dr_cranii

Well 2800 miles after rebuilt my 3 and 4 is gone. I had some issues before - here is my previous post 200 miles after rebuilt --> 200 miles after rebuilt Grrr noise in tranny.

SYMPTOMS:
It happened in 2 days! One day i was driving and noticed that temp went up 20 degree in 3 seconds!!!!! on the highway. ( ~65MPH ) Felt like 4th was slipping or something needed higher rpm and if i would throttle it a little to 4K rpm and quickly release like 3-4 times in a row.. it would go through some wierd cycle and switch to 4th gear and would keep 1.5K RPM at 65MPH. Then again RPM would raise.. When I got to school temp was really high and oil smelled burned, but it was clean if I check it on idle and with some black powder if i check it with engine off. Coming back home was similar, but better. Sometimes it would not shift to 4th, I would manually shift to 2nd and then back to OD and it is back in 4th gear. But my GRRRRR noise is gone with 3-4 clutch.
Next day I drove it couple miles to see what is going on.. and 3-4 is gone. But still sometimes if i manually shift to 2nd it would go through some shifts and it would find gear, but don't know which one. Bot 2nd for sure! Rpm is lower than on 2nd gear.

I did my research online and it is really hard to find what cause premature failure of 3-4 clutch. Everything that is advertised for 4L60E seems to have something to with 3-4 clutch.

QUESTIONS:
What should I replace at this point?
Do I need to replace ALL clutches again? (1-2, forward etc.)
What cause premature failure of 3-4 clutch?
What cause 3-4 clutch to not apply firmly and generate heat?
Is SONNAX pinless accumulator piston "a must" in my case?


INFORMATION:
When I rebuilt tranny, my 3-4 accumulator piston is white plastic one, seemed fine! No cracks and sits tight on the pin. But when I installed new seal it was tooooooo tight in valve body... like almost not possible to move!

This is what I had:
3-4 Z Pak
Everything else regular ALTO clutches from rebuilt kit. All new seals.
9.5" 2600 stall Torque converter (phoenix performance)
10 vane pump.
Check ***** made of some telvar or something.
TransGo separator plate ( did not drill any bigger holes )
Kevlar band with heavy duty anchor from PATC.
Double wide sungear bushing and all new bushings.. some of them heavy duty.


Any information would be appreciated! Internet articles are no help at this point.

dr_cranii

I installed new torque converter from Phoenix Performance. (2600 stall 10")
But I had no additional cooler with this stall for some time.

So now rebuilding it again do I have to replace Torque converter????

dr_cranii

I don't know any experienced tranny guy. It might be hard to find in S.Florida. Local tranny shops are offering to me a new overpriced tranny without even listening for symptoms. So I'm on my own here.

Do I need to replace ALL clutches 1-2 and so on.. ?

What are common cause of 3-4 failure? (assuming that TC is new and clean)

Could temperature kill 3-4 clutch that quick? (~2800 miles)

corvette95

yep , replace, I say it could be a valve body issue, but there are dozens of things that could do that. Internal Tranmission work is the only Corvette job that scares me.

toptechx6

I live in the same general area and understand what you mean concerning local shops. While I know this isn't exactly nearby if you are in Miami I have used this company and was impressed with their knowledge and service, hope it is of some help.

http://www.atlastransmissioninc.com/

corvette95

Might want to check out ebay for shops selling rebuilt transmission with warranty. Just swap them out. They are fairly reasonable. Just make sure tail shaft is for Corvette.