Lost a $200 transmission rebuild because of one missing snap ring

I was putting together a 4L60E in my garage in Tulsa last Saturday. Everything was going smooth until I went to test the forward clutch pack. The damn thing wouldn't hold pressure at all. I tore it back apart and found the snap ring for the piston was sitting on my workbench. I forgot to install it before I buttoned everything up. Cost me 4 extra hours of labor and a new gasket set. Anyone else ever miss a tiny part and have to redo a whole assembly?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlies379d ago

Read somewhere snap rings cause like half of trans rebuild fails.

erickelly9d agoMost Upvoted

Nah I gotta push back on that a bit @charlies37. Snap rings are definitely a weak point but I wouldn't say half the rebuilds die from them. Most of the time it's install error or using a cheap ring that wasn't meant for that trans. If you take your time and use the right tool to seat them properly they hold up fine for years. The real killer in rebuilds is usually bad cleaning leaving metal grit inside or not setting clearances right. Snap rings are just the scapegoat cause they're the last thing you see before the cover goes on lol.

henryt189d ago

@erickelly what about the snap ring groove wear on the case itself though