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losing it with this gearbox

VZSSCHASE

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hi im at my wits end with this 4l65e gearbox have had fixed and rebuilt in a matter of weeks in my vz ss 6lt,im not sure what else to do, first off I lost 2nd gear while at the drags had it fixed then I lost gears from power button 4th to 3rd wouldn't engage then it did so I had a intermittent issue with that, box out again replaced the bands again and broken the pump to had it all fixed,then I lost 2nd gear again and when in 4th wouldn't drop back a gear, pulled box out replaced and fitted new valve body solenoids,new bands for 2nd and 4th again, all performance upgrades btw,gearbox fully rebuilt drove it for a day then lost 2nd gear again and no change from the power button or 4th back to 3rd wouldn't work then it did, pulled gearbox out again everything was good so replaced casing as it was the last thing they could think of,back on the rd harder shifts had all gears running great then lost 4th gear again,what is going on here I cant fix anything more on gearbox as its been rebuilt and nothing else to change over,i also had the 4000 stall converter inspected and fixed as one of the fins were warped,also had the spline replaced as it was warped and bent as well, have I missed anything could it be electrical within the transmission that's causing me to lose this gears? like I said im at my wits end with this. any ideas or have you had this issue in the past I need this sorted so I can race again.
 

EYY

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They're a GREAT transmission. BUT you need to have it built by somebody who knows what they're doing. Mismatched parts generally don't work, and the physical components are only half of the equation. If it's not tuned well on the transmission side, you'll keep going through transmissions forever.

The biggest problem on the electrical side is the pressure control solenoid from what I've read. Other solenoid problems are generally characterised by the trans becoming stuck in gears etc.

If you really decide to move away from the 4l60/65 you could try a th400 but that gets very expensive very quickly as you'd already know.
 

VZSSCHASE

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update, I drove it this morning when cold and it drives fine all gears even forth power button works fine freeway drove it for a good half hour sitting on 110 at 3000rpm cruising along no dramas soon as my trans temp gauge reaches 150'c I lose 4th soon its goes under 130'c I have 4th back I have fitted up trans cooler and deep pan sump, so basically when its cold its fine all gears soon it reaches 150'c I lose 4th? any ideas, strange thing before I had it rebuilt it lasted 4yrs drag racing and driving it hard with no trans cooler or deep sump no issues soon as I got it rebuilt and strengthed more than before with billet gear and replacing wide bands this happens.
 

_R_J_K_

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soon as my trans temp gauge reaches 150'c I lose 4th

150 celcius is really, really hot, like destroy stuff hot which means there might be bigger problems (even 130 isn't really good). Just remember if you're referencing American sites they typically use Fahrenheit.

Just out of curiosity what was the rebuild cost?
 
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VZSSCHASE

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well unless this gauge is faulty that's what it reads 150c, I have never had a gauge on it in the past so I wouldn't know what the temp was back then, with no cooler either, now that I have one and it has been bypassed via the radiator which sits infront of air condenser close to the grill, she gets pretty hot? what causes that to happen? so far the rebuild has cost me just under 2k including all the other times its been fixed which he didn't charge me it has the beast sunshell,billet servo wide bands replaced the pump brand new valve body upped the pressures,upgraded the casing,has deep pan sump,transtac gasket ring set,sonnax pump,heavy duty reaction shells,its pretty much beefed up more than it was before which pretty much had all the go gear Kevlar bands corvette servo etc..., any ideas how I cool it down anymore it has a trans cooler 13"L x 10"W got that fitted up.im also got on order two 7" thermos fans for the cooler if that helps,what should the temp read on a gauge?
 

losh1971

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I think it really should be running through the rad as well as the cooler. I have a big cooler fitted and when he fitted it he kept it running through the rad as well as the cooler.
 

EYY

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Thats a TINY cooler for your combo, especially since you have a histall. Being away from the radiator, the fans won't be able to suck cool air directly through that cooler. The other side of it is that the trans will take longer to warm up too. The coolant surrounding the trans cooler also means that the in-tank trans cooler in the radiator is more effective than it would be if it were open to the atmosphere.

Your trans is operating at 300 degrees f or thereabouts which explains the failure according to this:
trans_life_expectancy.jpg


A larger cooler along with fans would be a good idea, and connecting in series with the cooler in your radiator. Alternatively I've seen people use air con condensers as trans coolers - it's just a matter of welding the right fittings on or purchasing on older style with 3/8 barbs. You can even buy thermostats to ensure the trans doesnt run too cool, which can also be detrimental to trans life. There's a happy medium.

4th gear needs both the 3/4 clutches and the band to be engaged. Theres a possibility the 3/4 clutchpack is already damaged but lets hope not... Not sure whether these have a temp switch to prevent it from going into overdrive at high temps?
 

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Sorry to thread crash .I've all ways put the extra trans cooler in series with the existing cooler in the radiator which side should the extra trans cooler go on the in side or the out side? Do transmission fluid spot tests exist like coolant and brake fluid spot tests strips?
 

EYY

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Should go after the existing cooler - on the cold side. So from trans > factory cooler > additional cooler > trans
 

lowandslow

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is it fully manualised?
Your not leaving it in a higher gear and trying to accelerate from a low speed relying on the torque converter to get the car moving?
 
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