Possible bad trans in '93 Z28

[LT1Silverhawk]

Hey guys, new to this forum as well as auto transmissions.

A couple of days ago I picked up a '93 Z28 with a 4L60 auto trans that doesnt seem to be going anywhere. I had it towed home but have yet to get underneath the car to see whats going on.

Basically, what happens is that when the trans is shifted in to 'Drive' and engine is reved, the 'Check Gauges' light comes on and the car does not move.

My main question is, if the trans turns out to be bad, is it at all possible to upgrade to a 4L60E trans without too much trouble?

All help and suggestions grealy appreciated.

[Genopsyde]

is there any fluid in the tranny? as for the swap to a 4l60e, I don't really know, but I would guess it's just a matter of swapping in the pcm also to control the tranny as well.

[LT1Silverhawk]

Honestly, I havent had a chance to check the transmission fluid. The car is at my parents house and I havent been able to swing by to check it out yet. Probably will do so this weekend.

I talked to another dude who's sellin a 4L60-E trans and he swears that it will work in a '93 without any modifications. But I think he is saying that based on a visual inspection only because he said they have the same harness.

I agree with you on the pcm... I was thinking the same thing that if a new pcm is installed, the shifting should be fine... But then i wonder if a '94 - '97 LT1 pcm is fully compatible with a '93 setup minus trans?

Will get back to you once I check that fluid... thanks for the help...

[wrightz28]

94 - 97 PCMs are OBDI hybrids and hence the 'e' portion of the trans ID are electronically controlled.

As stated, check your fluid out before jumping to conclusions. Does it go into any gear? Try going all the way down to ! then up to D, maybe the selector cable is broken or streched?

[LT1Silverhawk]

Definitely planing on checking that fluid once I get to my parents' this weekend.

I guess I should provide a bit more background on this car.

I went to go see the car this past Sunday night, with plans to buy it and part it out if the car turned out to be too far gone.

Well, the following is what I found out. It has 184k miles on it. The body is straight and the interior is pretty clean except for the all too common tear in the side of the driver's seat. Also, it has the orange heritage stripes and "Officical Pace Car" painted emblems on the hood, fenders and the back. The engine fires up and revs just fine. Its got the K&N FIPK and some kind of exhaust. I havent checked yet as tol what brand and the guy who sold it to me didnt know either.

Anyway, the guy who doing the sale said the car belonged to his brother. One day, about six months ago, as he was getting on the freeway, there was some kind of noise and the car just came to a stop. The owner guessed the transmission had blown out and had planned to fix it with his brother. Time passed and they never got around to it so they just decided to get rid of it due to a nagging wife (that'll always result in a quick sale).

The owner's brother said he did jack up the car and saw the "ball turning" when he gave it gas but nothing else happened. By the "ball turning", I'm guessing he meant the torque converter.

Seeing how desperate he was to get rid of the car that very night, and the possible potential to either fix it and learn some new things or part it out, I went ahead and bought it.

So now, based on what I've read here so far:
1. Check the fluid.
2. Possible selector cable damage.

I must say I found the car difficult to shift at times.

By the way, what does 'hybrid OBD I' mean?

As always, thanks for all the help and ideas.

[wrightz28]

Doh, re-read, that's 94-96's are OBD-I hybrids, they were the crossover to the mandated universal electronic control modules, all makes had to use the same code numbers and the link connector in the "same location".

[LT1Silverhawk]

So would you say that the pcm from a '94 - '96 would be a good swap when installing a 4L69-E in a '93 f-body? Would it be a straight plug-and-play thing or would anything else need to to be modified?

[Morley]

Originally Posted by LT1Silverhawk

So would you say that the pcm from a '94 - '96 would be a good swap when installing a 4L69-E in a '93 f-body? Would it be a straight plug-and-play thing or would anything else need to to be modified?

I don't believe it is a straight plug and play thing, but it is possible.
If the trans is toast, don't forget that the 1993 4L60 is really just a 700R4 with all of the upgrades GM did to them. You should be able to buy a 700R4, rebuilt on E bay for just under a grand. I got one from a Guy in N.C. that gave a 1 year warrenty and he gave you your choice of torque converter stall speeds. Most places won't include a torque converter. 3 years later and that trans is doing just fine, never a lick of trouble out of it.

[wrightz28]

To what Morley said.

[LT1Silverhawk]

Originally Posted by Morley

I don't believe it is a straight plug and play thing, but it is possible.
If the trans is toast, don't forget that the 1993 4L60 is really just a 700R4 with all of the upgrades GM did to them. You should be able to buy a 700R4, rebuilt on E bay for just under a grand. I got one from a Guy in N.C. that gave a 1 year warrenty and he gave you your choice of torque converter stall speeds. Most places won't include a torque converter. 3 years later and that trans is doing just fine, never a lick of trouble out of it.

I've been doing some research online and also found a few forums and websites that say the 4L60 is indeed an upgraded version of the 700R4, but not much beyond that.

Morley, I am assuming you have that transmission in a '93 F-body. My question is that will the 700R4 be a direct replacement to the 4L60 or again, would certain things need to be modified? Any info on that is greatly appreciated.

I can't believe how hard it is to find a used 4L60 for an F-body locally. Maybe they are just listed as 700R4's?

I'm also thinking of getting one out of a third gen Camaro since there are quite a few around my area for cheap. Any particular years you recommend getting or avoiding altogether?

I found these on Craigslist.org:

700R4 TRANSMISSION WITH TORQUE CONVERTER. THIS IS THE GOOD ONE, 30 SPLINE OUT OF V8 CAMARO OR CORVETTE NOT 27 SPLINE EARLY MODEL. 700, 700R, TRANS, CHEVY, CAMARO, CORVETTE.

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I have a 700R4 tranny out of an 1985 IROC Z28 Camaro for sale. I got it from a friend of my sister. He totalled his IROC and took out this tranny and stored it in his garage. He just cleaned out his garage last month and gave me the tranny. I was told that it worked fine in the car but have no way to verify the working condition of it. It is just the trans with NO converter. It has the cable speedo hookup for older cars. I was told that this model year tranny is not really good for high horsepower engines but will work fine behind a stock to mild small block. The engine I'm building is going to be too powerful for this tranny so it is being sold. My asking price is low due to the fact that I can't verify the working condition of the tranny. Asking $150 OBO.

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Thank you guys so much by the way. The info you have provided has been extremely helpful.

[wrightz28]

700R4 and 4L60 are vitrually one in the same and yes a direct replacement.

[LT1Silverhawk]

Originally Posted by wrightz28

700R4 and 4L60 are vitrually one in the same and yes a direct replacement.

Just for clarification, did you mean 4L60, not 4L60E?

[wrightz28]

Yeah, I edited that out after the post finally took.

[Morley]

He is correct, the 4l60 and 700R4 are one in the same trans and most people use the names/designations interchangeably. Just to clarify though. If you buy one off of E bay contact the seller FIRST and tell them what car you are planning on putting it into. You should have a plastic speedo drive gear on the trans shaft (in the tail housing) The early 700R4's had a metal gear. I had to swap mine and ended up cutting the metal gear off the shaft. My trans went in a 1991 Formula but the same applies to the 4th gens.

Do yourself a fovor and don't buy a used trans, it won't last a year. Rebuilt is the way to go, even over a new GM product.

[FormulaLT1]

94 and 95 LT1 PCM are hybrid OBD 1. 96 + are OBD2 and everything else in this thread I agree with, except alot of 4L60-E are year specific and you can't even swap a 94 or 95 4L60-E without modifying either the PCM or harness..