Transmission OD shift

[burt ragio]

What's up with my transmission ? The last few weeks I have noticed my transmission acting different. I nornally drive around in drive with the OD not engaged unless I want to put the hammer down. The transmission feels as though it is slipping. The rpms seem or sound a little up all while around 50 mph just before lockup. When I give it more throttle I think the converter locks & it is fine. I have always changed the trans fluid & filter every 30,000 miles. I have never abused the car. I have had a vendors tune since the car was new. I now have 180,000 miles.

[03sport007]

Don't want to sound unsympathetic but they do eventually wear out? Maybe it was time? 180k seems like a lot of a org Trans. Sorry!!!!!

[burt ragio]

So would that be the clutches ?

[Chi Stallion]

Clutches can definitely be shot and be the cause. I had my transmission rebuilt recently and the clutchs were real bad. It was slippin in 2nd and 3rd gear and the tranny was gona go out anyday.

So i took it to a local builder and spent 1100 on gettin the whole trans rebuilt with 1 year warrenty and the car drives like a dream again. Good luck!!

[burt ragio]

Hard to think the clutches are going bad. I still get wheel spin under throttle. Something is going on in maybe with converter & just before lock up.

[03sport007]

There are different clutch packs. After seeing them I was amazed at how little material there is. Once they start to slip it doesn't take long and they are gone. That's why doing the jmod helps with longevity less slip between shifts. When mine let go (at 64k) I could light up the tires out of the hole but OD and third slipped bad. It deteriorated fast after that. Again sorry!!!!

[burt ragio]

No need to aplogize it is what it is; but thanks. I just want to understand what is going down.

[vegasmarauder]

The 4RW70 trans eats up the OD band at about 60K. It just burns up. It applies so slow to avoid the driver feeling the band apply but the result is it wears them out and burns them up. The usual symtom is the engine spins up in revs before the band comes on, or you have to back off the gas to get the band to apply.

The J-Mod corrects this slippage by applying the band on/off faster. You feel it, but less heat and wear.

[tbone]

Clutches can definitely be shot and be the cause. I had my transmission rebuilt recently and the clutchs were real bad. It was slippin in 2nd and 3rd gear and the tranny was gona go out anyday.

So i took it to a local builder and spent 1100 on gettin the whole trans rebuilt with 1 year warrenty and the car drives like a dream again. Good luck!!

Who did the work? Did you have it beefed up over oem?

[Chi Stallion]

Who did the work? Did you have it beefed up over oem?

Century Transmission on 5044 W Fullerton Ave Chicago Il did the work and I think they did a good job and kept the car scratch free!!

Basically everything rebuilt Convertor, Clutchs, Seals, Reverse Servo and Band, Filter, and i supplied almost 14 Quarts of Mercon V.

Didnt do nothing crazy and beef it out, but I think I got what I paid for and that $1100 was the best I ever spent bringing the car back to life like that. Also a 1 year warrenty or 12,000 mile whatever comes first. They also were able to install the forced lube mod tailshaft extension housing from Blue Oval Chips since the tranmission was already coming down.

The early build MM's been out in the wild for almost 10 years now and honestly the age is gona start showing on these 4R70 Transmissions sooner than most think.

My seal was leaking and with the help of JustBob recommending not to do the J-Mod at the time to get it checked out at a local trans shop. Then thats when I took it Century Tranmission and they said its more than a seal leak. Fluid is burnt bad and slipping in 2 and 3 gear when they test drove it. They said the main cause was the clutchs. So they recommended a rebuilt for $1100 and i never looked back.

All I plan on doing now is the J-Mod. Good Luck!!

[tbone]

My car won't move and I don't want to tow it that far. $1100 is a sweet deal though. Thanks for the info.

[Jon01]

If it shifts/holds fine with the converter locked I highly doubt your issue is in the trans itself.

[MENINBLK]

At 180,000 miles, the only questions I'd be asking is...

1 - What are you going to do as part of the total rebuild ?
2 - How Much ???
3 - How long is the warranty ??