Transmission parts question

[Guest]

Over this past weekend i had the small end of my tranny break. I was told this is called the differential housing and that the piece inside was either called the gearbox or the planetary, cant remember. Upon inspection, we found that the rod on which the planetary (which is like an inch thick) was bent an fractured. Surprisingly, neither of the driveshafts showed any damage and neither of them showed any signs of real wear. I'm trying to simply replace those 2 parts and i dont know the real names for them or if its even truly worth trying to find them. I do know however that that was the only problem with the transmission and if i can replace those 2 parts I know it would fix the problem. Feed back from REAL mechanics or people with real knowledge only please, i dont need opinions from newbies or people wantin to get dibs on a car part. Not trying to be rude people, just this is got me frustrated to hell because now i cant go see my fiancee in florida.....thanks

[Guest]

Your surprised at this defect?  Just be thankful that you don't have a chrysler (dodge) minivan, when they throw the differential pinion shaft, it comes out the case into the torque converter, and the engine, 8 out of 10 times can't turn over. Now, as for your problem , you failed to make note to which trans you have. We may have been able to get an idea, had we been let in on the secret of what year the car is.  But regardless, if it's a 125C or the 4T60E, it was more common for the 4T60E to throw the DIFFERENTIAL pinion shaft(thats the shaft you see hanging out). The actual part names are as listed: The large iron looking piece (that the smaller gears are mounted in) = the Carrier assy or differential(when empty of gears and shafts). The carrier all assembled with the small gears and their pins in it as one big assy = final drive. Anyway, your problem extends way beyond what you see, (the wiped out final drive and housing). The differential pinion shaft does not just suddenly fly out, but gradually works it way out after the retaining pin fatigues and falls out. When the pinion shaft comes out, it scrapes the housing, and it certainly makes alot of noise. If you look at the inside of that housing, you'll see a groove where the pinion shaft had been wearing and scraping. Now for the problem you didn't consider , WHERE did all that metal go when it got scraped off? Answer: It's all through the trans .  You can find another final drive and housing from the exact same car and trans model from the j/y (you need to keep the ratio correct for the tires etc), but you still have all that metal that's been circulating throught the trans for some time now. The metal that was scraped off doesn't just settle on the bottom of the pan, and will not get caught by the magnet, it's aluminum. Some will settle, but a major part will get into the one way clutch or roller sprag(s)(plural depending on the trans), the brass bushings, in between the friction disc's and steel plates. The alum. although soft, is still a grit in the fluid, and does damage. The filter has prevented some of the metal from getting into the system, but it cannot stop the finer stuff, and thus the damage ocurrs. It would be advisable to either replace the trans used, OR, have this one torn down and see how bad the bushings and sprags are damaged. I would say that trans replacement is the answer at this point due to cost effectiveness and what you can afford. To rebuild what you have, will require replacement of several internal components and some heavy labor charges at a shop. You'll find that a rebuilt trans, installed in your car is anywhere from 1600 and up. Again, ask yourself, Where did all the little filings go? If someone tells you they can fix you right up and get you on your way with replacing those couple parts and a fluid/filter change, is lying to you to get your money. I see it daily, and you'll be half way to FLA, and be stuck..... Now after all that I found a thread you made ealier and found that you have a 96, that is the redisigned 4T60E and internally differnt than prior years, write Erich, he has one out of a 96 Z26, it's the unit you need.

[Guest]

Well said man ..I think your piston return spring is bad--you need the chrome ones--it will make the car faster...LOL...sorry i could not resist..

[Guest]

Cute Chris, wait till sat........

[Guest]

I found a bit of metal shavings in the transmission pan believe it or not. We didnt see any real buildup of metal powder, residue, or anything like that around or on the driveaxle before we pulled it out. Granted that probably means nothing but I thought it might be something worth noting. We did see a lot of flakes and metal shards however on the block and metal brace, which my stepdad seemed to think was a good thing because it didnt go inside internally. However, i kind of figured it would be something like this. Its just my luck it seems. I guess my next question would be can a 3400 tranny bolt up an match it exact?? if so, is it advisable? I found a junkyard that would do a tranny swap on a 3100 tranny for 250 wit tranny.......ive got nothing but quality from anything ive gotten from them so i would use them again.

[Guest]

By the way, after re-reading your post JCZ26, i thought this might interest you, the retaining pin is still inside the shaft, the shaft fractured. I double checked after reading your post this morning. I have a 4t60e and its a 96 z26 with a 3100 v-6 SPI.

[Guest]

if it is a 4 speed tranny that was connected to that 3400 that is is most likely a 4t trans also--but better ask John (JCZ26) to be sure--transmissions are my weak spot

[Guest]

First off, the trans HAS to be no earlier than 96, meaning 96 up. Second no mention was made as to the year of the 3400, again, has to be at least a 96. The other problem is gearing ratio. Personally, I go with what you know, and I don't know about this j/y trans, but do know that Erich has one that goes in the car. To me, it really doesn't matter who you buy one from, but I'd recommend staying away from the unknown. Remember, a j/y is a business, in business to make money, and if you say you want to buy a specific part, then they'll sell it to you, doesn't mean it's the right part, it's about the money. Another point that I wanted to add, you said that there wasn't alot of metal in the pan, BUT you did say there was some. The fluid, guaranteed if studied, will have little glitters in it, this is an indication of metal traveling throughout the trans, damage is damage, and when dealing with something as intricate as an automatic trans, you shouldn't take chances. It's not like having a flat, pulling out the spare, finding it bald, and chancing making it home   . For anyone who is interested, there was discussion about the 4T65E being stronger than the 4T60E. Not the case, the transmissions are basically the same with the exception, that the 4T65E is all electronically controlled, where the 4T60E is electronic, and the line pressure is vacuum controlled.

[Guest]

I found NORMAL wear an tear metal shavings in the bottom of the tranny. I dropped almost all the tranny fluid out the tranny when this thing cracked....there was roughly a quart left in the tranny pan when i dumped it. I appreciate all the feedback JCZ26. I figured id have to replace it but i wanted to check all my options first before i wasted time an money. If you can think of anything else i could try or can suggest, Id appreciate it. Would you actually recommend changing to a different transmission? I'd really like a slightly heavier duty one personally.