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LS4 Transmission Problem Thread (4T65-HD); Current Total Inside
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville,FL
hey guys i bought my ss last summer and it had 75k on it when i bought it.. months later roughly 82k one day taking off from a light (normal excel) it suddenly came outta gear, as soon as this happend i let off the gas and it went back in. it happened a few more times after that.. it comes and goes. sence about 88k it hasnt done it. now im at 91k Just put a cooler on it 2 weeks ago, does this mean the tranny is on its way out?
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,419
Likes: 6
From: 78°14′46″N 15°27′56″E
hey guys i bought my ss last summer and it had 75k on it when i bought it.. months later roughly 82k one day taking off from a light (normal excel) it suddenly came outta gear, as soon as this happend i let off the gas and it went back in. it happened a few more times after that.. it comes and goes. sence about 88k it hasnt done it. now im at 91k Just put a cooler on it 2 weeks ago, does this mean the tranny is on its way out?
Yes, you trans is well on it's way to the grave yard.
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Add me to the list on replacement. 80K miles on the first one. It was replaced under warranty with a GM replacement. Replaced the second one and torque convertor under warranty at 97K miles. I am at 103K right now.
Funny thing, I have not really been hard on this tranny as far as acceleration. One time at the track at 10K miles and made 5 passes. I have driven a large number of high speed highway miles (90mph - 125mph interstate passes of 100 - 300 miles). I really believe heat seems to be more of a problem. Unfortunately, this car just seems very comfortable at these speeds.
I also have a 97 GTP with a swapped pulley (swapped at 40k miles) and of course the earlier, weaker version of this tranny with 104K miles. Original tranny and no problems. I have made somewhere north of 100 track passes with it, but nowhere near the number of high speed highway miles. Really interesting how the same design has held up quite differently.
Chip
Funny thing, I have not really been hard on this tranny as far as acceleration. One time at the track at 10K miles and made 5 passes. I have driven a large number of high speed highway miles (90mph - 125mph interstate passes of 100 - 300 miles). I really believe heat seems to be more of a problem. Unfortunately, this car just seems very comfortable at these speeds.
I also have a 97 GTP with a swapped pulley (swapped at 40k miles) and of course the earlier, weaker version of this tranny with 104K miles. Original tranny and no problems. I have made somewhere north of 100 track passes with it, but nowhere near the number of high speed highway miles. Really interesting how the same design has held up quite differently.
Chip
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,419
Likes: 6
From: 78°14′46″N 15°27′56″E
Add me to the list on replacement. 80K miles on the first one. It was replaced under warranty with a GM replacement. Replaced the second one and torque convertor under warranty at 97K miles. I am at 103K right now.
Funny thing, I have not really been hard on this tranny as far as acceleration. One time at the track at 10K miles and made 5 passes. I have driven a large number of high speed highway miles (90mph - 125mph interstate passes of 100 - 300 miles). I really believe heat seems to be more of a problem. Unfortunately, this car just seems very comfortable at these speeds.
I also have a 97 GTP with a swapped pulley (swapped at 40k miles) and of course the earlier, weaker version of this tranny with 104K miles. Original tranny and no problems. I have made somewhere north of 100 track passes with it, but nowhere near the number of high speed highway miles. Really interesting how the same design has held up quite differently.
Chip
Funny thing, I have not really been hard on this tranny as far as acceleration. One time at the track at 10K miles and made 5 passes. I have driven a large number of high speed highway miles (90mph - 125mph interstate passes of 100 - 300 miles). I really believe heat seems to be more of a problem. Unfortunately, this car just seems very comfortable at these speeds.
I also have a 97 GTP with a swapped pulley (swapped at 40k miles) and of course the earlier, weaker version of this tranny with 104K miles. Original tranny and no problems. I have made somewhere north of 100 track passes with it, but nowhere near the number of high speed highway miles. Really interesting how the same design has held up quite differently.
Chip
The failures that are so common with the transmissions has little to do with how you treat them. If you look at some of the other threads here, you'll see that it happens to be people who baby their cars just as often as it does to those who abuse.
There are some major differences in the valve body compared with your GTP. The LS4 version is tuned to shift extra smooth, and the compromises that GM made to achieve that also shorten the life of the trans. On top of that, you've got poorly designed and engineered parts in the valve body that cause TCC issues. And to top it off, the LS4 is probably making 40 lb-ft of torque more than a pulley'd GTP.
Combine all of those things, and you have long list of failures.
Teching In
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
From: Masshole in Tampa
...add my '05 GXP to the failure list. Bought it 2 summers ago with 51K and it was slipping badly/running high temps by the following spring. Gave GM $3000 for a certified tranny (62K) and they even let me see all the shiny medal in the pan- awesome.
I've always owned Pontiac, GTP-Fiero-GXP but its a straight up robbery they cut so many corners trying to make that tranny work in our cars-
Thanks for putting this to a list!
I've always owned Pontiac, GTP-Fiero-GXP but its a straight up robbery they cut so many corners trying to make that tranny work in our cars-
Thanks for putting this to a list!
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Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,419
Likes: 6
From: 78°14′46″N 15°27′56″E
...add my '05 GXP to the failure list. Bought it 2 summers ago with 51K and it was slipping badly/running high temps by the following spring. Gave GM $3000 for a certified tranny (62K) and they even let me see all the shiny medal in the pan- awesome.
I've always owned Pontiac, GTP-Fiero-GXP but its a straight up robbery they cut so many corners trying to make that tranny work in our cars-
Thanks for putting this to a list!
I've always owned Pontiac, GTP-Fiero-GXP but its a straight up robbery they cut so many corners trying to make that tranny work in our cars-
Thanks for putting this to a list!
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,419
Likes: 6
From: 78°14′46″N 15°27′56″E
I don't own a GXP but was eyeballing them as a replacement for my CompG.
I bought a truck instead because for I work basically needed one.
What's surprising to me is that there are so many failures when you consider GM pretty much had the aftermarket torture testing these 4t60's style transmissions behind the 3.8 Supercharged motors, we pretty much found out what breaks in high hp, more so high torque, applications for them....which really in marketing materials were described as GM FWD V6 transmission and the 4t80 style as V8 FWD transmission, although it pretty much is exclusively behind the Northstar.
I was really hard on my CompG, and other than changing the fluid and watching out not to cook it, was fine. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I put a pulley on it, did ton's of burnouts, and even did an off road rally in the winter with it and pushed it to "keep pace" with some of the Subaru's.
If any of you are in the Buffalo Area, feel free to send me PM if you need help finding people to help you should you find yourself needing work out of warranty. There's a strong group of performance guys who know GM stuff very well in the area.
I bought a truck instead because for I work basically needed one.
What's surprising to me is that there are so many failures when you consider GM pretty much had the aftermarket torture testing these 4t60's style transmissions behind the 3.8 Supercharged motors, we pretty much found out what breaks in high hp, more so high torque, applications for them....which really in marketing materials were described as GM FWD V6 transmission and the 4t80 style as V8 FWD transmission, although it pretty much is exclusively behind the Northstar.
I was really hard on my CompG, and other than changing the fluid and watching out not to cook it, was fine. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I put a pulley on it, did ton's of burnouts, and even did an off road rally in the winter with it and pushed it to "keep pace" with some of the Subaru's.
If any of you are in the Buffalo Area, feel free to send me PM if you need help finding people to help you should you find yourself needing work out of warranty. There's a strong group of performance guys who know GM stuff very well in the area.
Staging Lane
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 51
Likes: 1
I am already on the list but have a question. Mine is getting worse and worse finally so do you just take it in or schedule an appt? And what happens if they find nothing wrong, will I be out a diag fee or anything? I also noticed I am burning a good amount of oil which I know there is a TSB for it but not sure there is a fix from GM yet. Never got a low pressure light (or low oil light) but I was a good 2 to 3 qts low. Guess I need to start keeping a better eye on it
--Edit/Update -- Made an appt for next Friday (Feb 11th) to have my transmission looked at by the local GM dealership. Hoping they determine its crapped out and ready to replace. We shall see
--Edit/Update -- Made an appt for next Friday (Feb 11th) to have my transmission looked at by the local GM dealership. Hoping they determine its crapped out and ready to replace. We shall see
Last edited by jdwilks; Feb 8, 2011 at 03:08 PM.
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,419
Likes: 6
From: 78°14′46″N 15°27′56″E
I am already on the list but have a question. Mine is getting worse and worse finally so do you just take it in or schedule an appt? And what happens if they find nothing wrong, will I be out a diag fee or anything? I also noticed I am burning a good amount of oil which I know there is a TSB for it but not sure there is a fix from GM yet. Never got a low pressure light (or low oil light) but I was a good 2 to 3 qts low. Guess I need to start keeping a better eye on it
Definitely get it in and have them pull the pan. I'm sure they'll find material in it, and you'll get a rebuild or a SERTA unit.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 128
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
Any idea when my trans will completely fail?
The last 4 months or 6,000 miles the TC has been engaging and disengaging from 40-70mph. Really frustrating when you try to pass someone and your car falls flat on its face.
For the first time last week my car started shifting from 2-3 almost immediately after it gets into 2nd. Haven't seen anyone with this issue. Just wondering when I'm gonna get in my car and it not move.
The last 4 months or 6,000 miles the TC has been engaging and disengaging from 40-70mph. Really frustrating when you try to pass someone and your car falls flat on its face.For the first time last week my car started shifting from 2-3 almost immediately after it gets into 2nd. Haven't seen anyone with this issue. Just wondering when I'm gonna get in my car and it not move.
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
getting a real bad clunk and stutter going about 50-60 mph. its so bad, it feels like the car is going to shut off. started as every three days, it is now an everyday problem almost making it undrivable. so i am slowly stacking funds for a rebuild.