my 1/2 ton pickup's automatic tranny has been acting alittle ill,
it's @ 105,000 miles, changed fluid/filter at 50,000 and 100,000 (at 100,000 i put in semi-synthetic fluid)
so, when pulling a fairly steep hill it will shudder slightly, sometimes more sometimes less sometimes not at all. (it will not happen in 3rd) i've checked the level and it's correct, but after this shuddering i once pulled over and checked it and it was kind of foamy.
also it never happens in 3,2,1 or R.
i'm not very knowledgable in the ways of a voodoo/magic automatic, anyone got any ideas for me. thanks

<font color=red>3/4tonYJ</font color=red>

http://www.geocities.com/yj3qtr_ton

Well, I have been down this road. I've got a '96 GMC xcab K1500 with a 4L60E 4sp auto tranny. I bought the truck with 79K mi on it and around 85k mi I notice the tranny "searching" for a gear between 3rd and 4th gears while I was going up a hill. I was in OD / 4th (now I drive mostly in 3rd unless I'm over 55mph) and all of the sudden the truck tach shot up to about 4k rpm. I downshifted manually to 3rd, nothing, so I lowed down some and shifted to 2nd, it was there thank goodness! I rode home is second. Pulled the pan the the red fluid was now a burnt black. Coincidently, I had just changed the fliud and filter in it about 200 mi before this happend. The tranny shop said that had nothing to do with it. I got an estimate for the tranny rebuild (they took it apart and found out it had been rebuilt once and sh!t had been put on backwards!) and it was going to run me $1,100 if I took the tranny out myself! I ended up getting one from the dealer for $1,400 with a 4yr / 50k mi warranty. It's been about 10k mi, no problems yet.
I never did notice my fluid foaming up though. I just wanted to alert you of my problem incase you ever notice any slipping between 3rd and 4th gears. I won't own my truck once the 50k warranty is up, I need a 1 ton anyway!

[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif[/img] Big Ed
<font color=red>'88 YJ, 4" susp,3" body,35's,283 Chevy V8,TH350,4.11's,D30,D35c</font color=red>

My wife's '96 suburban has the same 4L60E tranny. It went out at about 60,000 miles with similar symptoms as the above post. It was under an extended warranty. The repair bill was $2,400 at the dealer (since it was under a warranty).

The bad news is that everyone I talked to at various dealers and AMMCO had nothing good to say about the tranny. It is supposed to be one of the most common points of failure in the auto chevys. I can't imagine it having any problems in a Jeep?? I thought it was the newer electronically controlled version of the 700r4, so I don't get why it wouldn't hold up as well. I know JET makes a performance kit for the 4L60E. It may be worth looking into.

-raymo
Scrambler
258 4.0 Head/MPI,NV4500,D300,4.10's,HS9500

3/4
just a thought- i'm a little leary of this synthetic jazz![img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif[/img] i have heard some stories about not using it if you have been using conventional ie leaky seals. have you considered draining and going back to regular dextron III? i have two auto trannies in van and Z-28 so i am also familiar with their Voodoo!
steve

Ck your plugs and wires, It may have a miss under load. I just went thru this w/ the wife's car, same thing.

you the man,
i kind of had a thought myself that it felt alittle like a miss, but only occured (or could be felt) while in overdrive,
anyway changed my wires and cap and it seems to be better, i'll give it a couple more days before i feel confident,
thanks again.[img]/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<font color=red>3/4tonYJ</font color=red>

http://www.geocities.com/yj3qtr_ton

IMHO I'd be checking two things:

1. The Torque Converter OD swtiching.
2. A possible bad TPS, as it sends signals to the computer. It's a BIG factor in when the computer decides to down and upshift, and when to shift into and out of OD... and it'll never throw a code.

The wardens Buick 3.8 was doing the same thing, she drove it like that for quite awhile. When I pulled a sparkplug it had over a 1/8" gap : 0 ...that must be a pretty good ignition. I think she got just over 100k miles on those plugs, and 180k on the wires, good stuff.

these stories scare me, going into teh 75K mark on the skanks 97 Tahoe, thankfully its the 4wd 4l80e, ive been religious about changing fluid and filter. even though it rarely tows, but I simply cant afford to spend $2000 on it, BTW the owners manual states that it can be run in OD in town, with no ill effects.

the only differences Ive noticed is alittel more compression braking ( die to converter lock) in the D postion Vs the OD postion.

oh well, gotta luv a Chevy, its not a jeep, and not a Ford.

why did I buy this thing.



OzarkJeep

"If thats the way that you want it, well thats the way I want it more..."

I've had a 700R4 in my wrangler for almost 4 years now. Mine started shuddering going up hills. Bad Torque converter (TCI low stall/towing). After replacement, no more problems.