I have a 98 trans am a4 that I just put a 2000 engine into. We kept the original tranny tho. Before the swap the transmission was fine but now after the swap I am having problems with tranny. Park and reverse are fine but when I put the car in drive it only has 1st gear and it wont shift up, if I pull the shifter into 2nd it will shift into second but those are the only 2 gears I have. The motor I put into the car has heads and cam. The car is currently not tuned either. Do you think this could be a tuning issue or a tranny issue? I have all fluids and everything plugged in correctly. I ran my trouble codes and they were stuff like shift solenoid A malf. Shift solenoid B malf. And shift/timing malfunction. Any help would be very appreciated. Thanks, Colton.

 

it sounds like you have a wire pinched in the harness somwhere going down to the tranny maybe inbetween the bell housing or it is on the header take a few minutes to look

 

O and I should add that when I first started the car and drove it, the tranny shifted fine for the first 10-15 miles.

 

i just had the same problem today... car was driving fine for about 10-15 miles .. then i'm coasting down a hill going 70mph and all of a sudden my rpms drop to idle speed like i threw the car into neutral.
after that, in drive or overdrive, the car would take off in 1st and shift to 2nd normally, but never would hit 3rd. i could get it almost into 3rd (or was it 4th?) if i took it up to like 4000+ rpm 45mph, but it would immediately go in and out of gear and drop back down to 2nd or what felt like neutral.
what's with 4L60Es not shifting into 3rd????

i should add that the other night i came back from a 500 mile drive and at the end, once the car had a little trouble taking off in 1st. it would rev up a little then catch (violently).

i'm looking for clues if anyone's got any.

 

The OP's shift solenoid issues need to be addressed by a technician with a scanner who is capable of diagnosing it. Certainly the problem warrants a thorough visual inspection, ensuring the harness is not compromised and that the connector is plugged in. But I think there is more going on here than meets the eye.

Make absolutely sure that all of the engine grounds are properly attached at the beack of each cylinder head. A faulty ground will cause this issue. I would try to toggle those solenoids on and off with a scanner or tuning software if it were here.

In the next scenario.... sounds like the vert lost the 3/4 clutches. But a good inspection of the fluid condition is the first thing to take a look at... What is the fluid level and condition?

g

 

the fluid looks OK. after the drive where it wouldn't shift to 3rd, with the tranny temp around 220 or so, the level is right where it should be on the dipstick. it's not exactly bright pink, but it isn't metallic. i did notice that when you wipe the stick with a white napkin, there's a little black dust that you couldn't see just by looking at the stick.

if the 3/4 clutches went, what sort of repair am i looking at? - THANKS