Hey guys, quick question on the 4l60E that is in my 2003 Chevy Suburban. I noticed that when I first start up the car and start driving my first gear seems to be getting stuck. It will rev, hesitate a little, then jump pretty violently into second gear. It will do this for the first few minutes of driving and then it will pretty much stop once the car is warm (ocassionally does it afterwards but very infrequently once it is warm). Also, if I accelerate very slowly from a stop once warm it will sometimes do it but if I accelerate more aggressively it wont do it at all and the trans will shift smoothly. I took it to a local transmission shop that has done rebuilds for me in the past and are very reliable/knowledgable and they check it over, took it for a ride, and did a transmission fluid change for me and they said they felt how it was shifting in first gear but that they didnt see anything wrong at all and it was the nature of the transmission. I have no SES light or codes being thrown and the tranny shifts perfectly minus first gear so should I be worried and is there anything else that could be causing this? I can live with it if it is the nature of the transmission, its just VERY annoying. Any info/help is greatly appreciated!

Adam

 

TTT any help is appreciated!

 

Did they change the filter too?
How many miles on it?
Check your fluid level after driving it for a while (trans in Park with the engine running).

My truck has 60K and is doing something similar, mostly when it is cold in the morning. On new years day I did a fluid/filter change and put in a bottle of Lucas oil trans slip fix in to see if that helps any. The old fluid was dark red, but not burnt, and the magnet in the pan was fairly clean so I think the bands are still OK. Drove it some yesterday & today and it hasn't slipped yet, but it hasn't been all that cold either. Later this week it's supposed to be in the 20's, that will be the real test. I talked to a mechanic buddy about it and he said something in the valve body may be sticking or not fully opening until the fluid gets warm. He said if my fluid/filter change doesn't work to go to a good lube place and do a BG power flush to try and get all the sludge & crap out of the system.
http://www.bgfindashop.com/bgservices/transmission.htm
http://www.bgprod.com/products/transmission.html

 

Hey Neil, I appreciate the response and I will have to check to see what they did. I know they change the fuild, not sure on the filter but I would assume so. I have exactly 60K miles on the tranny. I havent checked the fluid with it in park after driving but I will do that and see where it is. The shop that i wernt to is very highly regarded in my area and they said that the fluid looked great without any abnormal signs of wear so im stumped. It slips pretty bad on cold starts but if I let the car warm up for 5 mins or so it isnt as bad and after a minute of driving it usually dissapears and only re-appears on slow acceleration (if im rolling in a parking lot slowly and its not a fast engage of second gear it clunks into the next gear a little). The weird thing is that if I hammer it and accelerate fast after it is warm it wont hesitate and clunk into gear at all from 1st to 2nd but again if I accelerate very slowly it will sometime happen. Its annoying as hell though haha and id rather spend the money fixing whatever needs to be fixed than have to baby it on cold starts for the first few minutes of driving. Let me know how your cold start is later on this week and if you happen to find a fix let me know and I will present the same issue to my tranny shop to see what they say. I trust my shop and they said it is symptomatic of this tranny but I cant believe that everything is ok and that it cant be fixed without doing a full re-build.

 

That does sound annoying, lol.

So far, mine is acting much better. It was 19 degrees this morning and I just jumped in it, threw it in reverse, backed up 30 feet, threw it in drive and took off down the road. Didn't feel any slippage at all. A couple weeks ago doing that same thing resulted in tons of slip and me beating on the steering wheel thinking I was about to spend a bunch of money for a rebuild.

I'm starting to think that mine just may have been too low on fluid. I checked it pretty often last year, but only before I started it and drove somewhere. As long as there was some on the stick I thought it was fine. I actually thought it was overfilled because the level was well over the "cold" mark. It wasn't til last week that I actually checked it after driving it 5+ miles and with the engine running. When I did that it just barely showed on the tip of the dipstick. That's when I decided to do the fluid/filter change. I caught most of the old fluid in a big tub and measured how much came out and it was about 4 quarts. When I filled it up with new fluid it took nearly 7 quarts to get it in the "hot" operating temp hashmarks. Hopefully it is "fixed" and I will check it the correct way from now on. I'll let you know if it acts up any later this week when it will be in the teens when I leave for work.

 

Hey Neil, good to hear that it wasnt a major issue with the tranny! I havent driven the suburban yet this week but will probably be taking it out tomorrow so I will def make sure to check the level while at idle after drivign and see where it stands. Yea the slipping does get annoying when its cold for the first few minutes of driving. I honestly am afraid to really acceleate quickly until I have been driving it for a mintue or so because if I do accelerate fast it feels like the tranny is absolutely smashing into second gear! I did a ton of work on my cammed 98 z28 but tranny wise I had an M6 so I havent dabbled with the 4L60e yet. Im hoping I have a similar issue to what you have and that maybe some additional tranny fluid may help because it is driving me crazy. Worst case scenario I just get a new built 4L60e from a sponsor but then it will lead to a cam, headers, or some sort of FI and I told myself I would go that route haha! Definately keep me updated though or your situation and if I find a fix for mine I will let you know.

 

Ticking noise for a couple weeks
Bogging down early last week - first at high RPM - felt like misfire
- replaced plugs with iridium. No material change
- So, replaced wires. No material change
Sunday more degradation - now shifting hard (fluid is lucid and level is normal)
Wednesday now shifting impossible. I tried rolling in neutral to engage something like another poster mentioned.
Shift to R, N, D, 3, 2, 1 ALL caused lurching forward
Posts here all pointed to typical 4L60 failure
Vehicle has 203,500

I just had it towed to a dealer for a checkup/advisement - there's specialists in the area for other manufacturers autos, but not for Chevy
Dealer - northwest Denver - calls within an hour of the Burb being dropped off
Says no need to check the solenoids, linkage, blah, blah, blah the transmission must be replaced
3 Yr, 100K warranty reman tranny $3,225
Called just one other dealer service - east Denver - and quote is $2625 for same 3 Yr, 100K warranty
Dealer 1 matches Dealer 2
Monday evening the work is done
Receipt shows "As Is" and the transmission is SRTA (Service Replacement Transmission Assembly)