Got the Impala back yesterday with the dealer-rebuilt tranny...
05-02-2010, 10:59 AM
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Got the Impala back yesterday with the dealer-rebuilt tranny... Dealer finally finished rebuilding my tranny and doing my p/s hose recall. The final verdict on the trans was burned 3rd gear clutches. Anyway, picked the car up yesterday and drove the family down to Disneyland. Roundtrip, this is about 200 miles. Here are some thoughts:
The problem of pulsing RPMs is gone. It now cruises normally. The car seems to shift slightly more firmly, and you can feel the torque converter lockup a bit more than before. It also seems to downshift with a little throttle, which makes thr car feel more responsive. This makes me wonder if I got a PCM update, too.
The thing that stands out the most is a slight increase in trans fluid temperature. As many of you know, I'm running a huge tranny cooler, and before the rebuild, I would normally run between 155-170 degrees, and the hotest I'd seen in traffic was 177 on a 90 degree days. Well, in our trip to Disneyland with a few miles of stop-and-go traffic, and mostly open cruising in 75-80 degree temperatures, I saw 179 on the way down, and driving home in 55 degree weather last night, it stayed around 170, sometimes going up as high as 176 and dropping to the mid-160's.
Now, I know these aren't high transmission temps, especially for an LS4, but they are higher than what I was used to seeing pre-rebuild. I know they replaced the torque converter, but the new one seems slightly tighter, not looser, so I'm not sure where the extra 10-15 degrees are coming from. Is this a break-in issue? I didn't think there was any break-in for automatics, but will I see temps drop after a few miles?
Lastly, when they put the thing back together, they must've put the ISS in slightly off, because my steering wheel is now off-center.
That just annoys the **** out of me!
The problem of pulsing RPMs is gone. It now cruises normally. The car seems to shift slightly more firmly, and you can feel the torque converter lockup a bit more than before. It also seems to downshift with a little throttle, which makes thr car feel more responsive. This makes me wonder if I got a PCM update, too.
The thing that stands out the most is a slight increase in trans fluid temperature. As many of you know, I'm running a huge tranny cooler, and before the rebuild, I would normally run between 155-170 degrees, and the hotest I'd seen in traffic was 177 on a 90 degree days. Well, in our trip to Disneyland with a few miles of stop-and-go traffic, and mostly open cruising in 75-80 degree temperatures, I saw 179 on the way down, and driving home in 55 degree weather last night, it stayed around 170, sometimes going up as high as 176 and dropping to the mid-160's.
Now, I know these aren't high transmission temps, especially for an LS4, but they are higher than what I was used to seeing pre-rebuild. I know they replaced the torque converter, but the new one seems slightly tighter, not looser, so I'm not sure where the extra 10-15 degrees are coming from. Is this a break-in issue? I didn't think there was any break-in for automatics, but will I see temps drop after a few miles?
Lastly, when they put the thing back together, they must've put the ISS in slightly off, because my steering wheel is now off-center.
That just annoys the **** out of me! 
05-02-2010, 11:20 AM
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Thought about that!
I haven't gotten under the car yet to check, but I suspect I'd be seeing much higher temps than that, especially with some of the traffic I saw. Also, I imagine they disconnect the cooler lines at the tranny, which are still stock. The add-on cooler is basically plumbed into the stock circuit, and the tech would have to basically uninstall the cooler to remove it from the system.
I will check that today, though, as stranger things have happened!
I haven't gotten under the car yet to check, but I suspect I'd be seeing much higher temps than that, especially with some of the traffic I saw. Also, I imagine they disconnect the cooler lines at the tranny, which are still stock. The add-on cooler is basically plumbed into the stock circuit, and the tech would have to basically uninstall the cooler to remove it from the system.
I will check that today, though, as stranger things have happened!
05-02-2010, 02:13 PM
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I had the steering wheel off center issue when I got my rear main seal replaced. Sick of the dealer I was dealing with, I just re-did the alignment myself at my job.
05-02-2010, 04:05 PM
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That seems normal to me. Remember, this thing is not even broken in yet. Tighter tolerences will yeild slightly higher temps. Give it a month or two and then see what they are. I haven't ever seen 170's on a long drive ever with my trans. Mine's usually 195 or hotter... You're lucky...
