Some weird stuff with the 4T60E...

[TylerW]

Hey everybody...

 

I bought a '94 Cutlass a couple months ago very cheaply...the only problem is that I wasn't permitted to drive it beforehand.

 

It's turned out to be a good car with the normal problems like rotors and rear struts.

 

However, something is odd with the transmission...I'm going to post the syptoms and let everyone think on it and offer ideas:

 

First thing is that the shifter is loose between detents. The slack is not in the shifter or the cable..I've checked. Also, it will not go into manual low..second is as far back as it will go.

 

Second problem is that 4th gear rarely works. The ONLY way I've made it shift into 4th is by starting out in manual second, shifting to D, then OD. When I do that, it *might* shift into 4th and stay there anywhere from 3 seconds to 10 seconds, then drops back out to 3rd and never tries to upshift again. Let me add that I'm not actually in third when it says it's in OD....move the shifter up a notch and it goes into neutral.

 

Occasionally it will hold second too long, and I have to fiddle with the shifter (in OD position) to make it shft up.

 

Otherwise, the trans works great..it doesn't slip, shudder or anything. It shifts right when it's supposed to and goes right in gear. I've had several transmissions that were getting weak, and this one doesn't feel like that. It feels to me like theres an electrical problem or valvebody problem associated with the loosey goosey shifter feel, but I dont know enough about these to know yet.

 

I'm getting a hard fault code after several miles of driving, but I can't figure out how to pull the codes( one wire is missing from the aldl).

 

Thanks....

[Regal_GS_1989]

Does it feel as if it could go into manual 1st, or not? Cause I found out that there were apparently some 4T60E's that had 6 detents, where there was no manual 1 or no manual 2, im not 100% which, and others that had 7 detents, where there was a manual 1. Maybe the guy had the trans replaced, and the wrong one was installed. I have seen it done before, but im not sure if it would cause problems like you are having. I would suggest taking it to a reputable tranny shop and have them scan it for you. It could even be a bad shift solenoid. Also, are you trying to pull codes using the paper clip method?? Sorry to say, but you cant do this on your car, because it is OBD 1.5. You will require a scanner to pull codes.

[TylerW]

Yeah, I quickly discovered the no-paperclip situation.

 

When you pull the shifter back..it goes as far as second, and thats it..goes no further. You cannot hold manual low at all.

It did the deal gain today with staying in second first thing this morning, and when I wiggled the shift lever, it shifted 2-3, then 3-4, stayed in 4th about 8 seconds and went back to third.

 

It knows its supposed to be in 4th, because when you get off the gas with it in OD, it just coasts, no engine braking. Drop it to 3rd, and you get the same gear but engine braking.

 

 

[DiscoStudd]

Does it feel as if it could go into manual 1st, or not? Cause I found out that there were apparently some 4T60E's that had 6 detents, where there was no manual 1 or no manual 2, im not 100% which, and others that had 7 detents, where there was a manual 1.

FWIW, I had a 94 Grand Am (3100/4T60E) that had only 6 detents - P R N D 3 2 (no detent for 1st.) So you could say the ones with only 6 detents were the "N-Body" 4T60E's...

[corning_d3]

More than likely, you'll need to re-adjust the the cable. It'll have to be done at the transmission. Another thing to check is to remove the rtim around the shifter and look for loose/broke parts. As for the trans problems, it sounds like you may be loosing mainline pressure, or the oil circuit to the torque converter lock-up could have a leak. I'd bet on it being a valvebody problem, or a bad sensor sending an incorrect signal. The sensors that control transmission operation are the coolant temp, throttle position, MAP, Veh. speed, trans temp sensor and engine speed sensors. I was having the same problem, and replacing the TCC and PWM solenoids in the valvebody cured it..