Transmission Trouble, Slipping?? (Series I SC)

riviera301240 wrote:

Ookay whole lot for that

Was Donny able to help you out?

The axle seal makes alot of sense, usually throws the oil around and makes it hard to see where it's coming from.

Hey I will be looking at it today but donny I did call yet until I receive some funds today ill jack it up first and then respond from there

Sorry missed spelled I did not call yet but will look at today thanks for helping out

Just a truthful answer, did I do the right thing by going to aamco to repair all seals axel and fluids and filter and rebuid trans for 2500 even is that a good deal

Aamco is a hit or miss, a full rebuild for $2500 is about average. If the trans holds up over time then you are all set. Nice thing about Aamco is that they have a decent warranty!

Last year I noticed that my tranny was slipping. I checked the vacuum lines from the fuel rail and throttle body that are connected to the modulator on the 4T60E and noticed that there was tranny fluid in the lines.

The tranny fluid was also low but there were no visible leaks on the floor of the garage. While inspecting the vacuum lines the rubber T connector on the throttle body crumbled and I was off to Advance auto parts to find some new connectors. I purchased a plastic T connector with two 3/8” and one ¼” port, a 3/8” to ¼” plastic adapter for the modulator connection, a ¼” to 3/16” plastic adapter for the fuel rail, two feet of ¼” fuel line for the modulator, one foot of 3/8 fuel line for the throttle body connection, one foot of 3/16 fuel line for the fuel rail connection, four quarts of Castrol ATF Dex III and a new Delco vacuum modulator 8662967.

I have been driving for over a year now with no problems.

Hey guys, was driving around normally today, and my transmission slipped out of drive? and now all of a sudden just my 2nd gear works, not even my reverse works!!

Basically, I need to know what trannys can bolt up to a series 1 s/c 3800, ASAP.Please and thank you

TheNewEra95 wrote:

Basically, I need to know what trannys can bolt up to a series 1 s/c 3800, ASAP.Please and thank you

All I know is a tranny from a series 1 s/c 3800

because teh internal hard parts are readily available, including heavier-duty parts than OE, if I were you I'd seriously consider having the tranny rebuilt. If you can do it yourself or find/know a reputable rebuilder.

Albertj

TheNewEra95 wrote:

Hey guys, was driving around normally today, and my transmission slipped out of drive? and now all of a sudden just my 2nd gear works, not even my reverse works!!

Basically, I need to know what trannys can bolt up to a series 1 s/c 3800, ASAP.Please and thank you

Just curous what the mileage is on your car?

BMD wrote:

TheNewEra95 wrote:

Hey guys, was driving around normally today, and my transmission slipped out of drive? and now all of a sudden just my 2nd gear works, not even my reverse works!!

Basically, I need to know what trannys can bolt up to a series 1 s/c 3800, ASAP.Please and thank you

Just curous what the mileage is on your car?

Only 50000 miles on engine n tranny

How does the tranny oil look? Has it been changed? How about the transmission filter? It may not be toast, just needs a little attention.

Straighteight wrote:

How does the tranny oil look? Has it been changed? How about the transmission filter? It may not be toast, just needs a little attention.

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Tranny fluid is good, and I dont flush or change the tranny fluid because I heard really bad reviews on doing so....and the tranny only had 50xxx miles on it anyway, still should be fine...

TheNewEra95 wrote:

Straighteight wrote:

How does the tranny oil look? Has it been changed? How about the transmission filter? It may not be toast, just needs a little attention.

\

Tranny fluid is good, and I dont flush or change the tranny fluid because I heard really bad reviews on doing so....and the tranny only had 50xxx miles on it anyway, still should be fine...

Oh, brother.

If the tranny won't help the engine move the car, it's not fine.

Nobody is saying the tranny is grenaded and needs complete overhaul - but will likely require removal to service. With all the hassle in the removal, actually an overhaul is not that much more $$ than diagnosis and repair.

I suspect that the bad reviews on changing tranny fluid come from people with undermaintained vehicles in many cases. They stir up/find problems that might or moght not be related to the fluid change.

Albertj

probably a long shot but is the vac line still attached to the front of the trans?

Mr.Riviera wrote:

probably a long shot but is the vac line still attached to the front of the trans?

Wish I'd thought of this. I bet this is the problem.

Albertj

There is never a problem with changing tranny fluid - it's flushing that gets a bad rep.

Changing the fluid can't hurt it. IIRC my 97's manual says to change it every 40-50k (don't remeber which). My riv had 99k on it when I bought it with factory fluid. It looked like crap and smelled horrible. Changing it took care of the random shift problems it had. Although mine was never doing anything as bad as yours is.

Ill look for that vacuum line but I highly doubt it as it sounds like a bunch of bolts being rattled in a can when in park, and the tranny fluid looks decent, still red and doesnt smell bad at all....

If you take the pan off the bottom of transmission, there's a magnet on the pan that will pick up sprag and gear teeth if they are floating around. That can tell you how bad it is.

If you lost your tranny, you would likely see the metal specks on the dipstick oil. That said, pan drop would tell you alot more - until you do that, don't count the tranny out yet. BTW, do you rod the heck out of the tranny or do you drive it normal - 50,000 is way way too low for this kind of issue.

I drive it normally....Ive only ''raced'' this thing 4 times(launch to over 100mph)....i know its low, and i dont see shavings on the dipstick at all

The 4T60 trannny was not, I am told, built to take the launches. One problem with early SC Rivs was failure of the 4t60 in normal driving due to stress on teh output shaft.

I now suspect you 'grenaded' your tranny.

Time to limp to a shop and drop the pan -or- If you can remove the tranny yourself and have a clean space to work on it (you need workbench space for some and a stand for some) you can rebuild it yourself - I am told it's not that tough and there are good guides available, not to mention heavy-duty parts. The guy that rebuilt my 4t65E used trans-go and Sonnax parts, I have over 100,000 miles on the rebuild. That is, it's been running longer rebuilt than it did from the factory.

Point being you can do it / have it done too. Might want to find an independent shop that actually rebuilds, not a place that swaps in trannies rebuilt by others, if you want to specify a tranny that will take 0-100 MPH launches.

Albertj

Thanks Albert, good to know...I already ordered a used tranny with 120xxx KM's on it.... but if it goes again Ill keep in mind to have it rebuilt with the HD parts.

[quote=\"TheNewEra95\"]Thanks Albert, good to know...I already ordered a used tranny with 120xxx KM\'s on it.... but if it goes again Ill keep in mind to have it rebuilt with the HD parts.[/quote]

I am told that if you "launch" the car the 4T60 tranny *will* break at some point - either breaking the output shaft (unless yours got the upgrade called for in the TSB whatever it was) or grenading like yours did.

That said, I think it's bit much -- but then again that's the guidance the t got me looking for a later instead of an earlier Riv.

On a personal level I am sorry it grenaded but again, since it *is* a GM tranny you can upgrade it - the dirty little secret, I am told, is you upgrade it with parts for the 4L60, which was used in some camaros/firebirds. I\'ve never so I don\'t know how true that is.

Albertj