Automatic Transmission

[WolfPack]

Hi i have a 1994 chevey G20 converson van with a 5.7 when its cold like it has been, the transmission seem like it does not want to move the van but when i let it warm up seem to do ok ?? i did change the transmission fluid back in late sept and towed the camper with it and did ok.i will be on camping trip to the Grand Canyon with the kids. would changeing the fliter and fluid again help this ?? after i let it warm up and driving it seem to shift ok ?? when i did fliter change back in sept i didn't see any shaving.

[austinado16]

If you replaced the fluid with Dexron/Mercon II or III and you're having the problem, I would suspect the transmission is begining to fail internally.  Does it have the 4L60E with overdrive?  Are you sure the fluid level is correct......level the vehicle with the fluid HOT and then check the transmission dip stick.

You could try a drain and refill with synthetic and see if that improves the cold performance.

You might do a search on google and see what diagnostic info you can find.  I don't think I'd leave on a trip with the family until you get it figured out and working right.  GM has a rebuilt/exchange program with a nation-wide warranty. Pretty good deal.

Or, if you want to step up, there are several very good rebuilders that do huge business online.  Raptor is one of the most popular.  My brother has one of their rebuilds and you could pull a house off the foundation with it.

[wavery]

Hi i have a 1994 chevey G20 converson van with a 5.7 when its cold like it has been, the transmission seem like it does not want to move the van but when i let it warm up seem to do ok ?? i did change the transmission fluid back in late sept and towed the camper with it and did ok.i will be on camping trip to the Grand Canyon with the kids. would changeing the fliter and fluid again help this ?? after i let it warm up and driving it seem to shift ok ?? when i did fliter change back in sept i didn't see any shaving.

When you changed the filter, are you sure that you pushed it all the way back up in the hole. If you didn't, it won't pick up properly and the pump could loose pressure.

You shouldn't have to change the oil more than once every 25K miles unless you have done a lot of towing in hot weather and/or mountains.

Take the dipstick out and smell it. If it smells burnt, you could have some real problems.

I always recommend switching to synthetic trans fluid. It cools better and can withstand more heat without causing any problems.

[sacrawf]

I have seen that synthetic transmission fluid is supposed to give better low temperature performance by maintaing vicsosity.  You might check out a recommended synthetic fluid for your vehicle.

[WolfPack]

The transmission does have overdrive and when i did change the fliter i made sure it was up all the way. and i did check the fluid after i got to work and it was just under the full mark. i let warm up for about 10 min this morring and it did ok it shifted like it suppose to. drove ok. now this afternoon i did not let warm up and it shift fine and i check it after i got home and it still at the same level. i was thing if it could be a problem in the valve body ?? i am going to get a price on a new tramsmission tomorrow.

[flyfisherman]

How many miles on the truck/transmission?

[mike4947]

Any chance it could be a filter? A lot of automatics have a filter on the pickup that gets forgotten when changing fluid.

[austinado16]

I think there's just one big filter on these 4L60E's.  I think they're like my truck's 700R4(4L60) but they are computer controlled shifting in the valve body.

I don't know that I would throw a transmission at it, but I would certainly go talk to your local GM places or an independant automatic trans shop (not TransKing or similar).  They've seen a million of these fail, so they'll have a handle on what's going on.

[wavery]

I agree with Austin16. If it's just sluggish going into gear, cold, it could be a worn pump. No sense changing a perfectly good trans unless it has a LOT of miles on it and/or hasn't been maintained properly. I'd take it to a dealer or good reputable trans shop.

When you checked the fluid yesterday, did you give it the "Sniff" test, as I suggested?

It may just be bad internal seals that are letting fluid go by and loosing pressure in the clutch pack or somewhere. In that case, they can put all new seals in your trans.

The problem with getting a "Rebuilt" is that you may just be trading your problems for someone else's. If you know that everything is working good in your trans and there are no weird noises, clanking, bumping, hard shifting, slipping etc. You may be better off with a reseal. It isn't a cheap job. It's pretty labor intensive but it's a lot cheaper (and maybe better) than a rebuilt.

[austinado16]

The problem with getting a "Rebuilt" is that you may just be trading your problems for someone else's. If you know that everything is working good in your trans and there are no weird noises, clanking, bumping, hard shifting, slipping etc. You may be better off with a reseal. It isn't a cheap job. It's pretty labor intensive but it's a lot cheaper (and maybe better) than a rebuilt.

When the three-four clutch pack began to slip in the Suburban, and I drove home from the lake in 2nd, at 240,000 miles (on the original 700R4) I was thinking the same thing.  The price of a GM rebuilt/exchange unit was about $1,200 plus installation, which I wasn't really looking forward to doing.  But, I started thinking, "I know my trans is probably beautiful inside and I don't know who in mexico will be building me an exchange unit out of someone's fail transmission."

So I read online about what upgrade parts were most popular and why, bought them, and then paid a local guy who build tranny's for the GMC dealer to do my trans on the side.  I wasn't looking for neck snapping shifts, just something stronger since I tow all kinds of stuff.  Parts were cheap, so including labor I think I had $1,100 in it.

Get more info and then you'll be better armed to come up with a game plan.

[WolfPack]

THE van has 96,952 miles on it i did the smell test it did not smell bad, i did look at the stick it has two levels one is for the cold and the is for when its hot. so i check the level when i got of work before i drove home well fluid level is little bit over the full mark dum me so am going to have to drain some out tomorrow if the temp get. i no heat in the shop cold.i am going to call the transmisson shop and see what it will cost to flush it.

[campdaddy]

Our '98 Plymouth Voyager started to have transmissions issues @ 130K miles. Slow sluggish shifts; when  it was cold it took forever to shift into gear, especially reverse, and had become very noisy. I decided to do a fluid flush and filter change. Off to the parts store and a dozen quarts of the latest synthetic fluid (Chrysler 4) and a filter/gasket under my arm I returned home to begin. I know that just dropping the pan changing the filter and replacing the lost fluid will leave like 9 qrts of the old stuff in there so I did a "power" flush. I won't go into details here (you can find out how by doing a google search) but you have to disconnect a transmission cooler line and while idling pump the fluid into a milk jug and keep  replacing it as it pumped out. I'll tell you what, when I was finished with this operation, this van was like a new vehicle. The noise was gone and the shifts are now pretty crisp and no more waiting for it to decide when it wants to go into gear. For $40.00 and two hours, it might be worth a try.

[WolfPack]

thanks i am going to get some more info than can have a better plan.

[austinado16]

The noise was gone and the shifts are now pretty crisp and no more waiting for it to decide when it wants to go into gear. For $40.00 and two hours, it might be worth a try.

Wow! Nice save!

[aw738]

I have sold more trans filters and fluid in my 13 years selling parts than I can remember. I have also hear of and experianced a problem after changing filters. What happens is that the new fluid cleans all the gum and varnish that remains on the transmission parts and flushes it down into the pan. When this happens it is picked up in to the filter and plugs the filter. After changing the filter and fluid again it works fine. As far as the type of fluid to use in your vehicle:

GM: Check your dipstick. Most use Dexron III and some newer ones use Dexron VI

Ford: Check your dipstick also. Before 1979 they used Type F, from 1979 to 1996 most used Mercron, after 1996 some use Mercron V. For these check the dipstick I have seen some 2005's use Mercron

Chrysler: ATF+4 all years.