I just bought a 2001 Chevy Blazer 4.3 auto with 60K on the odo. Its been like 10 years since I owned an auto and never changed the fluid then but after visiting this site for a while I see things different.Anyway Im not sure if the fluids ever been changed but the fluid in it looks good.Still a dark pinkish color and smells like fresh fluid.I plan to go get an aftermarket pan with cooling fins and a drain plug in the next month or so and do a filter and fluid change.My plan is to get a couple cases of a decent dexron3 fluid and drain the pan about every 20k and refill after the first inital pan drop and filter change.Does this sound like the way to go to make this tranny last a long time.Also I planned on changing the thermostat from the stock 195 to a 180 to keep things cooler.
4L60E questions
- Thread starter therealdeal770
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Since you didn't mention previous maintenance history, I would start with a full flush. If that is too much of a hassle(cooler line or machine flu$h), then consider 3-4 back to back pan drain/refills with about 10 minutes of driving in between.
Pan drops or drainplug pulls are just partial drain/refills.
If using a cheap dexronIII or equivalent, I would think that yearly or 10k drain/refill is a great way to make it last.
If you plan on replacing the pan, you should consider a mild valve body shift improver kit.
Unless you are playing with timing or ECU tuning, or if the vehicle has some known cooling issues, I would keep the stock thermostat. If you want to keep things cooler, you need a bigger radiator or improved airflow.
Aftermarket cooling and filtration will do much to make the transmission last longer. And, there are plenty of ATF's that will work better then plain ol' lame Dexron-IIIh.
If 10k plug pulls are too much of an issue, then upgrade to a blend or full synth ATF.
Pan drops or drainplug pulls are just partial drain/refills.
If using a cheap dexronIII or equivalent, I would think that yearly or 10k drain/refill is a great way to make it last.
If you plan on replacing the pan, you should consider a mild valve body shift improver kit.
Unless you are playing with timing or ECU tuning, or if the vehicle has some known cooling issues, I would keep the stock thermostat. If you want to keep things cooler, you need a bigger radiator or improved airflow.
Aftermarket cooling and filtration will do much to make the transmission last longer. And, there are plenty of ATF's that will work better then plain ol' lame Dexron-IIIh.
If 10k plug pulls are too much of an issue, then upgrade to a blend or full synth ATF.
What are your thoughts on doing the flush with the dexron6 fluid and doing a drain and fill once a year which will be about 20k.Will it really throw the computer off going from a 195 to a 180 thermo.
Being a full pseudo synthetic ATF, your DexVI flush and 20k/yearly partial maintenace would be perfect. IMO, DexronVI is a boutique fluid.
You're in relatively warm Georgia. You probably won't annoy the computer as much as someone in Alaska. I don't know Gm's ecu tuning variables. Simply monitor your MPG. If it changes for the worse with the new thermostat, the question is answered.
You're in relatively warm Georgia. You probably won't annoy the computer as much as someone in Alaska. I don't know Gm's ecu tuning variables. Simply monitor your MPG. If it changes for the worse with the new thermostat, the question is answered.
Alright thanks for the info .Ill let ya know how it turns out.
Well I changed the fluid and filter today and the transmission shifts like #@$%!.it seems to not want to shift unless I let all the way off the throttle.After doing some research I hope I just got the wrong filter for it.I didnt know I had the deep pan and the filter I installed is alot thinner than the one that came out. Guess Ill drop the pan in the morning and put the other filter in and see if it fixes the problem.
Well I couldn't sleep so I went out and took it for a long ride(bout 20 miles).Seems that after it gets good and warmed up everythings better.Still not shifting as soon as I would like but better.At about 1/4 throttle its not shifting from 1-2 until about 3200rpm.about 2500 for the 2-3 shift. Anyway Im still gonna drop the pan and put the right filter in it and get 5 more qts of fresh fluid in it at the first sign of light.Oh and the inside of teh tranny looked like new. The pan had a very light film of black residue that I wiped clean.
Most definitely get the right filter in there,hate to see ya
burn up the trans from fluid starvation, i know on my
'99 Z-71 i have the deep pan and it takes a different
filter(longer neck) than a regular 4x4 to reach to the
bottom of the pan.
burn up the trans from fluid starvation, i know on my
'99 Z-71 i have the deep pan and it takes a different
filter(longer neck) than a regular 4x4 to reach to the
bottom of the pan.
You will blow your transmission with the wrong fluid.
Common sense failed you. If the filter was different, it should NOT have been used.
Immediately overfill that transmission with 1 quart of fluid to make up for the incorrect filter.
And, do NOT drive it until you get the correct deep sump filter.
Common sense failed you. If the filter was different, it should NOT have been used.
Immediately overfill that transmission with 1 quart of fluid to make up for the incorrect filter.
And, do NOT drive it until you get the correct deep sump filter.
I fixed it this morning.Shifts a whole lot better now.I didnt know there was 2 different filters but now I do.Theres only like a 1/4 inch different in depth.It had the right fluid in it the whole time. guess that wrong filter makes all the difference.
Good to hear.
your parts guy should have told you there was two.
@your parts guy...
@your parts guy...
After much consideration Ive decided to go with Dex6 in the 4L60E. Just wanna ask a few questions and make sure I get this right at 6 bux a quart.Since I just changed the filter i was planning on taking the output line from the tranny lose and putting it in a 1 gallon container and starting the car .Once its full adding 4 qts through the filler tube. If i repeat this 2 more times that will be a total of 12 qts drained and 12 qts put back.According to the manual the tranny holds 11.2 qts . This should give me nearly 100% dexron6 shouldnt it.Since the dexron6 is so good how long should I leave it in there before I mess with it.Id like to just do this once and extract out around a gallon once a year and refill.One more question. Are all dexron6 fluids about the same as far as the GM brand,Pennzoil and Valvoline.Those are the 3 I know I can get.
Put it in and leave it for a 100,000 miles.
Best to drop the pan and remove the fluid in it.
Determine which line is coming to radiator from the trans, usually the top one but verify. Then, drop pan to remove fluid in pan or else you will be mixing the new with the old and all you will ever have is a mix and IMO not worth the effort. Leave filter alone, replace pan. Direct the line into a 5 gallon pain so there will be less mess. Pour enough into the fill spout to replace what came from the pan. Have a buddy start the engine and then you add new atf as the old it pumped out. Its will be slow, continue to add ATF till you run about 2-4 qts beyond the capacity to be sure the old is all out. Reconnect line and shift trans thru the gears and let run to normal temp. Check and adjust level of atf and check for leaks etc. That should do it. The fluid level is important so follow up and check it to be sure is right on. If overfull, loosen a line at radiator and drain some off.
Takes my trans shop approx. 1 hr to do this on vehicles I send there.
As for the brands of ATF you mentioned, 2 of them I would not ever use. If I had to use anything other than synthetic, I would use the GM branded atf.
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