2000 Passport Auto Transmission problems

[tharrett]

I own a 2000 passport with the 4L30E transmission. Transmission over heated and blew fluid out the main seal. I took it to a shop to have it rebuilt.

The transmission guy says he has had the transmission out of the vehicle three times and still has an issue with the transmission shifting into more that one gear at the same time. Now says he thinks the transmission case is warped and this is teh most
likely cause. I think he's full of it. but thought I would check here to see if anyone
agrees.

Don

[amigo-2k]

if you need a used one try: www.car-parts.com

used new cost a lot of $$$

[tharrett]

Thanks for the link Ryan. I will probably end up buying used, but the warped
case on the old transmission seemed a little odd.

[Ramblin Fever]

What lead to the tranny overheating?

[tharrett]

Driving about 50 miles. Was driving fine. Stopped at convienence store for a soda left car running as my friend was driving. High Temp light came on and fluid all under the car. The car would not drive forward unless I had the winter drive engaged. Would backup just fine. I was driving into a pretty stiff wind, but haven't had any trouble with the transmission until now.

[tharrett]

The transmission guy said that the front pump went out and created too much pressure and blew the fluid out. After he had the transmission in
and out of the car 3 times he said that the car tries to go into several gears at the same time. He says the most likely cause is the transmission case was warped when it overheated. I've done alot of auto repair, but not any transmissions,. This sounds more electrical than mechanical to me.

[anthonyn]

Tranny case warped sounds real iffy to me. I think its an excuse cuz the guy doesn't know how to fix it. How can a tranny try to go into more than one gear at a time. Maybe the tranny is going into limp mode and he thinks its going into multiple gears??

Here is a post from another board:

I've never had the problem with the car not starting, but recently I started experiencing extremely hard shifting. At first I thought it was simply low on fluid and took it in to a local Goodyear for service. This "Seemed" to correct the problem but less than 500 miles later, it was back. This time, I took it to the local Isuzu dealer thinking that it had to be something major and I might be looking at a failed part. Sure enough, there was a code that showed up on the computer that never set off the check engine light. The technician described the problem as a failed inhibitor switch. Essentially, the computer detects the problem and runs the pressure to the tranny high to keep the transmission from jumping out of gear and allowing you to get to service (limp mode). Normally the pressure is regulated at shift points to allow for the smoother shift. After the replaced part, it's back to shifting like new.

[pharm_rodeo]

I would get a second opinion if possible. I'm sure most members have noticed that replacing the tranny with a "new" used one rarely fixes the original issue. If it does repair the problem it seems to return within a short period of time. This lends me to believe that the tranny was not the original problem or that there was no need to replace the entire thing.

[Ramblin Fever]

It's hard to say; I remember driving into a very stiff wind two summers ago, maintaining 50mph was nearly impossible. I had to keep the powermode button engaged, and some of the tiniest inclines required 3rd gear as the wind was so strong.

I've never heard of the pump going out on these transmissions. How many miles do you have, and what's the fluid service history on your transmission?

[tharrett]

I have around 200K on this passport. I bought it with about 120K on the speedometer. Previous service is not known. I've checked the level on the
fluid several times, but have not changed it since I've read changing can
be just as bad. I guess 200K is not bad for one transmission.

[tharrett]

I have 200K on the passport. When I purchased it had around 120K.
Not sure what the service was before purchase, but have checked
the fluid on several occasions. Have not changed the fluid as I heard
that could be bad. The fluid did not smell like it was burnt even when
it went out.

[Ramblin Fever]

Well, a flush can be bad, yes on higher mileage fluid that's never been changed; however several small fluid change outs over the course of 10-11k miles shouldn't be too bad on it.

Just don't want to shock the system all at once.

If the fluid's never been changed, then yes, it's very possible that a lot of gunk build-up caused the pump to clog, allowing it to overheat and blow it all out.

I don't even know if I would take the time to rebuild the one you have, I'd just look around for a newer transmission from a parts place or junk-yard; rebuilds of the 4L30-E typically don't hold up all that great.

[tharrett]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I'll let you know how it turns out.


Best Regards,


Don

[2eyefishclaw]

what kind of guy is working on this thing HOW CAN A PUMP CREATE PRESSURE IF ITS NOT WORKING? these things are a bit difficult to rebuild from what I can understand. Thats why Isuzu does not let dealers rebuild they have us replace them anytime there is an internal probllem that is more than just a solenoid. DONT PAY THEM IF THEY CAN FIX IT JUST TAKE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE