the plug area did not get wet and I know this because the was no mud anywhere above the tranny pan. however just for the hell of it I did pull the electrical plug. there was no moisture inside.(used a mirror and flashlight) but I did dielectric the crap out of it anyway.


as for my hard shift into second I read that the 1-2 accumulator spring or piston may be broken so I ordered new ones last night. because I'm removing the pan I'm also going to swap both shift solenoids.
we'll see what happens after that! the sad part is that I just did the filter 6 months ago and the fluid is seemingly still good. but I'm not going to reuse it...

 

FIY, if it shifts the solenoids are OK. solenoids don't create shift feel, only change state from either on or off depending on command. 1-2 shift feel is either 1-2 accumulator, apply piston or plate hole size. the latter of the 2 couldn't have changed.

 

yeah I know, but I figured while I'm in there... I used a snap on scanner on it yesterday and it said TPS low or intermittent voltage. I'm gonna slap another one on there and recheck. before I pull the pan.

 

I think you may have a few bad shift pack plates

 

so I bought the ATSG 4L60E Manual and I open it up and one of the first things it says about low TPS voltage is no 4Th gear! ... that solves that mystery. my new accumulator piston and spring arrived today but I'm probably not going to be able to work on my car until Monday.

 

First I replaced my TPS and went for a ride. the shifting was a little better but I still had a hard 1-2 shift so...


I replaced my 1-2 accumulator piston and spring. The OE piston was some type of hard plastic or ceramic and it was not broken. The seal looked intact but maybe a little flat around the outside and the pin had a very minor wear mark on it(looked polished where the piston rubbed).


The accumulator housing has three 10mm bolts holding it on. It is facing upward on the passenger rear corner of the transmission under the pan.


I pushed out the pin from the bottom of the housing once it was off and was able to pry the piston out afterwards. My new piston is a pin less design that comes with a choice of two ball bearings to use and two seals. I Drove the smaller ball bearing into the pin seat with a punch(was not very hard, came with the kit to plug the pin hole). And for the seals, there is a rubber one and a plastic one the directions weren't too clear so I installed the rubber one towards the top. I bought a new 1-2 accumulator spring which I replaced. there is also a smaller spring inside there that I didn't know about or I would have replaced it also. I cleaned everything with brake parts cleaner. Then I put the springs back in the body, carefully push the piston back into the body so I didn't ruin the new seals. bolted the body back up. and done!


I went for a few test drives yesterday and it seems to have fixed my problem!!




I bought these parts: (SONNAX 77998-03K) and (35371B) spring