aqnw Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Hi, fellas. New user but long time reader. Really appreciate both the W-body and 60degreeV6 forums. Extremely informative and helpful members. Have posted my problem both places, just trying to get as much help as I can. I've got a 1994 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible that I bought with 98kmi (paid $5800 nearly 3yrs ago), basically as a commuter to run around in. It's got the 3100 engine with *I think* 4T60E tranny. It's got 133kmi now and I'm concerned about the tranny. No problems, but decided a year ago @ 120kmi to change the fluid & filter. No clue if it had ever been done before, so thought the time was right. I hadn't read either of these forums yet, so bought a Wix filter and Halvoline-equiv fluid. (The stick says to use Dex-IIE if I'm not mistaken, but used Dex-III as the replacement...know I read that somewhere.) Anyway, just recently I've noticed a whine that varies with engine RPM. If I was to describe it, think of the old style AM radio interference the ignition used to make on your 72 Nova. It's not very loud but noticable, and difficult to tell exactly where it's coming from. Fluid levels ok, even checked the power steering. I suppose it might be the water pump. My uncle says it's probably a worn pump in the tranny, but I don't know enough to say. I just drove the car to Seattle and there's a couple of big hills. Coming down one of the hills, with my foot off the accelerator, tranny in Drive, the car sped up to like 85mph. It seemed unusual as most times it might accelerate to 75mph or so, and this caught my attention. At the bottom of the hill, engine revs were 3500 or more and the car didn't kick into Drive or Overdrive. I slowed and cycled through the gears manually to 2nd, 3rd and Drive without any change, revs still @ 3500. I pulled into the 1st service station and shut the car off. Restarted and checked the fluid level and was about 1/2 way in the hatching on the stick. Fluid didn't look brown or smell burnt, but did smell kinda 'mechanical' if you know what I mean. Put in about 8oz of fluid, cycled through the gears once or twice and drove it between the two exits to evaluate whether I really wanted to continue my journey. What I found was it did shift into Drive/OD, but that the revs in that final OD shift dropped slowly, like it might be slipping. The revs seemed right where they should be (2250rpm @ 70mph), so I decided to continue to Seattle watching my rpms closely. On my trip back home, I didn't see problems but I would say the final OD shift wasn't very firm and the rpm drop was slow, but once in OD didn't seem to vary on level ground @ 70mph. It doesn't seem to be slipping, or not very noticably, but I'm still concerned. My uncle is adamant that I should sell the car or trade it for something else. I really hate to 'cause it's a nice rig and the engine runs like a champ. I've read these sites about swapping trannys and it does look like a pain for me. (You guys make it sound easier than it is:) So, short of getting rid of the car, I thought I would again replace filter & fluid and see what happens. Beyond that though, can you make any suggestions for tests I can do? Is there a computer for the tranny, and how can I scan it for codes? Can I attach a pressure gauge and learn something? I've read to look for gunk when I drop the pan which would indicate wear damage, are there other indicators? I read something about retraining the tranny shift points, is that possible on my Cutlass? Is it true you can access the valve body without pulling the tranny? I just don't see what affect 8oz of fluid could have had on this problem. Again, I appreciate any/all help diagnosing this problem. Sincerely, Eric in Tri-Cities Washington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomshado Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Do you have a stereo system in your car (ie, amp subs)? If you do I recommend looking at the ground on the amp. That will whine and the pitch wil change with engine speed. I recently swapped the trans out of my 94 cutlass coupe, it wasn't miserable work, but it was a hassle. I don't know what else to tell you right now, but I think everything will work itself out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqnw Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Hi, Phantom- Thanks for your reply. I do have an aftermarket JVC CD/MP3 player, but no external amps etc. I've been meaning to check the wiring on that thing as the left side speaker(s) seem to drop out occasionally. But I hear the whine even with the stereo off. Someone suggested the whine is from the tranny fluid pump, but is normal and not a problem so long as the fluid isn't low. And that the lack of OD was a prob with the 4T60E's pulse width modulated solenoid being hot. It was a hot day and with the AC on coolant temps were occasionally in the 230-250F range. I've read a few other posts at this point and someone suggested using a Lucas Trans Fix product to reduce varnish etc. Could this solenoid or other valve circuits be sticky? Would this be advisable either before or after changing the fluid? I've read a clean filter will allow larger particles to pass, so I'm a little hesitant to change it after only 13kmi. Again, I appreciate your input and do hope it simply turns out to be 'normal' operation. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SigEpCutlass Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 i think before you change the filter and fluid again, you should try one of the tranny resealers. I had a problem recently where my 1-2 shift and 2-3 shifts were a little rough. I put in some of the fix to re-lube everything and it got smoother. Give that a try and see if it works. That would be an inexpensive solution. Hopefully it'll work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95 BLKDOUT Drop Top Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 Man I hate to tell you this but my tranny did the exact same think right before it took a shit on me. I have a 95 C/S convertible with the 3100 and the 4T60-E tranny and just like you i changed the fluid at like 120K and then this past valentines day at about 130K it started making the same noice you are describing, do you notice any "lag" in reverse? The noice is comin from the tranny pump for sure and the tranny will probably need to be replaced eventually. What happened with mine was it would run normally for like 10 minutes from a cold start then after that the noice would come and then it would start slippin terribly so i traded my rims for a new tranny from one of the oh so nice & helpful members on w-body.com and replaced my tranny and back in action I was. GOOD LUCK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqnw Posted April 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2005 Hi, Fellas- Been a while since I posted on this topic, but just wanted to report that I've clicked some 8Kmi without any addn'l probs. I put 24-oz of Lucas Trans Fix in, and it made a difference. Still whines noticably, but my shifts are stiffer and no probs slipping or varying RPMs. Got 141Kmi on the car now and still running strong. Thanks for your help & suggestions Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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