NEED HELP 06 Trailblazer revving in 3rd gear

Tdiggs

Original poster
Member
Mar 27, 2017
4
Ct.
Sorrry to visit a much talked about problem. Drove to my freinds house ,had to park on side of the road. We still have some ice and snow here,so had to put into 4H to park(got stuck pulling in). ,moved selector back to 2. Left that night no problems. The next morning,when shifting from 2 to 3 in Drive ,3rd gear just revs,feels like its in meutral. Could this be related ? Pulled the pan,fluid did smell burnt,no metal chunks,justa little fine dust on the magnet. Changed the filter ,and both shift solenoids with no change. Was reading another post about the seperator plate possibly being bad? Question are all seperator plates created equal? I noticed on a popular auto part website,that 1 was sold for 11.00,and another for around 45.00,with no description ,or spec sheet on either of them. Any help would be appreciated ,thanks. This is a completely stock vehicle,I bought it at 81,000,now at 125,000,and im sure this is the first time the pan has been dropped. Replaced trans fer case fluid at 85,000 Thanks
 
Last edited:

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
Likely a check ball punched through the plate, had that happen to me. Only problem now is revving the engine, trying to move the vehicle when the gear wasn't fully engaged.....could be damage already done.

I would pull the pan, then the valve body and replace the plate with a dealer plate. Check the accumulator pistons while you're in there.
 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
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Jul 22, 2015
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If you find the separator plate intact, I'll put my money on a burnt 3rd clutch, burnt 2-4 band, or perhaps both. The fact that you mention that the fluid *did* smell burnt, plus the mileage with what you're sure is factory fill, leads me to that conclusion.

Even if you find a checkball hasn't punched through, it would still be a good idea to put a new plate in, especially if you're planning on holding on to the vehicle. I think the 'new' dealer plates are hardened like the good aftermarket ones are - so sourcing it through a dealer is good in that respect - it's easy to pick the wrong plate on your own. Make sure you get new gaskets for the plate, too (again, dealer is good to use - just give them your VIN and they'll (hopefully!) get you the right parts.

You can drive in '2' (per the dash indicator), and you shouldn't get that rev / no movement condition - it'll rev higher staying in 2nd, but at least 2nd will remain engaged, which isn't happening for you in 3rd, currently.

If you need to replace the trans - figure $800 or so for a rebuilt / used, and if you want yours rebuilt w/ the weak points addressed (sunshell, HD 3rd clutches, improved 2-4 band, etc.,) you're in the $1800-2500 area.

Because yours is an '06, it has a separate trans ctrl module (TCM), so you'll need to replace with an '05-up 4L60e. '04 and older can use pretty much any 4L60e '99-04.

Good luck, and let us know the outcome!
 

Tdiggs

Original poster
Member
Mar 27, 2017
4
Ct.
If you find the separator plate intact, I'll put my money on a burnt 3rd clutch, burnt 2-4 band, or perhaps both. The fact that you mention that the fluid *did* smell burnt, plus the mileage with what you're sure is factory fill, leads me to that conclusion.

Even if you find a checkball hasn't punched through, it would still be a good idea to put a new plate in, especially if you're planning on holding on to the vehicle. I think the 'new' dealer plates are hardened like the good aftermarket ones are - so sourcing it through a dealer is good in that respect - it's easy to pick the wrong plate on your own. Make sure you get new gaskets for the plate, too (again, dealer is good to use - just give them your VIN and they'll (hopefully!) get you the right parts.

You can drive in '2' (per the dash indicator), and you shouldn't get that rev / no movement condition - it'll rev higher staying in 2nd, but at least 2nd will remain engaged, which isn't happening for you in 3rd, currently.

If you need to replace the trans - figure $800 or so for a rebuilt / used, and if you want yours rebuilt w/ the weak points addressed (sunshell, HD 3rd clutches, improved 2-4 band, etc.,) you're in the $1800-2500 area.

Because yours is an '06, it has a separate trans ctrl module (TCM), so you'll need to replace with an '05-up 4L60e. '04 and older can use pretty much any 4L60e '99-04.

Good luck, and let us know the outcome!
Thanks guys waiting on parts. Should I replace all acumulator pistons ??
 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
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Jul 22, 2015
2,724
If you're going to remove the valve body, yes. Especially any that are made of plastic. In mine, the fwd accumulator and the 4th accumulator were plastic (although not broken /worn). The 1-2 accumulator was metal. I would guess all 3 might be plastic in an '06.

Sonnax makes pinless accumulators, if you want to go all-out. Many of us have installed the CTPerformance kits, which include them.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
When lowering the valve body, make note of how the shift lever is attached and the piston that is attached slides very easy and can be tricky to get back in.

One check ball will be on top of the plate, held in with vaseline upon reassembly

The new plate from the dealer will already have the gaskets attached to the plate along with the small filters.

If you have a bad plate, or a bad accumulator piston, there may be a small chance it will work....I would assume the worst and hope for the best.

Have you tried to move from a stop with the trans in (2) ?
 

Tdiggs

Original poster
Member
Mar 27, 2017
4
Ct.
When lowering the valve body, make note of how the shift lever is attached and the piston that is attached slides very easy and can be tricky to get back in.

One check ball will be on top of the plate, held in with vaseline upon reassembly

The new plate from the dealer will already have the gaskets attached to the plate along with the small filters.

If you have a bad plate, or a bad accumulator piston, there may be a small chance it will work....I would assume the worst and hope for the best.

Have you tried to move from a stop with the trans in (2) ?
Ok,so installed a new plate ,gaskets and accummulator valves. Now it wont shift into D. Shifts int R,and N. Any thoughts ?? Thanks
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
Did you get the check balls in the correct location?

One check ball goes in above the seperator plate, held in with vaseline.

I can't link any pics right now, but will tonight.
 

Tdiggs

Original poster
Member
Mar 27, 2017
4
Ct.
So I figuerd out why it wouldnt shift into drive,I hooked the manual shift linkage up wrong. . So I corrected that,as I always over buy parts when i think I mite screw something up. So pull apart again .clean,new gaskets ,1am,and it still revs in third gear. Obviously the problem lies deeper than expected. Thanks Yes check balls are all proper.
 

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