Thread: 4T65E Hard Shift-Solution

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Anyone thinking the average "we work on every transmission out there" shop is an expert on any transmission, that's mistake number one. Once you are in the 4T65E game long enough and learn enough, there are true experts. Guys that live these POS transmissions and have helped sonnax and transgo develop new parts over the years.

Now..if you haven't spent hours learning from these people etc and still realize you don't know everything, please get off the soap box.

Oh, right. Those 4T65E specialists. Every town has one. They're on every street corner. Or wait? Is that 3 people in the entire U.S.? The fact that there is a "4T65E game" and that one has to be in long enough is plenty to tell anyone that this transmission's problems are yet another GM failure that it refuses to take responsibility for. Furthermore, it is another reason that this shift kit thread is an invaluable resource to regular schmucks who can't find one of the 3 4T65E experts who are happy to sell them $4000 worth of service to fix an issue that they can elinate themselves for $100 + a couple of hours on their backs. Do you think the average driver gives a flying F as to whether the precise and proper original engineering principles are still at work on the inside?

Look - I get that from the "expert" perspective the long shift times that result in the P1811 and line pressuring maxing comes from underlying issueS that the partial install of the shift kit doesn't address. But its actually really and incredibly freaking obvious that the shift kit bits that you can install through the pan compensate for whatever those underlying issues are.

My soap box was specifically built in response to the sudden appearance of soap boxes. So I'll tell you what - you be the pot and I'll be kettle.

My father was born with 2 incredibly rare heart defects. He wasn't supposed to live past 20. He wasn't supposed to play any sports or do anything nuts or whatever. Oddly enough, the "experts" eventually figured out that one defect actually compensated for the other. He's coming up on 70 and spent a good portion of his younger life racing motorcycles. According to the "experts" he's "broken" - still not "right." According to real, practical, life? Ummmmm.....sure he could undergo massive and traumatic open heart surgery for 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars. For what? To be no different from when he started? And I could have spent $4000 for a transmission rebuild to have the same practical result as the $100 of shift kit and fluid & filter?

Tell you what. Do an experiment. Generate a random list of 1s & 2s. The internet, I'm sure, has plenty of places to do it. For the next 100 4T65Es that come into your shop with this issue (since I'm assuming you have one or you wouldn't be on the soap box), follow the list. 1 = do whatever you do. 2 = drop the pan, install accumulator kit / fluid / filter. Now track them for comebacks and later issues. Report back when you're done.

Originally Posted by Bronco Boy

I'm confused as to who has the tallest soapbox.

Good to hear your dad's natural band-aid is holding up.

I had a great buzz going for that one and was having a great time with it. I think diatribes like that are only born of great buzzes. Nothing like a vigorous exchange of ideas as far as I'm concerned!