bad fourth gear

[kevbayer]

I got some bad news today, bad 4th gear gave me an estimate of $2200 ish to do a rebuild......not psyched at all.....any recomendations? I really dont have that type of money to be spending ....how long can I drive it like this, the garages said if I drive in 3rd it may last a bit longer.

[tmartin000]

You don't mention your mileage.
I posted the pics of my bad tranny a week ago.... What I didn't post was the 4th gear hub/rod. At 48k miles, mine was already creating sharp edges (like tiny knife edges) rather than squared-off edges like normal gears. AAMCO told me that with my rebuild, came a new hardened 4th gear. My point is that the 4th gear issue is not uncommon. I had such little mileage on the car and was nearly like new on the inside, I went ahead and paid the $2500. Only time will tell if it was a wise decision.

By the way, sorry to hear about your situation. Been there, done that.

[kevbayer]

mileage is 155,000 so i consider myself lucky, had them change the fluid and we will see what that brings

[BNaylor]

Just to clarify on a 4T65E autotransaxle the component that goes bad causing a loss of 4th gear - OD is normally the 4th clutch shaft. The splines on the end of the shaft strip out.

You can drive it in third gear (D3) to inhibit 4th - OD but you will be over-revving at higher speeds so there will be a loss of fuel economy, etc. When it gets real bad or in many cases the tranny will feel like it has dropped to neutral when it upshifts to 4th - OD.

[kevbayer]

just picked it up, the garage told me to drive it in third, said there was metal in the pan and it wanst locking up....I drove home in drive and it was one of the smoothest ride i have had, probably from the new filter & fluid change....so I dont know what to do.

If I drive it in 3rd, how long will that last until the tranny goes or will it be fine just driving it in 3rd? I know lower fuel economy, but that is better than shelling out a bunch of cash I dont have.

Is there anyway to tell by driving that I have a bad forth gear, it had hard shifting problems before the fluid change, but that was in lower gears not fourth?

One last question, they said they knew it was the fourth gear before they even test drove it or changed the fluid or anything is that possible?

[harmankardon35]

very common, driving in 3rd is not too bad unless you are doing extended freeway driving....local highways rpms sit around 2k instead of 1300-1500 cruising. if you don't use 4th than nothing happens, the gear just sits there....and your filter will catch any metal fragments possibly left inside. Believe it or not the 4t65E is an excellent transmission asside from the 4th gear hub and the pressure control solenoid...

[remark123]

I'd agree with the statement about the trans being an excellent trans EXCEPT FOR...