does not slip at all when locked up and such a loose converter would explain the incredily hot transmission fluid...at last partially. I would think that Yank would get the stall speed right. When I talked to them I was not horribly specific about the modifications I have done but they did know it as a cammed LS1...
From what I remember it wasn't quite this loose when I picked it up on Friday. Looser than I thought it should be, yes, but not as bad as it got on Saturday. He said that converters like that will loosen up a little as they break in...but that doesn't doesn't totally mesh with my prior knowledge and experience. I have only gone about 100 miles since picking it up.
They would have to be way off on the stall speed for it to act like it is, and even then there are all kinds of little things I can't hardly remember or explain that just do not seem right.
For example:
-When accelerating, especially in first gear, it doesn't just act as if it is really loose, it also seems to grab somewhat inconsistently.
-Not long ago I put it in neutral while I was at a light. Trans temp was around 250* on the (high reading) gauge. First time I'd put it in neutral since getting it back...at first I heard an indescribable sound, some whirring was part it, then the car started to inch forward. WTF?! It would move, at least somewhat, in all of 1, 2, D, OD and N. Didn't try it a lot, but it seemed to slip even more in N than when actually in gear. Like I said....WTF?!? It did go into park normally.
As I was pulling into a parking spot not long ago, trans temp gauge pegged >250*, it started to buck and surge when I gave it gas like it was in it's death throws. I came inside, let it cool down, and went back out. It did just what I expected: not move. Reverse may as well have been neutral when I first hit the gas, then it kind of started to move, then something grabbed/broke, the revs fell and the engine stalled out.
I really don't know WTF is going on or WTF to do just yet...and I am really sick and tired of this. You may or may not have any idea how frustrating this is. It just got over $2k in tranny work one year ago, and nearly that much one week ago, and is once again dead. I will probably have it towed back to Lafayette Trans today or tomorrow to have them go at it again, assuming it's not going to cost me in labor. I don't even want to know what is wrong this time.
Does anybody have any idea whatsoever? Any advice on what I should do? Anything other than give it back to Lafayette Transmission and see what they say?
I can't take much more of this.
A little less than a year ago the clutch packs went out on my stock 4L60E that had a TransGo shift kit, 24k B&M trans cooler and TCI SSF 3500. Those parts had been installed for roughly one year. While on my way to LS1 Speed to have Dr. Evil's "Maximum Evil" transmission installed the converter stopped locking up. A TCI flexplate also went in at this time. I was already planning to ship it to TCI to be restalled to 4k to better match the powerband of the MS3 that had gone in last January, in doing so I was told something had given out on the converter with very good timing. There was also a minor flex plate incident after this that I think is irrelelevent.
Act I:
About a month ago my converter stopped locking up. The very next day I took it to a local shop that is highly recommended by everyone local (Lafayette Transmission). Went for a short drive with a tech who had a scanner hooked up. A couple times the computer sent the signal to lock but the converter didn't do it, then he had me play with the gas a tiny bit and it did indeed lock and stay locked as it should. Not but a couple hundred yards later it started slipping excessively while accelerating, not but 30 yards later it would not budge. At all. No matter what gear I put it in, it basically spun freely. Had it towed to the shop and taken apart to see what happened.
They opened up the transmission but not the converter. Based on the condition of the parts in the transmission they diagnosed that it was the converter that went out. I ordered a new Yank SS4000 and TCI (Kevin Winstead) agreed to check out the converter and fix it, if need be, if I would ship it to and from. (I have not yet shipped it to them.) They took the transmission apart, replaced the parts they felt needed it (not a lot of them), and put it all back together with the new Yank converter. At his point it has cost close to $2k total. I received the car on Friday.
The transmission temperature gauge reads high vs what a scanner reports. When I list temps they are as reported, which is 15-20* above actual.
With the above setup the hottest the gauge ever read, even when it was 100*, was just at 250*. With more normal weather and driving it would read anywhere from 160*-210*.
Act II:
I drove the car to pick up my fiance and then go home, maybe 20 miles in bad stop and go traffic. I then went to a buddy's (Ru2n00n3er on this board) apartment and noticed the temperature gauge was pegged at an indicated 250*. It was only about 45* outside so it definately should not be that hot. It seemed pretty loose for an SS4000, possibly even looser than my TCI SSF4000 had been, but with three weeks of downtime and the kind of driving I was doing it was really hard to say anything for sure. The transmission would heat up at a normal pace, then seemingly heat up faster than it should once >180* and would only run at a decent temperature when locked up in OD going 55 or faster. It would run cool locked up, though, just as normal. The trans cooler would feel cool, air temp actually, to the touch. When running the intake line felt a little bit warm, but not much, and the rest was all cool. Seemed odd considering the gauge was pegged at 250*.
