VS auto holding 2nd gear to long

[bandit10]

Hi, ive got a problem with the auto in my vs if i keep to half throttle or less the auto performs fine changes gear smooth.

If i accelerate hard from a stand still it will change from 1st to 2nd fine but will then hold 2nd gear and will not change up i can be doing 80-90kms with the revs real high and it just holds 2nd gear (power button is off!) and rev its arse off, it wont change up to 3rd unless i back off for a good 5-10 seconds or put it in to neutral then back in to drive.

Also if im cruising about 60-70kms and floor it it kicks down to 2nd gear and will do the same and hold 2nd gear.

Any ideas why it would be doing this? ive read the fault codes and nothing comes up just 12 12 12 12 12 12
Im thinking about buying a replacement gearbox and changing it over myself (ive changed plenty of gearboxes), just want to make sure this is a internal problem with my box and not a electronic problem with the control module before i buy a new box.

Thanks

[Ron41]

This may be helpful to you.
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Common failures on 4L60E, symptom -> cause -> any possible repair:

1. Slow, slipping or no reverse: “lo-reverse” clutches are worn out, fluid leak in the reverse apply circuit, or broken sunshell. It is possible to remedy a fluid problem by removing the checkball from its cage in the case in the rear of the trans may help (must remove valvebody), or adding a high-viscosity additive such as Lucas Transmission additive or other seal restorer product. May also have worn boost valve (can replace in the pan).

2. 1-2 shift does not happen at WOT until you let off the gas: Best case: try replacing the TPS. Middle case: leak in the 2nd gear apply circuit (servo assembly or 1-2 accumulator). Doublecheck by using the pressure gauge and watch for a big drop when the PCM commands 2nd gear. Worst case: poor line pressure rise (see below).

3. 1-2 Shift shudder at WOT; delayed or abnormal 1-2 shift; There's a problem ONLY on the 1-2 shift: 1-2 accumulator piston cracked or stuck cocked in the bore. Check the yellow spring inside the accum housing for breakage. Also, if the accumulator housing walls are scored, the housing must be replaced. Easy fix in the pan.

4. 1-2 shift is delayed and harsh, may not shift into OD: Check TPS for smooth and linear electrical response over the entire range of motion. If not, replace.

5. Trans does not upshift out of first, speedometer reads zero at all times: VSS failure. Easy fix on rear of transmission, but xmember must come out to access VSS.

6. No 3rd or 4th gear: “3-4” clutches are worn out. R&R. The car is safe to drive (in 2) until you can get it fixed.

7. Sudden grinding noise with no prior warning primarily in 2nd gear, behavior in reverse may be abnormal; sunshell is fractured. R&R. Try not to run or drive the car or further damage could result.

8. 1st and 3rd only, no 2,4 or R; sunshell is fractured or splines are sheared off. R&R. Try not to run or drive the car or further damage could result.

9. No 2nd or 4th gear. 2-4 band is slipping. Servo seals may be damaged (can be fixed without removing trans. Otherwise, 2-4 band is worn out. R&R.

10. Trans shifts into gear harshly, 3rd gear starts, manual 2nd available but no 1st, no 4th, and no TCC lockup: No power to transmission, or trans is in limp-home mode. Check trans fuse underhood, and make sure transmission electrical connector is plugged in. Easy fix.

11. No 1st or 4th available; trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD : ShiftA solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

12. No 2nd or 3rd available: ShiftB solenoid failed: Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

13. No TCC lockup: Brake pedal switches improperly adjusted (always on), TCC solenoid failed (easy fix in the pan), TCC clutch worn out (must remove trans and replace TC).

14. TCC always locked: TCC apply solenoid circuit shorted to ground, TCC solenoid blockage (easy fix in pan), or TC broken (must remove trans and replace TC).

15. Horrible noise in 4th and feels like the brakes are on: overrun clutches are applying due to a cracked or leaking forward piston. Overrun clutches will be worn out after 30 seconds of this behavior. Car can be safely driven in D. R&R.

16. Soft shifting, gradual performance degradation: Poor line pressure rise due to leaking boost valve, clogged EPC filter screen, failing EPC solenoid, or worst case: leaky seals throughout. Transgo HD2-C kit fixes first two without removing trans. Seal restorer may fix last problem, but probably R&R. Also try a transmission flush with BG brand products (Firestone stocks it).

17. No forward movement in OD or D, but L2, L1 and R work: Forward sprag is broken. R&R. Try not to run or drive the car or further damage could result.

18. Extremely harsh shifts from P or N, normal shifts at WOT: EPC (Electronic Pressure Control) solenoid failed. Easy fix in pan. Fix as soon as possible or hard parts will eventually break.

19. Loud bang, grinding sound, loss of all gears, and a binding driveshaft: snapped output shaft. Try to wiggle driveshaft - if more than 0.020" play, that's the sign. R&R.

20. Trans seems noisy when moving in 1st and Reverse, noise goes away instantly if you shift to N or the trans goes into 3rd gear: Reaction planetary is worn out due to high miles or insufficient lubrication. Not a critical failure, but not a good sign either. R&R sooner rather than later.

21. No movement in any gear: pump failure, or total loss of fluid. R&R, or refill pan and find the leak. If out of fluid, avoid running the engine until the trans is refilled to avoid pump damage. To check for pump failure, check fluid level with the engine off, then start the engine and recheck fluid level. If level does not go down when engine is running, the pump is broken.

22. Transmission does not shift automatically, only manually. Swap in a known-good PCM, check wiring, check other sensors such as VSS and TPS.

