94 S10 pu auto trans trouble

I have a 94 S10 EX cab PU 2 wheel 4.3 ltr. I had trouble with it before when the air temp got up above 100 degrees, Tucson dont you know, the tranny would act sluggish. I gave it to my son for a year and now have it back. It was 3 quarts low and not shifting into third. I changed the filter and the fluid and no change. the fluid was not dark nor did it smell burned. Should I look to have it rebuilt or replaced. Should I attempt to fix it under my shade tree, if so what is a good reference?

first thing i would do is run out and buy a tranny cooler, second thing i would do is buy a shift kit for it. The 700R4 tranny that comes with the 4.3L is weak, they slip and burn out way to early. They overlap gears and in turn are hard on the clutches. Ok now on to the actual question at hand....a reason for the tranny not shifting into third gear is probably a stuck valve in the valve body of the tranny. Now here is one thing to consider....do you find it slipping in any other gears? if the answer is yes, well then you need to replace the clutches (in other words a re-build) rebuilding a tranny isn't really hard, you just need a selection of specialty tools and some know-how. Since the fluid wasn't dirty or burnt then your clutches are probly still good. Ok if the answer was no, then it's probly an isolated gear ( or valve) giving you a problem. So what i would do there is put a shift kit in it, you have to take the valve body apart anyways, just give it a good cleaning when your in there and it will probly do the trick. Shift kits aren't hard at all....all you really need is a basic set of tools, the kits come with very good set of step by step instructions, i chose the B&M kit which i would suggest to anyone. Hope that helped out....let me know if you need anymore assistance.

Thanks for the info. The thought of rebuilding the tranny is a little over the top but i think I will tackle it. It is just something I have never done before. Do you know how much a shift kit is of a rebuild?

a shift kit is around $75 CDN, and a rebuild kit is about $200 CDN (don't quote me on the rebuild kit). I'm not sure what you meant by "Do you know how much a shift kit is of a rebuild?" if you meant how much work a shift kit is compared to a rebuild, basically you take the oil pan off and you take apart the valve body, which consists of approx. 12 bolts, then you drill some holes bigger in the spacer plate, replace a couple springs, take a few out, it's really that simple.....plus you can install a shift kit in the vehicle, a rebuild involves tranny removal and complete tear-down. Hope this answered your question.

I was asking what was the diffrence in price but the information, you provided was much more valuble.Thanks, If this works, you may have saved me $400 or so.
Bryan

i hope so, let me know how it goes for you.

Call me stupid, but his truck is a 94 4.3, so it's gotta 4L60E transmission....not a 700R4. This could be my mistake, but I know my truck is a 95 4.3 and it's got the 4L60E. I know this because I've changed the transmission pan gasket.

Nick

Yes I have a 4L60 but the shift kit must be ordered. i am waiting for it still.