4L-60E Issues

[Bizmark]

I have a VR with the 4 speed 4L-60E (4HDD) with about 27xxxx k's on the clock.

The car takes a while ( a few seconds) to engage Drive when shifted from Reverse, and vice versa. It also jolts the whole car as it engages the gear, sometimes accompanied with a metallic 'ting' sound. It also tends to engage 2nd harshly when accelerating with little throttle. I noticed these problems present themselves a couple months after purchasing the car.

The last transmission service was done late last year. Had the filter replaced and the transmission fluid flushed, but the bands were not touched. It also was leaking from the VSS, and while fixing that leak we found metal shavings piled up behind the VSS. Also note that the old fluid was black.

The service did improve things slightly, but the aforementioned issues are more or less still there.

Taking the above into consideration, does my transmission sound like it may have a year or two years left in it, or should I be getting a replacement transmission as soon as I can?

[shane_3800]

the bands are self adjusting in the 4l60's

pretty much your trans is stuffed

[hako]

You could give yourself a bit of breathing space by adding a can of "Transmission Stop Slip"....there are many different brands to choose from. It will make the bands grip better, but as shane_3800 says, it's on it's way out.
A reco trans will cost about $2000.....so the rest of the car has to be pretty good before you outlay this sort of cash.

[KingDiamond]

My 4HDD gearbox was doing similar things then one day I lost reverse gear... I got a 5HDD which worked alright for a week or two.. Then I got sick of replacing autos... The only way to fix it is buy a wreck with a manual in it for $250 and convert it

[FstStig]

I would be having you're TPS checked or replaced first before replacing the Transmission. Are you getting a Check Engine light up? Could also be that the VSS Needs cleaning and not getting a proper signal causing all kinds of problems.

[Bizmark]

Never had any transmission related codes.

I have my doubts that a sensor is the cause of the issue, as the gearbox makes nasty sounds which accompany the slow shifts, which leads me to believe it's a mechanical issue as opposed to an electronic one.

[azzaholic]

there could be a possibilty that it could actually be the shift solinoids as well as my VR did the same thing until i changed the solinoids, now the changes are unfelt, and my tranny has 380000 on it at present

[twoqik1983]

hey mate, is your engine light on???? i had exactly the same problem in my vr v8. I found that it was the torque converter causing the problem. Cost $800 to replace. I chose to get a fell rebuild. Full race box at kewish auto in dandenong $2600, Ask to talk to dave McKay, he is a genius

[Bizmark]

No check engine light still. Will a bad solenoid throw a code? Or can it be picked up via a diagnostic tool?

[BlackVXGTS]

The car takes a while ( a few seconds) to engage Drive when shifted from Reverse, and vice versa. It also jolts the whole car as it engages the gear, sometimes accompanied with a metallic 'ting' sound. It also tends to engage 2nd harshly when accelerating with little throttle. I noticed these problems present themselves a couple months after purchasing the car.

I wouldn't be worrying about a few second delay engaging drive or reverse or the metallic 'ting' sound given the age of your trans. Sounds like it wasn't well looked after. Agree with Black_Stig that you should replace your TPS as it causes harsh changes from 1 -> 2.

[Bizmark]

Would replacing the TPS improve anything else aside from the harsh 1-2 shifts? I might convert the car to manual so if it has no other benefits, i'll leave the current TPS alone.

[hako]

Check the operation of the TPS before replacing - instructions in Gregorys manual.