-Mike
-Mike
Last edited by Mgpeagle; 05-02-2010 at 06:56 PM.
05-02-2010, 06:03 PM
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That seems normal to me. Remember, this thing is not even broken in yet. Tighter tolerences will yeild slightly higher temps. Give it a month or two and then see what thaey are. I haven't ever seen 170's on a long drive ever with my trans. Mine's usually 195 or hotter... You're lucky...
-Mike
-Mike
05-02-2010, 08:17 PM
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That seems normal to me. Remember, this thing is not even broken in yet. Tighter tolerences will yeild slightly higher temps. Give it a month or two and then see what they are. I haven't ever seen 170's on a long drive ever with my trans. Mine's usually 195 or hotter... You're lucky...
-Mike
-Mike
BTW- I took a closer look at the dealer paperwork, and you were spot in diagnosing my car: Converter failure resulted in metal in the trans pan, which caused the 3rd gear clutches to burn.
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05-02-2010, 08:26 PM
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Thanks
05-02-2010, 09:10 PM
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Well after two effed converters I knew that's what it was with your car. I had the same symptoms except my 2nd clutch and drum burned out. I can't wait for my new one. I am getting really antsy to get this car done so I can enjoy it again. I did put on a new FasterProms Stage 1 ported intake on this past Friday. What a nice difference!... Next is the headers when the trans. gets here and a dyno tune.
I am glad you got it all taken care of. Must be nice to have piece of mind again. I am envious... lol...
-Mike
I am glad you got it all taken care of. Must be nice to have piece of mind again. I am envious... lol...
-Mike
05-02-2010, 09:16 PM
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Just a front toe adjustment. I highly doubt it'd be a warranty concern, unless the dealer performed services to your vehicle and caused the steering wheel to be off center. Mine was about 30 degrees to the left, completely unnacceptable! Luckily alignments is part of my job, so it was easy for me to fix!
05-02-2010, 09:37 PM
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Along with doing my headers I drained and changed the filter in the tranny,notice my trans fluid was dark and had fair amount of metal shavings collected around the gasket and the magnet inside the pan...Maybe should have taken her in before the headers...
05-02-2010, 09:38 PM
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How long did you wind up going without your car?
05-03-2010, 01:51 PM
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Damn that sucks, i went 22 days with out mine and when it was ready i had to go to the town it was in, in a greyhound to pick it up.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but id still have it built. (if your keeping it) Mine felt as your described. Felt strong and great. When the guy was taking mine apart he gave me a ring asking where i had it built last time. I told him and asked why. Parts were already wearing pretty bad. He showed me. I was going to sell them but i figured id be selling bad goods and wasnt going to do that to my buddies here.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but id still have it built. (if your keeping it) Mine felt as your described. Felt strong and great. When the guy was taking mine apart he gave me a ring asking where i had it built last time. I told him and asked why. Parts were already wearing pretty bad. He showed me. I was going to sell them but i figured id be selling bad goods and wasnt going to do that to my buddies here.
05-03-2010, 03:38 PM
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Damn that sucks, i went 22 days with out mine and when it was ready i had to go to the town it was in, in a greyhound to pick it up.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but id still have it built. (if your keeping it) Mine felt as your described. Felt strong and great. When the guy was taking mine apart he gave me a ring asking where i had it built last time. I told him and asked why. Parts were already wearing pretty bad. He showed me. I was going to sell them but i figured id be selling bad goods and wasnt going to do that to my buddies here.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but id still have it built. (if your keeping it) Mine felt as your described. Felt strong and great. When the guy was taking mine apart he gave me a ring asking where i had it built last time. I told him and asked why. Parts were already wearing pretty bad. He showed me. I was going to sell them but i figured id be selling bad goods and wasnt going to do that to my buddies here.
05-03-2010, 06:57 PM
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No kidding! I wish the dealer could've put in an aftermarket converter when they did the trans. I would have paid the difference. If that's the part that causes the trans to go, it would have been worth the extra money to make sure it doesn't happen again.
