1992 Chevy 1500 Pick Up Automatic Transmission Problem

Reader Question I have a 1992 Chevy C1500 2wd with a 4.3 liter V6 (Automatic). I recently (6 weeks ago) had my Transmission replaced. 5 weeks later the truck would not go in Reverse and it seemed as if it was in a higher gear when I started after stopping. I took it back to the mechanic and he looked at it and told me there was a piece of dirt in the transmission that jammed it up and would not allow it to go into reverse and also made it stick in 3rd gear.

He said he fixed the problem. 1 week later the truck is now doing the exact same thing again and the mechanic refuses to do anymore work to the transmission. My problem is that I don’t know if his diagnostic of the problem was correct or if I have a different problem. (FYI When the truck is put down into 1st or 2nd if will run in those gears and when put into reverse the drive shaft does not look to be engaging). Can you offer any insight as to what the problem may be?

Thanks,

TJS

Hi there TJS,

I sent your email to a GM Master transmission rebuilder, and this is his reply.

Well, it sounds to me that the rebuilder might have missed something. From the e-mail, it sounds as though there are two separate problems. Starting out in a higher gear could be either mechanical or electrical. The reverse problem is going to me mechanical, either in the reverse input clutch or in the L/R (Low/Reverse) clutch assy. Its important that this trans gets the proper troubleshooting before it is pulled again for repair.

While the forward problem could be something easily repaired without removal of the trans, it is very unlikely that the reverse problem will be as easy. While reverse problems are amongst the easiest to troubleshoot, unless there is a linkage problem, a reverse failure cannot be repaired without removal and disassembly of the trans. I would have the computer scanned first for codes.

Blessings,

Austin C. Davis