A few second delay into reverse on a 93 Chevy 1500

[mrbreezeet1]

Buddy of mine has a 93 1500 and has a few seconds delay into reverse. Anything we could look at, reverse servo pistons etc?
Only just turned 100,000 miles. Not surer of the service history.
Thanks!

 

[dishdude]

Pretty normal on these to have a delay going into reverse, it's usually not a few seconds but sure feels like it.

 

[billt460]

My mother had an older Mercury that in cold weather, (under 40 F), could take a minute or more before it went into drive. Once it warmed up it was fine. She just lived with it until she got rid of it.

 

[TheLastWord]

Start with the basics: Proper atf level?

4L60E?

 

[Lubener]

Buddy of mine has a 93 1500 and has a few seconds delay into reverse. Anything we could look at, reverse servo pistons etc?
Only just turned 100,000 miles. Not surer of the service history.
Thanks!

Only 100k but it's 30 years old! Hydraulic seals harden up, valve body could be dirty, who knows on an old transmission.

He could do a pan drop, fluid and filter change. Maybe the filter is loaded up. I always thought reverse issues are the first to present themselves when hydraulic pressures are not right.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I would change the fluid and if that doesn't fix it just keep driving it until it needs a rebuild or replacement.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd make sure the fluid level is full. I remember this happening to an old Ford I got shortly before graduating HS. I took it into shop class dropped the pan and found the filter was pretty much clogged with clutch material. It was never serviced in over 100K miles. lol Changing the fluid and filter fixed it.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

OK I'll have him do a pan drop and filter change. I'm pretty sure it's a 4L60E.
Would the addition of Lubegard Red along with the filter & fluid change do any good in this case?

 

[mrbreezeet1]

What about an up graded boost valve I have read something about?

 

[Old fart]

Most likely the servo. Those are very week transmissions, and anything short of going into it and fixing the problem is just tossing money away. My suggestion is to drive it till it quits and then overhaul it. If you just go into it and fix the problem, you will still have all of the wear on all of the other parts. On good tough transmissions like a old turbo 400 you could most times just fix the problem and get a lot more miles out of it. If you seen the difference in the clutches in your buddies transmission and a 400, you would fall over. Ain’t even close.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Clinebarger will have your best answer.

My 2001 Silverado was sluggish between R, N, and D since I bought it new. I almost immediately got a Hypertech programmer and used the shift firmness setting to make it more responsive. In your friend's case, the lag is probably aggravated by age and wear, though.

My previous vehicle was a 1987 Caprice ex-sheriff's car that had a second act with a crop insurance adjuster. I can't remember how it shifted originally, but I bought it at 150,000 miles and immediately put in a B&M Transpak to firm up the 700R4. I think Transgo now has kits that are more comprehensive, and ones that target problems with the original design.

 

[ripcord]

OK I'll have him do a pan drop and filter change. I'm pretty sure it's a 4L60E.
Would the addition of Lubegard Red along with the filter & fluid change do any good in this case?

The honest answer is Lubegard won't hurt anything but don't expect any miracles. It's good stuff and has esters that can help clean sticky valve body parts and soften hard seals, but it does nothing to fix worn parts.

 

[paulo57509]

It's been a while, memory has faded; the only servo in the 700r4/4L60/4L60E applies the 2-4 band. It also serves as an accumulator for 3rd gear.

I'm thinking hydraulic leakage delaying the apply of the reverse input or lo/rev clutches

 

[mrbreezeet1]

OK Thanks Guys! I'll let him know. I don't talk to him too often though!

 

[MSCH]

OK Thanks Guys! I'll let him know. I don't talk to him too often though!

I had a 93 GMC 1500... the older it got the longer reverse took to engage after it sat overnight.
by the time it got to 275k miles on original tranny sometimes it would take 15 or 20 seconds, but it would still go onto reverse , just had to be patient.

at one point in its life it wouldn't go back into 1st gear when it got hot after a couple hours of driving, but that involved cleaning the solenoids from an accumulation of powdered metal on the solenoids.

hard shift into second was cured by installing a new accumulator piston.

I suspect this truck is still running, as beat up as it was.. it was one of the better vehicles I ever owned.