4l60e question...is it junk?

[svridge]

Hey all, first post on this forum with a question about my transmissions housing. 2004 4l60e with 180k miles. I recently lost the ability to shift past 2nd gear and the clutches slip in 2nd except for a sweet spot around 2k rpm where it will bite 2nd and drive normal albeit without shifting up to 3rd. I dropped the pan to inspect the fluid and found that it was pretty black colored with a fair amount of fine metal shavings stuck to the magnet but no big chunks. I then thought I'll at least flush the torque converter out and replace the filter to see if that helps anything before taking it to a shop. When I went to install my new filter I noticed what looks alot like a broken section of metal next to where the filter neck plugs into the bottom of the tranny. Through this possible hole I can see what looks like what I believe is the hydraulic pump. The reason I think it looks to be broken is because of the jagged edge that looks unlike the rest of the casting but there were no large chunks anywhere in the pan. Is it possible this piece may have been sucked up into the pump somehow and is blocking flow to the 3/4 clutch pack causing it not to shift? Thanks for reading and I appreciate any input, I'll attach a picture of what I'm talking about.

 

[Alex_M]

Looks like casting flash to me, but I don't recall that specific view off hand in a '60e. Wish I had one easy access and I'd pop the pan off and look for you, but my garage is a mess right now and my transmissions are at the very back under a table.

I would say, if there are no chunks in the pan or in the filter then it is very unlikely that this is a piece that has just broken off.

 

[Alex_M]

Scratch that, I had one empty 4l60e case that was easy access.

Confirmed, same spot, that's just some rough casting flash. No issue.

 

[Alex_M]

That said, if you've lost gears and you have metal, you need a rebuild. I wouldn't waste the money refilling the trans with fresh fluid and filter.

Literally, I'd pour the old fluid back in it or fill it up with used motor oil to get it to the tranny shop instead of spending the money on new tranny fluid. Either will work fine in this situation, and you won't cause any extra damage at this point.

 

[rockola1971]

2-4 band is burnt up. Does it go in reverse?

 

[nonickatall]

That said, if you've lost gears and you have metal, you need a rebuild. I wouldn't waste the money refilling the trans with fresh fluid and filter.

Literally, I'd pour the old fluid back in it or fill it up with used motor oil to get it to the tranny shop instead of spending the money on new tranny fluid. Either will work fine in this situation, and you won't cause any extra damage at this point.

Never, and under no circumstances, should you put old motor oil in an automatic transmission, unless you want to make one last trip to the junkyard. If a shop is to rebuild the transmission, the transmission must be disassembled. But you can't get the oil out of the torque converter without leaving any residue, for example. Engine oil residues would therefore always remain in the transmission.
To that is a bad idea.

 

[Alex_M]

That's not so, I've done it before I rebuilt a trans on more than one occasion. You should never go through the trouble of rebuilding a transmission without also having your torque converter rebuilt, so that's a non-issue.

Especially if there's already metal in the transmission, that won't come out if old oil won't.

Second, motor oil will not hurt a transmission to run in a pinch, or in a situation like this. Even if it's a good trans, if you've got nothing to top off with but a quart of (fresh, in the case of a good trans) motor oil, it won't hurt your trans at all.

 

[YukonRog]

If your fluid is contaminated with any metal you really need to replace the cooler, the radiator, and all three of the lines connected all those parts. If there's one little teeny piece of metal in there it can ruin a new transmission. Lots of people just flush everything. I flushed mine 3 times forward and back and on the last one I really pressurized it. Yep, got metal out. Decided to go with a pristine system all around. Good time to upgrade the cooler too.

 

[svridge]

That said, if you've lost gears and you have metal, you need a rebuild. I wouldn't waste the money refilling the trans with fresh fluid and filter.

Literally, I'd pour the old fluid back in it or fill it up with used motor oil to get it to the tranny shop instead of spending the money on new tranny fluid. Either will work fine in this situation, and you won't cause any extra damage at this point.

I wouldn't say it has a ton of metal floating around in the fluid, just stuck to the magnet, but yeah I'm going to agree it's in for a rebuild. I consider myself a fairly competent but rebuilding it myself is a little out of my league, and having it rebuilt is a little out of my budget. I think what I'll end up doing is go junkyard scouting for a wrecked chevy and see if I can pull myself a brand used trans then flush that out with my new fluid and filter. I don't think I'll bother filling it back up since the old atf is now in a container with a bunch of nasty old motor oil and I have other vehicles/a trailer to move it around if need be. Thanks for the input and merry Christmas to everyone who responded!

 

[svridge]

2-4 band is burnt up. Does it go in reverse?

It has reverse and shifts 1-2 fine. For a couple years now its had some issues with 3rd. It would sometimes shift hard into 3rd and occasionally slip under load or at high altitude. If I'd kept it maintained before I might've saved it but I neglected it and here we are. Lesson learned I guess