Transmission swap?

[berettaboy]

So ever since i got my car (96 base v6, auto with roughly 100k) it has had rough shifting from 1st to 2nd. Didnt really think it was worth changing, but now im leaking transmission fluid and the shop said they will probably have to pull the tranny to fix(leaking from some valve or something). i have a tanny out of my old parts car(96 z26 v6, auto about 120k) in the garage that worked fine 2 years ago but it did have the cable shifting problem but i dont think it would effect the tranny??? also it sat for a year installed on the parts car then the rest in a wheelbarrel in my garage. and when the guy tried to take it out of the parts car he couldnt get it into neutral to save his life so he had to cut somethings to get the tranny to drop. so idk if it would have any effect on the tranny working the same.

so i was thinking why my tranny is out why not put in the tranny i have in the garage back in? but a transmission shop said its not recommended because of compatibility issues, so of course that shop wanted me to pay them 2000 dollars plus tax to rebuild the tranny thats in my car. i dont have 2000 dollars laying around, so im looking for any suggestions and input on my situation.

any help would be appreciated, thanks in advanced,
kyle

[DTMAce]

What sort of compatibility issues? They are both out of a 96? Both from a V6? There is NO compatibility issues. They should both be a 4T60E!!

Oh, and for the record, both of mine have rough shifting from 1st to second. The shift packs are most likely burnt down or out. I know the base has turned the fluid darker since I started driving it, probably have to change that this spring. The Z's fluid looks normal but it also shifts funny from 1st to second. I either have to baby it or hammer it, otherwise it kinda slams into gear on both of them when you are pedaling it normally. lol

But yeah, if the tranny is a 4T60E, it will bolt right in, there won't be any issues. Not sure what kind of a crack pipe they are smoking. And where is it leaking from? Most of these leak from the pan, or the cooling hoses, if so have the pan dropped, change the filter and gasket, bolt it back up, refill it and go on. Hoses? Replace them. May have to pull the lower engine coolant hose off the radiator, as its a bitch to get to the fitting for the lower transmission cooling hose with it there. Which means you have to capture and replace the coolant for the engine too. Sucks, been there, done that, WAY too many times now. lol (I have replaced 5 radiators between the base and the Z) If its leaking from say the bottom of the bell housing or out the axles or something, then yeah it may need more tending too.

[berettaboy]

What sort of compatibility issues? They are both out of a 96? Both from a V6? There is NO compatibility issues. They should both be a 4T60E!!

Oh, and for the record, both of mine have rough shifting from 1st to second. The shift packs are most likely burnt down or out. I know the base has turned the fluid darker since I started driving it, probably have to change that this spring. The Z's fluid looks normal but it also shifts funny from 1st to second. I either have to baby it or hammer it, otherwise it kinda slams into gear on both of them when you are pedaling it normally. lol

But yeah, if the tranny is a 4T60E, it will bolt right in, there won't be any issues. Not sure what kind of a crack pipe they are smoking. And where is it leaking from? Most of these leak from the pan, or the cooling hoses, if so have the pan dropped, change the filter and gasket, bolt it back up, refill it and go on. Hoses? Replace them. May have to pull the lower engine coolant hose off the radiator, as its a bitch to get to the fitting for the lower transmission cooling hose with it there. Which means you have to capture and replace the coolant for the engine too. Sucks, been there, done that, WAY too many times now. lol (I have replaced 5 radiators between the base and the Z) If its leaking from say the bottom of the bell housing or out the axles or something, then yeah it may need more tending too.

may be leaking from the hoses, that sounds right. but yes i think the guy just said compatability issues to get him some work.
So you think the tranny that was sitting on my parts car for a year and in my garage for the rest, should be good? should i get it looked at, cleaned, or what?

thanks for the quick response!

[DTMAce]

Well, providing the shifting problem was in the linkage on the previous car, and not in the transmission itself, I would hope it would be good. Other than that, I don't see why it wouldn't. Hell I would just fix the leak and keep going. These transmissions are tough.

[ronaconda]

X2 to everything that Ace said.

[berettaboy]

soooo probably should have included this before i posted, but... i didnt have it handy at the time, so i quote the invoice from the shop."found transmission fluid being pushed through vent tube, poss pump issue." so yea... thoughts? also is this transmission problem (rough shifting) common and will happen eventually if i do swap or is it kind of a hit and miss?

[3X00-Modified]

It's a 4t60e unless you take it apart and rebuild it to handle more abuse than grandma driving it then yes it will happen again, the rough shifting is a sign of a bad vac modulator and i would try changing that first to see if it gets any better. If the diaphragm is bad on the modulator it will see no engine vac and be at full line pressure as well as pull oil through the vac line.

If the rough shifting persists then you have a bad worn valve body and it's causing shift valves to stick, and that's my diagnosis to Ace's description on his issue.

[DTMAce]

And I doubt you can fix a worn part, it has to be replaced. And the valve body is a solid section that is part of the main housing, correct Jon? Cause if I can replace the valves/valve body without having to replace the housing, I may consider it, but I know the tranny on the Z needs rebuilt with new shift plates and lord knows what else. I have always had a heavy foot.

For now with as many miles as my two have, I just deal with it. Not really a problem if you drive it and just compensate.

[3X00-Modified]

well valve bodies can be rebuilt and they use larger valves to replace those worn ones... There are quite a bit of fixes out there for them but its the tools that cost an arm and a leg to do the work, they charge you like $200 for a reamer and they get you for it because you can't get the size of it from any details to buy it elsewhere.