The sudden loss of reverse in a 4L60E or a T-700R4 is a common problem in respect to the actual amount of internal problems these transmission have. I have been asked many times “why has my Chevy Suburban lost reverse all of a sudden and only seems to have 2 forward speeds and make a racket if I drive it” more times than I can recall. The next question was how much for a rebuilt transmission?
We all know you can’t diagnose a transmission over the phone or Internet for that matter. Even if you bring it closer to the telephone! So, in effect giving out prices before a diagnosis is made is not accurate or ethical, and it builds unreal pricing expectations.
There is a good answer and a better solution. Lets start with what goes wrong. The part we call a sun gear shell breaks the splines, literally, right out of the stamped steel shell. When that happens, the splines that connect to the reverse sun gear can no longer hold on to the sun gear, causing no reverse.
Another symptom that proves the point is that the vehicle will only have second gear and fourth gear. I suggest you stop driving it at that point and locate a transmission shop who will diagnose the problem. I definitely recommend you have it towed to the facility. Many shops tow for free with repairs.
So, getting right to the point, the transmission will have to be removed and carefully and cleanly disassembled for inspection. Here is the deal, you have a 50-50 chance that your transmission can be repaired using the updated heavy duty shell G.M designed and started to install in the 4L60E in the mid ’90s, or one of the expensive racing shells designed by the better racing transmission companies. Personally the updated factory one is what I put in my GMC truck and my wife’s Safari van.
I took the transmission out of the Safari van at my shop on a Saturday just to replace the shell so my wife would not call me at a bad time for both of us, with a transmission problem. I believe in preventative procedures, instead of emergency procedures.
Obviously some people are not so fortunate and will have other damage inside the transmission, necessitating a replacement transmission. My advise in this case is to purchase a rebuilt transmission that is fully upgraded, and that includes a redesigned sun shell.
Although the T700R4 had very few issues with sun shell breakage in comparison with it’s brother the 4L60E, make sure the company that supplies you with a remanufactured Chevy transmission which has put in a redesigned shell. Nothing like an ounce of prevention.
So how do you know if the company you choose is doing the proper upgrades? Some suggestions on ‘How to choose the right transmission shop’ can be studied in a prior post. The single most important ingredient in choosing a properly repaired or rebuilt transmission is trust, so do your homework in respect to who to choose, as the article states.
I have had 30 plus years in the transmission industry, 26 being a shop owner. After reading the suggested posts, you will come to the same conclusion I did. When one is in the hunt for a top line rebuilt transmission, take my word from personal experience. Call the specialists at GotTransmissions.com @ 866-320-1182 and discuss the matter. Their ethics are beyond question, every transmission is delivered in a timely manner, and best of all, you will know that the remanufactured transmission you purchased is built the proper way.
With that being said, at my shop we never cut corners and did a lot of rebuilding in house. On occasion we needed a rebuilt transmission fast, perhaps they my customer was traveling or had a commercial vehicle. In these isolated case we would buy from GotTransmissions.com. Our confidence in them was built from the fact we never had an issue or problem with anything we ever purchased. They are also very friendly, yet serious about making sure you get the correct application. That is priceless.
