All,

I just purchased a great looking 1995 TA with a 4L60E. Currently the car will shift from 1-2, but will not shift from 3-4 or OD. The car does have reverse as well.

I wanted to know if there was a way for me to test weather the solenoid for the 3-4 is working?

I suspect that, that 3-4 solenoid went bad.. any feedback?

 

There is no way of testing the solenoids while driving (unless it's a "yep it works" or "nope it dont"). Some other people on here might say you're clutch pack went. Either way, when it comes to automatics, no shifting = rebuild.

 

Man, its been awhile since i've posted and since i've seen you reply. Yea i did a search on the boards and it seems like the 2-3 clutch pack is a common issue. I bought the car with the idea that i would have to rebuild, BUT i want to make sure its not a simple fix before pricing out a nice rebuild.


Does anyone know if the solenoids are working -- will there be a check engine light? Right now im not getting a check engine light, but i havent tried to shift the car into third or fourth either. I'll have more info tonight.

 

hey, how's it going? I didn't even look at your screen name when i replied, and yea i haven't been on these boards for a while. Did you get rid of the camaro?

Anywho, if it were me I'd rather start cheap, and work my way up in price incase a cheaper thing fixes it first vs an expensive thing right off the bat. check out this link. I helped someone out a few years ago with weird shifting problems in a 4L60E. It might be able to help you also.

 

Yep- I sold the camaro to buy a mini van for my newborn daughter to ride in. Now, the HP gods have blessed me with a 95 Trans Am.

I'll check out that link. I am really hoping i have struck gold again. My camaro was sold to me dirt cheap because they guy thought hte motor was gone.. and all it needed was a water pump! -- 800 bucks.

NOw with this car for 1500, im hoping it needs a 40 buck solenoid to get'er moving.. if not then i'll rebuild it and add a few shift mods.

 

http://shbox.com/1/tpbutton_diag.jpg
If you don't get a shift kit this was a fun mod I did to my 94. Only works on 94-95, nothing great, but it's fun.

 

My transmission comes with a performance button for the transmission.. will that firm up the shifts much?

 

Does it just not attempt the 2-3 shift, or does it seem like it goes in to neutral? If it feels like it goes to neutral, it's most likely the 3-4 clutch pack. This is a high failure area in stock (and many "Built") 4L60E's. Fortunately, we know what modifications to make and what parts to use to make them hold up.

Frank
CPT

 

I dont want to speculate. I am going to test it out tonight without trying to lean on it too hard. I might just put it in third and see if it moves foward.

12SCNDZ: If the trans is bad i would be looking to have the tranny rebuilt to a point where it could handle cira 550HP/TQ and nice firm shifts. I saw a few of these transmissions on ebay that tout fully rebuild and free shipping at roughly 900 bucks. Can you PM me?

 

Tonight i had a chance to really give the car a once over and i found that nearly every fluid was empty: oil, coolant and power steering. The trans fluid looked to be at good levels, but looked very old.

Anyhow, i sat in the car and shifted from 1st all the way through drive and the rpm's didnt change and didnt feel like it had went into neutral. Then i shifted in reverse.. going from D to 1st.

I said WTF? So i strapped in and took the car for a ride. The first thing i noticed was a loud BUMP from the tranny when i got on it which makes me believe the trans mount is garbage. I did notice that the car had nice firm shifts from 1-2. I couldnt get it to shift into D automatically since my block is too short.. so i started from a dead stop and shifted from 1st to D. Every gear felt like it caught. I didnt really get on it.. i didnt want to hurt anything. I also didnt get any SES lights while driving.

Should the next step be to take it in for a diag at a tranny shop?

 

The dealer will have a computer that can read what the computer is telling the transmission vs what the transmission is actually doing. If it shifted fine through each gear manually that is a good sign. If you arent comfortable trying a hard drive yet dont, but it's always good to see where you're at for sure.

 

I doubt i'll take it to the dealer. They want about 70 bucks to scan it. I can an auto X ray scanner that i was thinking about using to see if i could pull more information about whats going on with the trans.

If the fluid levels are any indication as to the car that was taken for this car, then most likely the trans filter and fluid is probably as old as i am. Im wondering if i should drop the pan and install a new filter and fresh ATF.

 

Pulling the pan to see whats in there is and excellent idea, When you do take some pictures of whats in there to show us , Ussually that will tell the story ok .

 

Will do.

Can poor tranny fluid cause shifting problems? Something like a clogged filter?

I also need to get it on a long enough street so that i can lean on it and have it run through the gears. I did notice that it had pretty firm shifts for a stock tranny. 1-2 would probably chirp the tires if i got on it enough.

 

Poor fluid could be thinner, not making as much pressure, results in not shifting as firm as it should. So yes, it is possible.