23. 3rd gear starts, can manually shift through all gears. When car has been turned off for a bit, then back on it will run normally.: VSS dropoff w/ Hi-stall converter. The rpms are too high, but VSS is showing no movement. Happens after a tire burning take-off. Doesn't store a code, will not throw a CEL (I've heard that it will store a code if it happens 3 or more times). Cure: Reprogram PCM for VSS dropoff -- PCMforLess knows about it.

24. Car feels sluggish off the line, No 1st, 4th or TCC lockup available, Manual 2nd, 3rd and Reverse are only available gears, CEL is on: Transmision is either in limp-home mode or has lost electrical power. If there are lots of error codes in the PCM, check the underhood fuse that powers the transmission, and if it pops again, look for a short in that circuit like an O2 sensor harness touching exhaust. Otherwise, check PCM codes for a particular fault in the transmission causing the PCM to put it in limp-home mode.

25. Fluid leak out of the front of trans where the converter connects; partial or full loss of movement: Front pump bushing walked out. R&R. May have to replace converter also if hub is scored. Note that a leaking front seal usually means the bushing is walking out (i.e. call your local trans shop and schedule an appt.).

26. Torque converter shudder in 4th while lockup is engaged; problem goes away when the brake pedal is pressed slightly to unlock converter. Have a shop verify line pressure, and provided no valves in the TCC hydraulic circuit are worn, replace the torque converter. Also, Lubegard Shudder Fix will at least fix this for awhile. Or try a transmission flush by a shop that uses BG brand products.

27. Shift suddenly become very hard. When going from park to either reverse or drive it slams into gear. 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are also harsh. All gears seems to work. Problem may be intermittent: Check TPS for smooth electrical response. If the response is jumpy or erratic at all, replace TPS.

28. All fluid pumped out through the vent tube: Plugged cooler line. Flush the transmission cooler and cooler lines. Also could be overfiled transmission.

29. Car acts like it's in OD in neutral, car is locked stationary in R, engine feels loaded in P, all four forward positions work fine:Internal crossleak feeding the forward clutches all the time. Most likely a cracked input housing. R&R required. Car can safely be driven gently in forward gears until the repair.

30. Needle bearings in the pan, first gear and/or reverse may be noisy: Either a torrington bearing or a planetary bearing is on its way out. Trans will eventually die a loud, catastrophic death. Cheaper to rebuild now (saves further damage to hard parts), but requires R&R. It is drivable until it breaks.

31. 1-2 or 2-3 shift is slow/soft above part throttle: Trans is on its way out. R&R.

[bandit10]

Thanks for that info, it doesnt really cover my problem from what i can see altho i will check the TPS today as it mentions that is possible cause to some faults.
I should also add i have serviced the transmission with no effect on holding the gear to long.

[bandit10]

What exactly is the job of the TPS??? Does it help control the shift points by telling the ecu what position the throttle is at..??
I have been searching the forums to try and find some extra info but cant seem to find much on the subject.

Any help would be very gratefully received

[Brett_jjj]

TPS tells the ECU what percentage the throttle is open or what position the throttle is actually at.The auto trans also uses its signal to help control the shifts.

[bandit10]

thanks for that brett, so do you think it could be possible a faulty TPS that would cause my problems or am i going down the wrong track?

Sometimes when driving around 40-50kms if i floor it it will kick down a gear for about 1 second then jump straight up a gear giving me very low revs, way before it should change.

Im hoping its something simple, i just dont want to spend heaps on a new gearbox if i dont need one.

[Brett_jjj]

Ive never had trouble with one so I can only go on what Ive read on here,but a faulty TPS can play havoc with the transmission shifts.Theres been a few threads where people have had similar problems to yours and fixed it by replacing the TPS.Its weird its not throwing up an error code,although Ive seen other things stuff up and which should have set a code and havent,so Id be replacing or at least trying a different TPS just to see if there is any difference,also have a good look at the sensor wiring and connector.Cheers.

[bandit10]

yeah i think ill change it over and see if it makes any difference, ive got a old VR V6 throttle body here so ill pull the sensor off that and try it, as far as im aware the TPS are all the same on the V6 and V8 VN-VS (minus V6 ecotec)

If it fixes the problem ill order a brand new one.

[Brett_jjj]

Let us know how you get on with it.

[bandit10]

just finished changing the TPS over, the one that came off it looked like it had seen better days!!
The V6 one fitted and is exactly the same part as the V8 one i removed so just for future reference VN-VR and VS V8 TPS are the same (not including VS ecotec V6)
Also cleaned up the TB whilst i had it off.

Going for a test drive soon, will let you know if its fixed my problem.

[bandit10]

nope still the same, holds 2nd gear right in to the red (approx 100kmh) doesnt want to change up. If im cruising at 100km and floor it, it will kick down to 3rd and go fine it just seems to be having trouble changing up out of 2nd under load.... confused.com..! lol

[delcowizzid]

my t700 was doing this i just fitted a shiftkit and tidied it up shes all go again dont know what exact part did it cause ive gone full manual there was one checkball had blown out of its special holder may have helped when i fitted that back in i changed so many valves and springs i cant say which to look at

[bandit10]

thanks delco, a friend of mine did suggest fitting a shift kit but it feels like i would be chucking money at a dead box at the moment if that makes sense.. i guess if it doesnt fix it i could always pull the valve body out and put it in a new gearbox.

[delcowizzid]

yeah can swap it over to a new box it could be something real simple thats stuck in the valvebody.if its not free reving just getting stuck in 2nd like mine was its probably got plenty of life left yet mines like new again now pan was real clean magnet had a bit of shit on it but yeah pan was sparkly clean

[bandit10]

ok so looks like a shift kit is the go.. do you think a stage 2 would have the same effect? id rather not go full manual with the T700 (would much rather do a proper T5 manual conversion)