Question : 4t60e Shifts only into Reverse and Low gears...

[Spankdamonkey]

Hi all!

Well, this problem happened so abruptly it has me stumped as to the nature of it. It's my '95 Beretta. Basically, I parked the car at 5am last night, and when I went to start it again at 12pm it would not engage into anything but reverse and low. Putting the selector in O/D or D produced nothing more than shifting to neutral. Drove it a block or so to see if I could coax her into upshifting, but no dice. Fluid levels appear normal, as does the color and consistency. No codes, and otherwise runs just fine...

So is the trans just done? It's just that there were no tell-tale signs or failure preceding this event....makes me think there may be something I'm overlooking. Any help/input is highly appreciated!!

I've had to fix ALOT of things on my baby....but this would spell her doom and it would be off to the junkyard if the trans is shot...I hope this isnt the case :/

[gpse3400]

Hi all!

Well, this problem happened so abruptly it has me stumped as to the nature of it. It's my '95 Beretta. Basically, I parked the car at 5am last night, and when I went to start it again at 12pm it would not engage into anything but reverse and low. Putting the selector in O/D or D produced nothing more than shifting to neutral. Drove it a block or so to see if I could coax her into upshifting, but no dice. Fluid levels appear normal, as does the color and consistency. No codes, and otherwise runs just fine...

So is the trans just done? It's just that there were no tell-tale signs or failure preceding this event....makes me think there may be something I'm overlooking. Any help/input is highly appreciated!!

I've had to fix ALOT of things on my baby....but this would spell her doom and it would be off to the junkyard if the trans is shot...I hope this isnt the case :/

Could be a number of things but to narrow it down, you might have a bad forward servo piston, or a bad forward band. The servo is accessible outside, it is the cap on the backside of the transmission, has 3 8 mm bolts holding the cover on of which protrudes outward.

[bob442]

your in LIMP mode, designed for you to limp home, take it to a shop, or get it rebuild. i would suggest if you get it rebuilt get some better clutchs than borgwarner's put in. If* you plan to do any upgrades to the motor, and if you drive it hard.

[Spankdamonkey]

Thanks for the responses guys! Hmm...I was under the assumption that limp mode on the 4t60e was designed to run in 2nd gear? Also, wouldn't there have been signs leading up to this point of a failure? (slipping, noise, sluggishness, etc) I was talking to a gearhead buddy of mine who seems to think it may be a bad 1-2 solenoid....says if it is stuck while engaged the trans can't shift, and that I have only 1st gear and reverse because they both operate on the same clutch pack....any input on that?

I will check on the servo piston though, it's too damn cold for me to be doing anything other than external work haha

Thanks guys!

[pocket-rocket]

Mine that was in the 91 when I bought it gave me no sings before failure on the way out to the Chicago car show years ago. No limp home mode or anything. Just slipped like it was in neutral for a mile and then nothing at all unless it was allowed to cool down. Then it would work until it warmed up.

[bob442]

Pocket that sounds like it was TCC or the TC, monkey, 1st gear only isnt limp mode, but 1st and 2nd, or just 2nd is. so low gears kinda throws it in the air, but if it gets into other gears sometimes then its most likely your whole trans is coput. check the fluid and or whipe the dipstick on a piece of white paper. you can drop that trans easy in a drive way thought, but not so easy in the cold.

[bama_z34]

this happened to my 96 monte carlo z34 back in october. yoiu can put it in drive and you gotta get the revs pretty high (about 3100-3500) before it will even move. and it drives like its stuck in second and will ony shift once and i think that its going to third but idk. i still havent had it checked out but with income tax coming im hoping its repairable. but if i have to have the trans rebuilt or replaced im just gonna sell the whole car.

[andysmith]

i had a 4t65 that would only go in reverse. it had a busted foreward band at the piston.

[Azrael]

Did this ever get figured out? I just ran into the same problem. Won't go from a stop in D or 3 but works in R and 2 (my car's version of manual low). If I get enough speed in 2 I can shift to 3 or D and it engages and runs fine untill I slow down then I have to go through the process again. Fluid level is good. There were absolutely no symptoms while driving it last night or up till it happened on my commute this morning. I'm wondering if it's a valvebody issue with pressure leaking somewhere.

[Azrael]

My local transmission god narrowed it down to 3 causes:
1) The actuator tab on one of the input bands could have broken off. Supposedly a common issue.
2) There's also a two-piece drum for 1st and 2nd that can seperate but is usually associated with grinding noises when it does.
3) There's a paper gasket somewhere that also has a tendancy to let go but usually only in cold climates. Like the LIM gasket, there's apparantly a steel version that was recently released that prevents it from blowing again.

All of which tend to happen suddenly with no symptoms. Unfortunately, all of them are internal fixes and require the trans being pulled and be nearly completely disassembled to replace.

Driving in manual low allowed me to bypass the problem part(s) and shift back to D for 3rd and 4th.

[90210GTP]

Just had this happen last thursday to my '99 GTP. Spoke w/ Dave @ TEP who told me to drop the fluid pan and check the forward apply band. I found half of it in the pan and can see the rest thru an opening in the tranny near end of filter. He told me it is the 2nd part that is put back in during a rebuild. I am currently trying to track down some more info on using an '07 tranny in my car. So basically you have to rebuild or replace. For me it sucks because it happened after only 3 weeks driving on an engine replacement. Guess the bolts should be easy to loosen this time.

[Azrael]

Will a 4T60-E stay in 3rd gear with the electrical harness unplugged? I vaguely remember people doing this for dyno pulls but can't remember for sure. It would definitely help in getting the car to where I'm getting it fixed on monday.

[gpse3400]

Yes it does.

[robertisaar]

a 4T60E will default to 3rd since that's the solenoid combo that will cause it when they are both unpowered.

however, you can get into 2nd gear by moving the shifter into 2nd or 1st due to there being a manual downshift valve(or whatever it's called)

a 99 GTP should have a 4T65E-HD though... wouldn't want to pull the connector on that due to the PCS.

[Azrael]

Turned out to be the forward input band. The tab for the servo pin sheared right off the band. A very common issue in times where the transmission is shocked from periods of next to no traction and then plenty of it. Like going from ice/sand to asphalt. The core of this problem is that the little tab is just spot welded on. If it were more thouroughly welded into place, the issue would be far less common. The guy who fixed mine, his next job was the exact issue in a 4T65E.