you mean my trans fluid should not smell like used motor oil?

 

That's what mine looks like.

 

Just an update. Made a trip today about 150 miles to pick up a "spare" transmission. It acted up several times. Here are some symptoms....

As long as you were at speed 55-60 mph and no shifting it was fine.

After a long run and you happened to have to come to a stop chances were that when it ran up the gears from the stop it would not pull in 3rd. You could feel/hear the shift and just nothing there. Sometimes if dropped back down into 2nd and back up to 3rd it would catch and go.

Just about always if I pulled over, when the manual shift down to 2nd didn't work, and just ran the thing up into park and then back down to drive it would shift through the gears and pull just fine.

Couple times under load, up a hill, it would downshift and "jump" out of gear into the slip. Once almost home I was slowing down for a car and it downshifted to 2nd while in drive after starting to acclerate it shifted into 3rd and caught but then jumped out and caught again with a pretty serious bang in the tranny.

Hopinng more knowledgeable tranny guys will see something in my scenerios and speak up. I have a whole set of solenoids and wire harness coming. Still think I will change them out and try them before I pull the tranny but depends on what I see once the pan is off.

Now I have the spare. 4l65e out of an Escalade with 25k miles. Couldn't pass it up. Was happy to see it had the tail housing and a TC. Paid $800. At least I will be able to drive while I figure out what to do with the FLT L5

 

Got the truck in the garage today and pulled the valve body off. The fluid was burnt. No metal and what I would call normal clutch debris floating around.

I guess the only remarkable thing to me is the amount of clutch crud in the 1-2 3-4 accumulator housing. More here than anywhere. I also didn't like the feel of the 3-4 accum piston in its bore. It felt sticky to me.

Talked with Chuck@FLT today and he recommended I also change out the pressure switch along with all the other electronics I am changing.

Would anybody call this amount of crud abnormal?

 

eww.... time to service it. How many miles did ya say was on the trans?

 

One heck of a service. I've already gone through 2 cans of brake cleaner.
Maybe 15K miles on it. I know I've changed the fluid and filter twice. I'm starting to feel that its going to need more service than I can give it.

 

Any resolution on this? Mine is doing the same thing. 04 Yukon very similar. My fluid is beautiful with only 59000 on the truck.

 

I don't know what failed in the transmission. I put the junkyard 4l65e in. It's working fine. I have the FLT sitting in the floor, waiting to be sent back for a rebuild.

 

So whats the latest on this?