bdyman

my other question to you is what are your thought on installing a tranny cooler, i have no choice but to keep this car for a few more yrs, yes good or no its stupid

being your ase master certified why is this trans not able to last with the ls4 block, is it poor design, weak internals, what is it, i want to know, i dont drag race, iam not stupid with the car i take care of the stuff i have

is it becasue of the previous owner?? it was a 17yr old kid, that did nothing but beat this car to the ground, i find this out after i buy the car, when he traded the car in it came in on a flat bed becasue he blew the tires off doing burn outs, nice huh

please master tech fill me in i want to know

speedshifter

iTrader: (1)

I live in an apt, so no garage space to work. I occasionally use my dad's garage for working on my own stuff, but never for side jobs. I eat, sleep, and breathe cars. I work on other peoples cars 40 hrs a week. When I come home, its my car time

To futher assist you on the Alero, I'd need to know what codes are setting. There are several different codes for O2 sensors.

To answer your question about your trans, its all of those things. The 4T65E-HD is derived from the 4T60 going all the way back to 1984. Since then it has undergone multiple changes. Up until the GXP hit the streets, the 4T65E-HD was only ever used behind the supercharged 3800 V6. The supercharged 3800 is rated at 280 lb-ft of torque while the LS4 V8 is rated at 323. It may be that extra torque that pushes the limit. Basically the 4T65 series transmissions were originally designed to go behind V6 engines. When the GXP came along (as well as the MC SS and the Impala SS) GM decided to drop the V8 in these cars. Is was far easier for them to adapt the 4T65 to the LS4 because the 4T65 already bolts into these cars.

Some people ask why they didn't use the 4T80E like the Northstar Cadillacs have. Well for one, its the heaviest trans that GM has ever made for a FWD platform. I mean really heavy. That would add a ton of weight to the front of the car which would sacrifice handling. Secondly, the W-body platform has never seen a 4T80E, so custom mounts, cradle, axles, etc would have to be engineered solely for this application - not very cost effective. Finally, most people have not even opened up the can of worms that is the 4T80E, its riddled with problems: TCC solenoids go bad, clutches burn up, forward sprags break, 3rd clutch housings wear out and cause axle seal leaks, reaction sun shells break, etc. Trust me you wouldn't want one in your car.

Basically, GM had not other easy option besides putting the 4T65E-HD behind the LS4. I believe some internal parts may have been upgraded over the V6 version. After a GM bulletin search, I can only come up with 3 common problems with the VIN code:MN7 4T65E-HD transmission which is what my '06 GXP has:

-knocking/ticking noise from trans area = cracked flexplate = replace torque converter & flexplate

- 1-2 shift slip/shudder @ part throttle = updated 2nd clutch assembly

- low speed shudder, lack of power after 1-2 shift = replace 4th clutch piston & friction plates

other than that, there are no common problems with this trans. Any other issues are either unique, or a result of abuse like you suspect from your car. I'd say after your trans is rebuilt, assuming they did the 2nd & 4th clutch updates as well, you should be worry free.

An auxiliary trans cooler never hurts, but isn't always necessary. I could see if you were having issues with heat related problems, but I don't think you are. When your trans fluid reaches over 220* is when you can start to have problems. Ideally you want your trans fluid to be between 150*-190*. The cool thing about the GXP is you can press the "i" button on your info center and monitor your trans temps. If you are seeing temps well over 200*, I'd say something is wrong. However, seeing that nobody else out there has a auxiliary cooler on their GXP, I think you can just leave it alone. The only people who may need it are either drag racers who don't get a lot of air movement across the stock cooler and like to hot lap, or if you were to install a turbo kit.

bdyman

damn dude i bow to the master tech, on the alero i will give the code next time it pops up

i do believe iam gettin the tranny stuff you stated, which is fine by me, i hope to be worry free for a long time, even on the 294 i check it the most and its at 175-185 maybe your right maybe it has something to do with previous owner, and it finally craped out on me

i like the way you think a true gear head like my self

bdyman

well then why do the 05 gxp have the tranny issues, 06 and above not so much

hexxLS4

iTrader: (1)

because they are an entire year older maybe?

phat_ridegt

iTrader: (1)

hot damn we are a lonely buick dealer, and are at 72.80/hr. i wish we could jump to about 85 or so...maybe we'd get a raise!


im in to see what they find with the car...

bdyman

rebuilt tranny, hopefully they replace the steering shaft, and figure out the clunk

zabolots

My car has started acting strange on the highway (65-75MPH) where I noticed what appears to be the TCC going from engaged to disengaged back to engaged. RPM's jump from ~2000 to ~2200 and then back to ~2000. Is this what others have seen when either the trans or torque converter start to go?

bdyman

yup mine was doing it too, and guess what rebuilt tranny, looks like your next in line

so when i went to the dealership today to clean some engine parts for the in-laws, the tech had all the parts, a complete rebuild, including the vavle body, there were 2 vavles stuck closed, when i saw my car i never would have thought it was going to be done today

i mean rebuilt tranny, fixed the clunk, and i think replaced sterring shaft, but its done and i picked it up tonight, instantly noticed shift point faster and firmer, front end feels nice and tight, so i hope everything is going to be ok and no problem for a long time

just my car is filthy, and my intake was left loose, no biggie there,