Hi, last night the reverse went out on my 97 A4 Z28 halfway out of my garage. I can't get to work, I can't even get to the store so this is very very inconvenient.

Background:
1997 Z28
42k miles
4L60E 4-speed Automatic
drivetrain mods: LS1 driveshaft, no others.

Ok. Last night I start the car, depress brake pedal, release emergency brake fully, put shifter in reverse, release brake pedal and slowly depress accelerator slightly to back up on very slight uphill angle. Car moves a few inches if that and immediately starts making repeated loud clunking noises that make the car vibrate heavily. More clunking with light pressure on accelerator, but still clunking even at idle in reverse. Shifted into drive, went forward a few feet, felt totally normal. Shifted into reverse with brake depressed, back to clunking. Car does not move at all backwards in reverse, but also doesn't roll forward.
Parked car and had a friend pick me up.

A few weeks ago my transmission mount broke and I have been driving it lightly and carefully as I haven't had time to do anything about it and I was told it wasnt a big deal to drive around with a broken mount for a while. I don't think this is related as it feels quite different but I don't know.

Any suggestions as to what is most likely broken, what there is to check, etc would be greatly appreciated. If I need a new transmission or rear end I can get quite good deals on these things but I am hoping a rebuild or replacement wont be necessary as I am pretty broke at the moment.
Thanks,
-Alex

 

my car makes some serious clunking noise too, and only in reverse.

people who have heard it say its my rear end going out...i dont know

 

well.....a couple of weeks ago my 3rd and 4th went out and al it did was rev into neutral..does your car do that in reverse? if so..then im pretty sure its time for a rebuild or so!! sorry that happen to ya!!
good luck though
randy

 

thanks for replies, if anyone can give me some additional specific info or suggestions from previous experience or whatever that would be appreciated also.
-Alex

 

does your car rev up in reverse? when mine did it in 3rd and 4th i never had no grinding noises though!!
let me know

 

yeah its not like its in neutral, the banging noises/vibration get worse with higher rpms but I didnt push it, I only tapped lightly, it was obvious something is very wrong.

 

I'd call up a tranny specialist and get his input. I had my 4L60E rebuilt a few months ago when i had a broken front pump and it ended up costing $900. I hate spending that kind of money on a repair, but it was worth it, I love the way it drives and it shifts 5 times harder than it did before.

 

I'm going to try to get a hold of a transmission shop but its the weekend and hard to do around here. Please keep suggestions, thoughts, ideas etc coming,
-Alex

 

Mine needed a rebuild when reverse would not work. I was also losing engine braking in some gears. Luckily, I was able to park where I did not need reverse and did not get stranded. Thankfully the car was under warranty at that time and it cost me nothing for the dealer to fix it.

 

I'll move this over to the Drivetrain forum... Good luck!

 

gosh thats not what I wanted to hear.

any idea whats reasonable to pay for a tranny rebuild?

 

well i paid 2100$$ for my rebuild but i added alot of stuff to it such as billet servo, shift kit, 2500stall, titatium valve body, tranny cooler..things like that...also im in tx so i have no idea what it would be for u.....but good luck finding cheap prices!

 

Your sun shell has broke. It's a common problem on 4L60E's. My guess is, you'll go forward OK, but you won't have any upshifts, either.

Frank
All-Trans Transmissions

 

After 14 years of building racing automatics, I've never heard of a titanium valebody...And I only charge $1000 for 700/4L60Es that are capable of holding up in 10-11 second F-Bodies.

Frank
All-Trans Transmissions

 

well......i dunno about a titatium maybe a aluminum valve body, but i know he put some corvette stuff in my tranny too!!! so i dunno...all i know is that my tranny OWNS now and its freaking awsome...i can skid in 3rd with my a4!