Transmission Funeral Postponed
 

Last summer I was working on a 93 S-15 Jimmy. I did a whole bunch of work on it, replacing the fuel injectors and nut kit and doing a tune-up and other general maintenance things. The thing that kept me from putting the vehicle into regular service was the leaking transmission. When I first bought it the transmission leaked intermittently; every ten days or so it would leak a little fluid onto the exhaust pipe and create a lot of smoke. The dust cover was not on the lower bellhousing which is why the fluid could leak down on the exhaust pipe.

I wasn't happy about the leakage problem so I took the Jimmy over to a local shop to have them look at it. Their opinion was that the bushing on the shaft was bad and allowing fluid to leak past it. They pulled the tranny and replaced the bushing. With the new bushing the leak became constant. I took the Jimmy from that shop to a transmission shop for their opinion which was I needed a new transmission for only $1900. At that point I found a 94 Blazer for $400 on Craigslist that only needed a new starter and that's what I've been driving ever since.

Now my wife wants the Jimmy for her to drive. She's tired of her 99 Grand Am GT. I pulled the transmission out of the Jimmy and it appears that the outside of the collar on the torque converter isn't uniformly smooth. I can feel a low band in the collar that's roughly in the middle. The bushing appears to have been replaced when the shop had it apart.

What's your opinion? Where is the fluid leak coming from? What else should I check? I want to get this thing on the road so my wife will be happy. That will vastly improve my life.

If the converter is worn where it was riding on the bushing. It will drop and ride on the seal more which will distort the seal and allow it to leak. I would replace the seal, check the bushing and look into getting a replacement converter. If you do all that and remove the seal, there are some holes that allow fluid pressure to be relieved behind the seal. If one or both(Can't remember if there is one or two) is plugged pressure will build and push past the seal. So make sure to check those as well.

It seems you are probably on the right track. I doubt a new transmission is needed though.

I didn't think a new transmission was in order either. It shifted very smoothly while it was in the Jimmy.

When I took the torque converter off I tipped the transmission forward and fluid came out around the bottom of the seal. Is that normal? That doesn't seem right to me.

I'm planning on removing the pump from the transmission on Sunday or Monday depending on what other projects the wife has lined up for me this weekend. I went to see a friend who has a junkyard on Thursday and he just happened to have a 4L60E disassembled on his bench. That turned out to be a great opportunity to learn about the mysteries of this transmission.

The first thing I learned is that there is supposed to be a retaining clip on the seal on the front of the pump. My transmission doesn't have one. The next thing I noticed is that the shaft on the torque converter at the junkyard was perfectly flat and smooth. I'll check the shaft on my converter but I suspect that the deep impression is allowing it to ride incorrectly and exacerbate the leakage.

My hope is that replacing the bushing and seal on the pump and getting a new torque converter will solve the leaking problem and then I'll be able to put the tranny back under the truck and my wife will be happy and I'll get my Blazer back.

I'll report back with my findings.

My Findings
 

My findings are grim. The pan was full of metal shavings. The seal around the pump was deteriorated. That suggests to me that this transmission is not worth fixing up the pump and replacing the torque converter.

The cheapest rebuild on a 4L60E I've seen in my area is $1000. I may opt for that. In the meantime I'm keeping the Jimmy up on jack stands and keeping my eye out for a cheap, low-mileage tranny on Craigslist.

Monster transmission and performance has a heavy duty 4l60e 4x4 transmission for 1249 bucks this is for a race transmission free shipping .Also they have a super sport trans for up to 650 hp and that is for 1449 dollars this is a bad a-- transmission . Or they have a mild one that sells for 1195 for engines providing up to 275 horsepower and 250 footpounds of torque .And they have a three year warranty . Thats only 249 dollars more than the cheepest rebuild kit in your area , hope this helps . I guess theres a 50 dollar charge for residental delivery , no charge to a business .

Thanks for the info! My wife wants the Jimmy so there's no need for a performance tranny but the mild rebuild might be a great option for her. I've got a week yet before the next paycheck comes in so I have time to consider my options. In the meantime I need to sell her 99 Grand Am GT. I've learned not to give her a performance car. :)

I took the transmission to the father-in-law of one of my old high school buddies. He's a retired transmission builder. He's rebuilding the transmission with a 13-spline pump and other upgraded components. $1400 cash. I should have the transmission back by the end of the week. Once I get it back and get it up under the Jimmy I'll let everyone know how it went.