No more 4th gear

S

swagled

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Google quickly reveals that the 4T65E transmission commonly loses the 4th gear when it gets old. Weak splines on #4. There are YouTubes on this. Better parts can be had today for the transmission internals, than the OEM guts.

I'm leaning toward just leaving it in "3" all the time. I already viewed "D" as an interstate gear. Most of my driving is local or on two lane highways anyway. Currently 216,170 miles on the car.
 
Never heard anything. It is possible the 4th clutch hub dropped out in the past few months, and I had not noticed when. Observing the tach retreat down to idle on downhills with the cruise active, is what tipped me off.

It's fixable, tranny shops are familiar with this 4T65E failure. But I will live with it unless I lose another gear. Car will need tires this spring to pass inspection so my money will go there first.
 
Took the car on a day trip out of town yesterday. I only really notice the missing gear when I'm on the interstate, shuffling along in the right lane as others pass me. 3rd gear is fine for two lane state highways. 70 mph is around 3000 rpm and I think that's too high to go long distances.

Got 25 mpg, and I know from past experience highway travel would be 28-32 depending on conditions with the overdrive working.

I'm also noticing the 1-2 shift is getting a little sticky on cold mornings. So, I make sure to warm the car up good before going anywhere - but I am coming to the conclusion the transmission is getting frail and I'm going to be nursing it along carefully this year.
 
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I'm not too interested in fixing it. I project it costs me $150 a year in "wasted" gas to be missing the overdrive. To fix the 4th gear basically means dis-assembling the transmission to get at that drive hub. I will probably replace the Intrigue in a year or two. Maybe I'll buy a rebuilt trans if the car goes to a friend or relative.

Kind of like the coolant crossover, the weak splines in final gear is a design flaw that will someday appear on all Intrigues. Unfortunately for us, GM began selling 4T65E transmissions with hardened splines in 2003.
 
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