170K 4L60E Harsh 1-2 upshift.

[99Vortec]

Ahh, summer is here! And my transmission is feeling the heat.

With 170K miles on it, is it worth replacing the valve body per the service bulletin?

Or would I just be wasting time/money given the mileage?

(What kind of mileage does a normal 4L60E expect before a rebuild?) Can they go as high as 250K?

When I did a fluid/filter change, it did look like the atf had been neglected by the previous owner, but there was not what I would consider to be too much debris attached to the pan magnet.

Thank You.

 

[SunlitComet]

do the tsb. when it comes time to rebuild that is one less thing to do.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

i think it was you guys that commented on my thread not to long ago were my tranny was slipping well when i changed out the fluid and filter and the filter seemed to relatively clean but now my tranny is noticeably shifting hard and from what i remember about these 4l60E trannys is that if you do a filter fluid change on a highmileage one may make things worse so im assuming im going to have to rebuild my tranny sooner then later

 

[SunlitComet]

plain and simple, if the fluid is dirty or damaged, change it. clean fluid is better then dirty or neglected fluid. sorry if that part was not clear on your issue.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

naw i wasnt like trying to blame anyone i was just wondering if anyone has ran into a similar problem

---------- Post added at 05:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 AM ----------

started tranny rebuild its out of the vehicle so far im going to tear it down tonight and start on the rebuild kit

 

[Jerky Arm Ape]

I've neer understood why but everyone I have ever talked to says do not change it.
I agree with sunlit comet but I have been told time and time again that your transmission will go out shortly after you change the fluid and filter.
If I was more wealthy I would change it just to see, no joke.

As to the OP , harsh shift + 170k on a 4l60E is the tell tale sign that it's rebuild time.

 

[SunlitComet]

if it is used as a personal vehicle and not abused do not change unless fluid is damaged. top off as needed. if used in fleet work or in severe conditions like constant towing high loads. then about 50k miles or sooner as fluid warrants.

---------- Post added at 06:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:01 PM ----------

my tranny got rebuilt and the kick is still there because the shop did not fix that problem. does not mean it time for a rebuild again. While i have seen tranny's go out after a fluid change it was only because the dirt in it was holding it together. it should have failed sooner under clean fluid conditions.

 

[laredo1307]

Mine just went out at 186K miles.

 

[SunlitComet]

yeah.

 

[Jerky Arm Ape]

if it is used as a personal vehicle and not abused do not change unless fluid is damaged. top off as needed. if used in fleet work or in severe conditions like constant towing high loads. then about 50k miles or sooner as fluid warrants.

---------- Post added at 06:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:01 PM ----------

my tranny got rebuilt and the kick is still there because the shop did not fix that problem. does not mean it time for a rebuild again. While i have seen tranny's go out after a fluid change it was only because the dirt in it was holding it together. it should have failed sooner under clean fluid conditions.

Yeah I had a guy named "hammer head" rebuild a 4wd 4l60e for me once.

I received the truck back and it felt like it had a shift kit in the lower range gears.
Trans lasted 53,***
Towards the end, it was more like a stall converter.

I learned from the transmission builder that we started using in our business why his name was hammer head, it was the harsh shift that have him the name.
He could rebuild one but couldn't shake the poor shift.

The next man had to start with a new case and swap over what was good and what wasn't was replaced.
It was like a brand new vehicle when I received it back from him.
I put 87,*** on his rebuild and then sold it to a tree cutting company to be used as a service truck pulling trees. Reverse finally went out but they said it was a good one after three years of service.

So anyway, why is yours still shifting hard?