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getting the sludge out of my 4L60 transmission

Started by dochawk, May 18, 2023, 06:05:50 PM

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dochawk


There's a lot of sludge in the transmission pan, now that it is down:

IMG_0737.jpeg

(there's a bit of a branch that fell in last night)

And the filter makes it look clean!

IMG_0738.jpeg

it looks like the green intake is the only one that isn't clogged, while the red are.  I'm not even sure if yellow is an intake (I'd have to go back outside to look).

So I conclude that there's sludge upstream of the filter, that would cause this to happen again (this filter is from September 2021, from my first round of transmission issues).

I got the bright idea to put the pan back on without a filter, to drain out and collect, and poured in a few quarts of Dexron ULV (I have two cases because rockauto mislabeled it as dexron VI, and it was months before I opened the box and found the "do not use" warning.)

I clipped a hose on the line from transmission out to the intake at the radiator to drain into a bucket and turned on the engine.

OK, that didn't work, and noting the clogged intakes, the tranny wouldn't pump any fluid that way, as if those spots are intakes, fluid must leave through the neck.  So that version wasn't well thought out.

So what can I do to run fluid through the transmission and out the pan?

Drawing  it in from a bucket/bottle on the return line from the radiator should get it in.

Take off the pan, and run the engine with a big catch bucket under the opening?

It occurred to me to cut holes in the old filter , but this would send the gunk *through* the transmission with the sacrificial fluid, which Iassume would be counterproductive.
1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)

dochawk

update:  only the green circle has a hole; the red and yellow are indentations that simply filled with sludge.

1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)

Daryl Chesterman

Richard, if you look at the first graphic from this website, it shows the oil flow direction through the transmission filter.
     
     https://davewilkestransmissions.com/services/

Knowing this, look at the picture of the filter for a 4L60E transmission—looks like the one in your picture— and you can see that the filter suction is actually on the opposite side of the filter where you are showing the dimples on the top of the filter.

     https://atpautomotive.com/auto-transmission/filter-kit-23037

This above article, is from a company that does transmission flushes.  Looking at your pictures, I think your transmission is toast, if that is the condition after a filter and oil change in 2021

You can verify this by taking apart your filter housing (yes, I know it is messy) and see which side of the filter is clean and which is dirty.

Looking at your pictures, I think your transmission is toast!  If that is what it looks like after having changed the oil and filter in September of 2021, that condition tells me that there is a lot of slipping going on in that transmission to burn the oil to a black color and have that much sludge in the pan.  How many miles since you changed it in September of 2021, and what prompted you to change the oil again so soon?

Daryl Chesterman

dochawk

U've been told that if I remove this, it likely has accumulated sludge.

The FSM calls it the "control valve assembly", and has instructions to remove and reinstall.

Is this as simple as it sounds?  Would I be taking excess risk in trying this?

1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)

Dave Shepherd

Keep in mind GM does not recommend machine based transmission flushes. I think you are beyond trying to clean this up, without a full repair.

dochawk

Actually, the FSM has full instructions for a flush, and tells you the part number of the machine to use.

Nonetheless, I'm not planning on flushing. 

There were a couple of independent overheating incidents while this fluid was in (one from lost ground to the fan relays, and another that turned out to be because someone had put a thermostat in the thermostat housing [which is supposed to be empty; there is a "thermostat assembly" or some such on the bottom of the other side of the engine]
1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)


wheikkila

Does the transmission have a problem or are you just changing the fluid and filter? If you are having issues changing the fluid and filter most likely won't fix it.
 Thanks Wayne 

dochawk

Per the FSM,

QuoteOIL COOLER FLUSHING PROCEDURE
Figure 12
Tools Required:
J 35944 "Transmission" Oil Cooler and Line Flusher
J 35944-20 Cooler Flushing Fluid
NOTICE: The automatic transmission oil cooler flushing procedure must be performed whenever a transmission assembly is removed for service to remove existing fluid which may be contaminated and to prevent contamination of new fluid. The flushing procedure must be performed after installa� tion of the overhauled or replacement cooler.

I assume that that norelco is the modern version.


Quote from: wheikkila on June 03, 2023, 12:48:54 PMDoes the transmission have a problem or are you just changing the fluid and filter?

the transmission loses its grip after operating for a few minutes.  This was a sudden offset problem.``

This would seem to be consistent with a badly clogged filter not letting enough fluid through to operate, so I'm taking my shot.
1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)

dochawk

I finally went underneath and did it.

And it turned out not to have accumulated sludge in the channels of the valve assembly.

However, this membrane (?) gasket (?) has a tear in it:

IMG_0801.jpeg

And I dropped (at least) two ball bearings, as well.

I also can't figure out how to disconnect this piece of the electrical:

dangling_wire.jpg

it looks like the blue connector, which swivels, should slide off (it appears to have a channel facing the part), but it doesn't seem to want to. 
1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)