Tranny Problems: Lost OD and Reverse

[Texas Z]

I was driving about 65 mph in overdrive pulling my trailer and atv (1500 lbs.) when all of a sudden I heard a pop from under me and my rpm went up and the tranny dropped into 3rd. Pulled over and checked under and couldn't see anything but the tranny was making a high pitch whining noise. Lucky my brother was following me so he took the trailer and I drove slowly to the nearest gas station and waiting for the tow truck.

 

Took it to the dealer and the service guy said it was the reaction sunshell that is around the planetary gear that broke off. So they replaced the reaction sunshell, sun gear and shaft, labor & parts $800 but its still under warranty so $0 for me. The service guy said he has seen this before and said the cause is a poorly machined part? So that tells me GM is buying the cheapest parts out there.

 

Has this happened to anybody's truck? Does anybody have any input on what the reaction sunshell does? Is this going to cause major problems down the road?

 

My truck has 21,000 miles and I don't tow anything heavy or abuse it so this really pissed me off. If this happened at 21k what will happen at 50k.

 

Has anyone ever got a free extended warranty from GM for the entire powertrain? I already got the free extended warranty on the engine because I have a knocker and a pinger.

[MichaelL]

what year is your truck?

i got the extended warranty from GM (5yr or 100K) for the entire powertrain after complaining about the cold engine knock.

it paid off in that my tranny started flaring between the 2-3 shift..........they replaced the tranny at 98K.............haven't heard of your problem though.

[Texas Z]

My truck is a 2002.

 

Next week I am going to call GM and see about an extended powertrain warranty.

The service guy said it shouldn't cause any major problems down the road. Yea right, who trust what they say. Their favorite words are "ITS NORMAL"

 

Why doesn't GM offer a 7 year, 70k mile powertrain warranty like Dodge?

[clk7711]

The EXACT thing happened to my truck a couple of weeks ago. Made a clunking noise pulling out of a driveway and she was done. Lost OD reverse and 2nd gear. Truck had 72k and was not abused.

 

I went with a reman trans from GM. No extended warrenty. Cost me about $1800.

 

The 4l60e is the weakest link in these trucks........actually I think they're all equally reliable in a half ton pickup.

 

I still pissed off about it.

[tfpary]

Very common problem with the 4l60E transmission, but I think the reaction shell was upgraded sometime, maybe in 99? Not sure, maybe somebody else can help out. Now that you have that fixed, your next "adventure" will be the torque convertor clutch solenoids wearing out there bores in the valve body or pump. The fluid then leaks around the valve, and the torque convertor slips while its locked up, burning the friction material off the clutch, and eventually destroying the convertor and quite possibly the transmission.

Have fun!

tad

[Cop_Dodger]

The reaction sun shell is weakest part of the 700R and 4L6E. GM updated this part in 2000. Although they updated it they still have problems with that part. With the old style sun shell the sun gear would rip the center out of the shell. The newer updated style strips the splines out insted.

 

The other problem tfpary talked about is also common. The TCC (torque converter clutch) boost valve will wear and leak off pressure. Due to this pressure loss during TCC activation the PC (pressure control) solenoid increases the pressure till the TCC engages. Once the pressure is maxed out and you stop at a stop light you get a neck breaking 1-2 shift. When the customer feels this shift the normally pull over and put the truck in park. When you put the transmission in park you reset the maximum line pressure setting. It feels just fine after this. This normally sets an P1870 (transmission component slip) code. The GM fix for this is to replace the valve body with an updated part. There are some aftermarket companies that sell replacement valves and reamers to fix the problem.

[Texas Z]

Thanks Guys.

 

Will this have any effect on the rest of the tranny in the future? Would it have caused any premature wear on other components or damage them when the sunshell broke?

 

My luck, soon as the odometer reads 36,001, the tranny will explode and GM will look at me and say $2000 please.

 

No luck with the extended warranty. GM said they don't give extended powertrain warranties for only one claim. So I guess they wait until you have multiple claims and about to sue them because the lemon law before they will compensate you.

[MichaelL]

My truck is a 2002.

 

Next week I am going to call GM and see about an extended powertrain warranty.

The service guy said it shouldn't cause any major problems down the road. Yea right, who trust what they say. Their favorite words are "ITS NORMAL"

 

Why doesn't GM offer a 7 year, 70k mile powertrain warranty like Dodge?

LMAO............spoken words of the trained professional car care man eh?

i had the 1-2 mush and bump from day one and they always said it was normal.

problem is, i have another '00 rado for coastal work and a '01 for my wife and both shift crisp. so i knew my tranny had a problem from day one............even at 50K when i had them do a full service on the tranny, the service foreman said the pan was clean as a whistle, but at 98K the clutch plates were shot, the oil pump was heavily scored.

 

jump on the ext. warranty at once!!

[MichaelL]

Thanks Guys.

 

Will this have any effect on the rest of the tranny in the future? Would it have caused any premature wear on other components or damage them when the sunshell broke?

 

My luck, soon as the odometer reads 36,001, the tranny will explode and GM will look at me and say $2000 please.

 

No luck with the extended warranty. GM said they don't give extended powertrain warranties for only one claim. So I guess they wait until you have multiple claims and about to sue them because the lemon law before they will compensate you.

i and several others went the BBB route.................you simply call them and file your complaint..............heck, i'll give you the name and number of the GM representative that issued the warranty for me if you want it.

[RyanbabZ71]

Why doesn't GM offer a 7 year, 70k mile powertrain warranty like Dodge?

 

read the fine print it isnt free

[JamesB]

The exact same thing happened to a co-worker of mine. His is a 2000 Suburban 1500... His happened at 40,000 miles and GM told him it was his tough luck... He had it rebuilt by a tranny shop and it has been fine so far. I think he is pushing 110,000 miles now.

 

I love Chevy trucks, but the warranties really stink. I'm glad I got the extended warranties on our '02 and '04.

 

James.

[RyanZ71]

wow, this has me a bit concerned. While we are on the topics of transmissions, how often should the transmission fluid be changed? Will adding a transmission cooler help add to the life of the transmission?

 

thanks

[Cop_Dodger]

Thanks Guys.

 

Will this have any effect on the rest of the tranny in the future? Would it have caused any premature wear on other components or damage them when the sunshell broke?

 

My luck, soon as the odometer reads 36,001, the tranny will explode and GM will look at me and say $2000 please.

 

No luck with the extended warranty. GM said they don't give extended powertrain warranties for only one claim. So I guess they wait until you have multiple claims and about to sue them because the lemon law before they will compensate you.

I can't say that nothing will brake other then the sunshell, but chances are there isn't going to be any caused by the reaction sun shell. I'm understand your concern towards your repairs. I work in a GM dealership and work on transmissions. The price on parts is ridicules! The dealer I work at the labor isn't that bad. We change $75 per hour, which is below average. These are the reasons I do side work. I just finished a job with a broken reaction sun shell and fixed it for around $100. I'm willing to help anyone in southeastern Louisiana. Doing side work keeps me alive when I'm in school too.