Worn out planetary gear

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etorr_x

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Hi I am taking a crack at rebuilding the 4l60 on my 92 C1500. I have completely disassembled it and was wondering what could have caused the planetary gear to wear like this. Is it normal?
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Schurkey

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Welcome to my life.

Trans overhauled ~20 years ago. Planetaries worn and broken.

Same trans overhauled last summer...Planetaries worn and broken. The shop told me that operating in 4th gear with the converter clutch NOT locked-up stops the lube flow to the geartrain. I haven't researched this to see if it's true. I have some trouble believing it. However, I have run the trans at highway speed with the converter not locked-up--anything over about 74 mph unlocks the converter.

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I am noticing that your planetary looks like a thrust-washer failure, where mine looks like it was overloaded. 20 years ago, the needle bearings on the planet gears were G-O-N-E. This time, the housing broke around the pins for the planet gears.

GM makes a "heavy-duty" planetary assembly with five planet gears instead of four. They're available in the aftermarket, too. I wanted that in my trans this time, but the trans shop didn't stock them, and they also told me that "they aren't any stronger" than the 4-planet assembly. Again, I'm not sure if I believe that...but they didn't have a 5-planet carrier so it got put together with a new 4-planet unit.
 
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Erik the Awful

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According to my 700R4 rebuild book, which is at hand because I'm about to embark on my own rebuild, excessive wear on the planetary is common. Later versions had an oil slinger on top, but it doesn't prevent the wear.

they also told me that "they aren't any stronger" than the 4-planet assembly.
I seriously doubt that. Why else would GM upgrade to the 5-planets in the 4L60Es? It sounds suspiciously like "We want to get your money and get you out the door and it's not worth the markup to wait for this part to come in."

I just checked the price difference between the AC Delco and the Sonnax, and as much as I want Sonnax, I'll probably go with AC Delco. I'm pretty sure I don't want to reuse the stock one.
 

stutaeng

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I think the 5 planetary gears were on the 4L65E (I mean from the factory.) OP, look up Precision Transmission on YT, Richard has a TON of teardowns on these trannies and seems to have a lot of knowledge! He's always saying to look for wear on these items, but can't remember what he says is the cause.

I just recall it's mostly slop or play on the individual planets to look out for. I believe he TIG welds the planets so they don't "walk out." I'm not sure if that's the issue you are having? How does the other side look?...Also, I should mention that regular maintenance plays a big role on the life of transmissions. Hopefully, this is OP's transmission and he knows the history on it.

@Schurkey That looks horrible!
 
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Dravec

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Any automatic that I ever have rebuilt from now on, will be going to Precision. I don't care that I'll have to drive to Amarillo or whatever. They seem to know their **** to a friggin T.

Much more than the shop that rebuilt the 80E in my old K3500. I told them that there were no clutches left in second. They said the pan was too clean and it was definitely the solenoid or whatever. I argued with them, as I had just done a pan and filter change. They installed the shift solenoid, told me it was good to go, and when I picked her up, she ran first to 4k RPM, then jumped to third. I was livid.
 

Racerxxx

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The op planetary looks like a thrust bearing failure as mentioned. I had a similar situation in my 97 Yukon. I bought a video from technical video and the atsm manual and all the appropriate tools and rebuilt mine. Absolutely the most rewarding thing I've done. I did the Beast sun shell, 5 gear plantary update, corvette servos, kevlar band, valve body updates, extra clutches . Thing hits a hard second. Honestly, the parts are so cheap to go and do all these updates while you're in there. I just watched the video on the computer, play and pause all the way thru, air tested all the pistons before moving to the next stage. Trans is flawless. I probably have $700 into parts including a new convertor. That doesn't include the price for the tools, I even got the bench mount to hang it off your work surface. My dad always pressured me to rebuilt an auto, I was always reluctant with the hydraulic voodoo inside. But, it was really easy. I'm sure by looking at the clutches in mine that a trans shop would roll the dice on replacing all the stuff I did. I wanted to know what was all going in. Not saying trans shops are shady, but do you really know what they're putting in?
 

jaywestfall

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The op planetary looks like a thrust bearing failure as mentioned. I had a similar situation in my 97 Yukon. I bought a video from technical video and the atsm manual and all the appropriate tools and rebuilt mine. Absolutely the most rewarding thing I've done. I did the Beast sun shell, 5 gear plantary update, corvette servos, kevlar band, valve body updates, extra clutches . Thing hits a hard second. Honestly, the parts are so cheap to go and do all these updates while you're in there. I just watched the video on the computer, play and pause all the way thru, air tested all the pistons before moving to the next stage. Trans is flawless. I probably have $700 into parts including a new convertor. That doesn't include the price for the tools, I even got the bench mount to hang it off your work surface. My dad always pressured me to rebuilt an auto, I was always reluctant with the hydraulic voodoo inside. But, it was really easy. I'm sure by looking at the clutches in mine that a trans shop would roll the dice on replacing all the stuff I did. I wanted to know what was all going in. Not saying trans shops are shady, but do you really know what they're putting in?

What torque converter did you use? I'm considering two 2400 stall ones on my 4l60E. B&M 70441 and TCI 242938 on my 98 C1500.
 

Racerxxx

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What torque converter did you use? I'm considering two 2400 stall ones on my 4l60E. B&M 70441 and TCI 242938 on my 98 C1500.


Hey just saw this. I used a stock convertor. One of the guys I bought my parts from online set me up. I wasn't looking for any crazy convertor. Motor is all stock. I just put all the HD stuff in cause I am constantly towing a boat, Seadoo's, or my utility trailer.
 

alpinecrick

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GM makes a "heavy-duty" planetary assembly with five planet gears instead of four. They're available in the aftermarket, too. I wanted that in my trans this time, but the trans shop didn't stock them, and they also told me that "they aren't any stronger" than the 4-planet assembly. Again, I'm not sure if I believe that...but they didn't have a 5-planet carrier so it got put together with a new 4-planet unit.

I seriously doubt that. Why else would GM upgrade to the 5-planets in the 4L60Es? It sounds suspiciously like "We want to get your money and get you out the door and it's not worth the markup to wait for this part to come in."

I just checked the price difference between the AC Delco and the Sonnax, and as much as I want Sonnax, I'll probably go with AC Delco. I'm pretty sure I don't want to reuse the stock one.

I have been told the same thing about the 5 gear planetary. I was also told that it's better to go with a upgraded 4 gear than the factory 5 gear.
 
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