tranny slip + reverse noises

[czb83]

Hey, I have a 1997 tahoe 4wd with a 5.7L vortex. For some time now the tranny has been slipping when attempting to accelerate. It may only do this a couple times a week or less but now it seems to be getting worse. When backing out of my driveway it is making this noise like the wheels are rubbing. I am unsure if these problems are related. No codes have been given and the tranny fluid was changed at 100k(now at 125k). The original fluid still had good color. From what I'm reading, the 4L60E(I think that is the transmission) seems to a troublesome transmission. What are the common problems/solutions asscociated with this transmission? Thanks.

[aero246]

No matter what the dealers or anyone else says, NO transmission should ever go 100,000 miles between changes. The fluid should be changed yearly along with the filter. You don't have to flush it yearly but at least drop the pan, change the filter and refill with fluid. If proper maintenance on the tranny was done, then the 4L60E wouldn't have a bad rap. I highly suggest a good synthetic ATF also as it will keep the heat down and not break down as easy as petroleum oil will. A lot of people will blame changing the fluid for the reason the tranny went bad. The actual problem was, your fluid broke down, the internals began to break down and the only thing holding it together was the grit in the fluid keeping it from slipping. Then once you change the fluid it no longer has the grit to keep it from slipping and your tranny will die generally fairly quickly, depends on how bad your old fluid was.

[czb83]

Yeah, I know I shouldn't have waited that long. I did put mobil 1 synthetic fluid in the transmission when I changed it though. Anyways I had it rebuilt for $1600. He claimed that these tranmission problems are common. Luckily my other vehicle is a jeep cherokee with the AW4 transmission thats supposed to be very tough so I won't have to worry about that one.

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by czb83

Yeah, I know I shouldn't have waited that long. I did put mobil 1 synthetic fluid in the transmission when I changed it though. Anyways I had it rebuilt for $1600. He claimed that these tranmission problems are common. Luckily my other vehicle is a jeep cherokee with the AW4 transmission thats supposed to be very tough so I won't have to worry about that one.

The 4l60e transmission has been around for years and can be found in just about every GM rear wheel drive car and light duty truck.
There are some failures that are common on these transmissions, but for the most part fairly trouble free.
I service my transmission every 50K (In both my trucks..which have the 4l60e trans)
I tend to shy away from recommending trans flushes and synthetic fluids after about 80K...I have seen my share of problems related to high mileage transmission failures (100K and up) on neglected units that have flushes or synthetics installed.
By no means am I slamming synthetics..just see problems on higher mileage vehicles that have them installed.