Transmission will not shift at all.

Hey everyone.

Well, my Riviera's transmission is having a lot of trouble. I first noticed that it was shifting VERY HARD into reverse, if I shifted it directly into Reverse to back out of my driveway. So I would shift it in Drive first, then shift to reverse, and that seemed to help this hard shifting.

This has been going on for a while now. So a few days ago, I started the car after having driven it for a few hours, and I was hearing a strange clunking noise... coming from the "rear" of the engine. Obviously this was probably the transmission, but I'm not sure what. It sounded terrible. The sound went away the next day and I could drive the car again, but the acceleration felt a little strange, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

So I went to leave today, heated the car up, flipped it into Reverse - nothing. Shifted it into Drive, nothing. No power, like the car's in neutral.

So there was the hard Reverse shift, the clunking noise, and then this. I just went out and started it again, and it shifted. What's the deal? Any ideas what could be happening? I'm not going to take it anywhere because I think I could get stranded. Has this happened to anyone else?

maybe dis connect the cable fm the trans and see if the problem is in the cable itself?

Sounds like you are dealing with a stuck pressure control solenoid, giving you full pressure or no pressure. problem is that if it's been going on this long you may have permanent damage and be in for a rebuild.

What does it idle at in neutral? in D?

Could be the cable but I doubt it. You may want to try taking the big electrical plug off the top of the trans and making sure it's clean. It's straight down from the throttle body.

Intense has a pressure control solenoid for 1997-2002 4t65e and 4t65e-HD for $49.99. Here's the link: http://intense-racing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IR&Product_Code=GMH-PCS&Category_Code=T

I'd at least check out the rest of the trans. Hopefully it's just this part.

It's been going on for months with the Reverse "clunk" but I have no idea what that clunking and griding was the other day. I'm going to go check idle right now....

Okay.

Idle in N - Exactly 1000 RPMs.
Idle in D - Slightly lower, idles at 900 RPMs.

Checking the plug right now.

At 65k, I didn't think I'd see a problem like this...

Was the engine up to temp (180*) when you checked idle RPM?
If so, it's idling too high for some reason.
If engine was somewhat cold then 1,000 RPM is O.K.. But none of that explains shifting problems, but will cause clunk when you put it into gear.

Not up to temp, but a little cold. Pretty close to 180, my guess is probably 150 or a little cooler.

I wonder if the high idle could be a bad IAC? Your idle should be more like 800-850 N 650-700 D. What about cold vs warm? What's the cold idle and what's the warm idle.

My guess is if it's been shifting that hard with that kind of clunk for months, there's been some permanent damage, which you are seeing the first of with the big bang the other day.

Any check engine light?

No check engine light... taking the car to a good transmission shop today. Wish me luck.

You know, I'm wondering... if it has to be rebuilt, are there any parts that could use some beefing up while they're in there? I mean, common parts that usually fail or something. If it's going to be open and rebuilt, might as well.

You could do what eWolfe did and put a new torque converter in there. You have the 4t65e-HD trans, I believe. I personally haven't heard about anything notoriously failing.

I have the hardened input shaft, GTP torque converter, 7/8" chain, 3.29 gears, modded clutch pack, 1st&2nd shift kit, and hardened 4th clutch.

You are reasonably close to Dave at Triple Edge Performance. I strongly suggest you go to him for a rebuild. His basic builds are aroung $1500 and go up from there depending on what you want done. Mine will handle 450hp without any problems. Dave only works on these types of transmissions and is a great guy.

Well... the tranny needs to be rebuilt. Damn. I'm calling Triple Edge to have a chat, but it's already at a very reputable transmission shop that's been there for over 25 years, and my parents have used them in the past with no troubles whatsoever.

I'll keep everyone updated on what happens. I'm looking at $1600 right now.

Well, I just got off the phone with Dave. He said that my transmission will not need anything special for the rebuild with level of modifications, but he's recommending the Trans-Go shift kit, and the hardened 2003 and up 4th gear input shaft.

Eric's list is approximately what I have as well. Highly recommended for worry-free performance!!

I only have very mild performance upgrades, and I don't really beat on the car at ALL. Actually, I baby it. How this happened to my tranny is anyone's guess - my money is on a moment of abuse in the previous owner history at some time. Maybe they put it in reverse while driving forward?

How many miles? How often was the fluid changed? What kind of fluid was used? What was determined to be the problem?

Mileage: 65,500 (not a typo)

Fluid changed: Twice since I owned it, which was 52k miles.

Fluid used: Dexron IIV fully synthetic.

Problem - not sure yet, but the mechanic said that it was not fluid related. Something BROKE internally. Something about a "plate" was suspected, but it hasn't been opened up yet. I will provide more details when they let me know.

Edit: I still think that it suffered some sort of trauma at some point with the previous owner that seriously weakened the internals.

Buapo wrote:

Something about a "plate" was suspected, but it hasn't been opened up yet.

Flexplate?

Probably.

Well, the car has been back for several days. Shift kit makes the car shift a little quicker, which I like. Less wear on my transmission makes me feel good.

But anyway, it needed a full rebuild, and cost me $1600 labor and tax included. They performed all updates, replaced all clutches and solenoids, practically everything was replaced.

As for what went wrong - there was a bearing in there that locked up or blew up or something, which took out the bearing mount. Okay, I realize that that's kind of a hokey explanation, but I can't quite remember what the guy said. Anyway, I'll provide more information when I take it back to the shop for a "check-up" (no joke, they make you take it back to them to see how it's doing).

Glad you got her fixed.

What kind of warranty does the trans. have?

Happy New Year!

Bert

The transmission has a 12,000 mile warranty. The guy told me that if I went over the 12,000 miles and it failed, he would still fix it. It's a great shop, they've been there for over 25 years, and it shows why. These are the friendliest mechanics I've ever met, and they have no problem explaining the ins and outs of everything they're doing - never talk down to you, ya know?

I can't tell you how many times I've had to spend a large sum of money and the people getting your money act like it's no big deal. I actually felt like I was taken care of for once.

were you able to shift into neutral?

it seems like i am having the same problem with mine. im not sure how im going to get it out of the driveway to get the the trans shop

Quote :

Anyway, I'll provide more information when I take it back to the shop for a "check-up" (no joke, they make you take it back to them to see how it's doing).

When I had mine rebuilt, they had me do the same thing. Main reason was to check for trans fluid leaks, they said.

Glad to hear you got the car up and running again!