1996 K1500 4l60e trans. Skips second gear

[todd4072]

Hello everyone, I have a 1996 Chevy K1500 with the 5.0 engine and the 4l60e transmission. The truck does not shift into second gear. It will start out in first gear fine and than after some "dead time" in what should be second gear it shifts to third. The truck drives fine when it is actually in gear.

Here is what I have done and some brief history of the issue.

I used to get a trouble code P1886 intermittently that would send the truck into a limp mode. In limp mode the truck would start in third and overdrive was taken away. I could clear the code with a cheap OBD2 scanner and bypass any problems for sometimes weeks or months. Recently the issue became more constant therefore making me address it. I pulled the pan and inspected the solenoids as well as replaced them for good measure "considering they were relatively cheap". I found that the 3-2 solenoid was not plugged in properly. After inspecting the cause for this I took a pick and gently bent the two metal contacts in the solenoid up just a little bit, allowing the clip to properly seat. After this I have not gotten the trouble code.

The problem at this point is that the transmission still skips second gear. I am a little irritated because the P1886 code related to the solenoid that was not properly hooked up but even with it working, still no second gear (P1186 relates to 3-2 solenoid). I have access to a high end scanner that we hooked up to the truck while driving. We were able to isolate the gears with the scanner and even when we told the ECM to go into second, there was nothing there. It acts as though it is neutral.

I am under the assumption that this issue is not electrical in nature considering the work done and the lack of any trouble codes. I was wondering if anyone knew the internals of this transmission enough to help point me in the right direction. I don't want to take the truck to a transmission shop just to have them do what I have done and charge me for it than tell me they want to rebuild or replace it.

I am a mechanic by trade (industrial equipment, not automotive) so I am most likely going to perform any work needed. My transmission rebuilding experience is limited considering the only time I did one was in diesel school on a manual tractor transmission.

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.