Then on Saturday, after I had gone out and done regular driving in town and on the highway to determine that it was heating up a lot but would run cool on the highway it seemed to suddenly begin slipping a lot more than it had previously. I did not drive it Sunday. Yesterday I went about 20 miles and noted that it was driving very loosely and still getting very hot relatively quickly.
Act III:
I drove back to Lafayette Transmission and the guy went for a ride after I explained the heat and looseness to him. He said that it's simply an overly loose converter from Yank. This makes some sense to me as it does not slip at all when locked up and such a loose converter would explain the incredily hot transmission fluid...at last partially. I would think that Yank would get the stall speed right. When I talked to them I was not horribly specific about the modifications I have done but they did know it as a cammed LS1...
From what I remember it wasn't quite this loose when I picked it up on Friday. Looser than I thought it should be, yes, but not as bad as it got on Saturday. He said that converters like that will loosen up a little as they break in...but that doesn't doesn't totally mesh with my prior knowledge and experience. I have only gone about 100 miles since picking it up.
They would have to be way off on the stall speed for it to act like it is, and even then there are all kinds of little things I can't hardly remember or explain that just do not seem right.
For example:
-When accelerating, especially in first gear, it doesn't just act as if it is really loose, it also seems to grab somewhat inconsistently.
-Not long ago I put it in neutral while I was at a light. Trans temp was around 250* on the (high reading) gauge. First time I'd put it in neutral since getting it back...at first I heard an indescribable sound, some whirring was part it, then the car started to inch forward. WTF?! It would move, at least somewhat, in all of 1, 2, D, OD and N. Didn't try it a lot, but it seemed to slip even more in N than when actually in gear. Like I said....WTF?!? It did go into park normally.
As I was pulling into a parking spot not long ago, trans temp gauge pegged >250*, it started to buck and surge when I gave it gas like it was in it's death throws. I came inside, let it cool down, and went back out. It did just what I expected: not move. Reverse may as well have been neutral when I first hit the gas, then it kind of started to move, then something grabbed/broke, the revs fell and the engine stalled out.
I really don't know WTF is going on or WTF to do just yet...and I am really sick and tired of this. You may or may not have any idea how frustrating this is. It just got over $2k in tranny work one year ago, and nearly that much one week ago, and is once again dead. I will probably have it towed back to Lafayette Trans today or tomorrow to have them go at it again, assuming it's not going to cost me in labor. I don't even want to know what is wrong this time.
Does anybody have any idea whatsoever? Any advice on what I should do? Anything other than give it back to Lafayette Transmission and see what they say?
I can't take much more of this.
Thread Starter
11 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,524
Likes: 1
From: The South
Originally Posted by orion565
I read the whole thing, but got kind of lost while reading, so does the car move at all in any gears or does it slip in gears, if so, what gears?
As far as I can tell it does not move at all now. It had been slipping in general, most noticeably first second and reverse, until taking it's most recent **** and not moving at all. It did not slip when locked.
hmm, I am no expert on the 460LE, so if you didn't have the problem with the converter before, I would say the converter was toast, but there are so many variables it could be other things too.
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Thread Starter
11 Second Club
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,524
Likes: 1
From: The South
Originally Posted by orion565
hmm, I am no expert on the 460LE, so if you didn't have the problem with the converter before, I would say the converter was toast, but there are so many variables it could be other things too.
Yes, there are just way too many variables for me to decipher.
Originally Posted by Roarin_8
How is your cooler mounted? Maybe knowing how it's routed will help with the cooling issues.
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Sounds like the spring plate in the low/reverse drum was put in backwards. Its gotta come back down anyway so tell the builder to check it. Its a common mistake if the builder is in a hurry.
Mec
Mec
First and foremost....have the tranny shop do a cooler flow test and see how much flow the cooler has....you could have a plugged cooler. We had one the other day heat up after we changed the stall and my tech installed the cooler lines backwards...ooops... we caught it before it hit the customer....we always check cooler flow after an install....cept for this time.... and we check it on the dynoed trans as well..... this is one of the most overlooked items in the trans...once that transmission is over heated you can't expect anything to operate normally... Hope this helps ..Dave