Hey guys. Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a mechanic in the south and I just started to buy and sell cars to keep my nut covered. I picked up a 2011 Chevy Impala 3.5l with the 4T65E transmission. Red and shiney with dark dark tint. I answered the ad and met them at walmart where the car had blown it'* input shaft seal on the transmission. We started it up so I could at least hear the motor run and there was this loud whining noise coming from the bell housing and it was leaking a little, not blown.

So I offered him 800 and got the title and dolly'd it home. I figured, no big deal, replace the torque converter seal, bushing, and i'm home free on this one. Wwhen I got it home, it did take about 4 quarts to get anywhere near the hashmarks and I drove it down the driveway but never got out of 2nd gear. It took off good and like the title says. The whine went away when I put it in a moving gear.

The transmission oil pan was clean, just the normal buildup on the magnet.
The bushing on the torque converter was destroyed, (It'* the internal type of bushing that is pressed into the neck of the TC. But that seems to be the only worn bushing)

Now this whine noise is different than a normal TC whine where as it stops the second the car is rolling. I forgot to check if it followed the RPM'*. I'm pretty sure it did though.

So I did some reading and found a Technical Service Bulletin that states my exact symptoms and even has my year and model car listed as affected. It pointed me to the Drive Sprocket Support Bearing needing replaced. So I ordered one and studied for a few days on the transmission and man..... The 4t65e transmission has got sketchy history to it. And it seemed to become an even less dependabe contraption as the years went on. And with the 3.5l engine, my only other option is to get a 5 speed trans and all the related systems and hardware out of a chevy cavalier and bolt it up.

I checked the valve body and every single valve moves sooo freely. I don't think i've ever seen that before. They had a damn fine rebuilder. I think the mark was missed on the install of the torque converter to the flywheel.

ok, I ordered the drive sprocket support bearing, torque converter bushing and seal. axle shaft seals, a filter,

And here are some pics for your clicks. The close up one that looks like an air matress is the roller bearing in question. It seems to have what looks like rust or oxidation all over the pins. Maybe this car sat for a long time broken down before it got this rebuild.

Should I buy a torque converter? I really don't want to buy one unless I gotta? I still don't know how it drives because I didn't want to have whatever was making that noise come apart and destroy any chance of salvaging it. The fluid was a little dark, but dextron Vi is already dark out of the bottle.


Here she is where I towed her up this hill so I could coast her backwards into the bay.

Those rollers are bad. I'd bet it ran around low a lot before they finally parked it.

How do you know it has been rebuilt?

How many miles on the car?

How many miles on the rebuild?

That bearing is definitely bad and that is wear that looks like rust.
I'd replace the converter.

i assume it'* been rebuilt because it'* at 170,000 miles and the 3rd and input clutch packs have 1/10th of an iinch of clearance. I didn't tear it down to look at the 2nd clutches. Also, I inspected all the valve body components and nothing has a single scratch on it. She said she'* been driving it for a year.

And honestly, i'd love to replace the torque converter now. But I can't find one for under 350 bucks. Unless it'* from ebay from god knows who rebuilt by god knows who. The fluid is pretty clean and that bearing seems like the only one affected, But, the fluid may be good and clean because the torque converter hub seal has been leaking for a year now. I have no choice but to chance it. I'm down to a few hundred bucks and the end of the month is right around the corner.

Its crunch time.

I just want to get it up and running so I can sell my other car which I believe will bring me a better price than this one.

Then my plan is to collect the pieces for a 5sp swap. I already have a buyer for it after the swap. Nobody wants these malibus, I see them on marketplace and cargurus listed for 9 weeks on a fully functional 2011 vehicle with 65,000 miles. And the transmissions are so damn expensive, a used one is 1,100 from car-parts. Everyone that has ever owned one loves them, but hates them just the same.

I personally wasn't aware that the 4T6x was sketchy in later years. They actually got pretty reliable once they completely changed from the 4T60 to the 4T65. Yes, they do have problems from time to time, but that'* across an enormous install base. 170,000 miles is fairly common for a 4T65 that hasn't been badly abused. Making the assumption that is has been rebuilt might have you trying to fix a 170,000-mile transmission that you think has a lot less miles on it.

Something isn't adding up here though: How did these rollers get this one-sided damage while being kept lubricated? Usually if they run dry many many times, they'll eat themselves up all the way around and take the races with them. This makes me think things like maybe the transaxle has had water in it and sat still for a long time.

I remember now why I felt it'* been rebuilt. The torque converter is a precision reman dated 2018. And yeah, it looked like rust putting on those rollers to me too.

​​​​​​Some of My parts are coming today. I'll definitely keep y'all updated either way. I think it'll roll just fine with my shotty repair job. Hell, it worked just fine before taking it out, it was just hemoriging that expensive dex vi and whining. I feel it'll be worth the effort.

It'* like anything else. Everyone only talks about the bad. Reading around on this forum and a few others, I'm feeling better about my purchase. The car has a lot of positive aspects. I really can't wait to drive it. Every morning I look at it and like it a little more.

And my thoughts as well on the pitting on the rollers. It looked like rust to me also. I checked the other needle bearing and the rollers are as smooth as the one I just bought. I got all my parts in except for the TC hub bushing.

I know i'm gonna be sorry for not rebuilding the trans and buying a torque converter, but.... money...

I found it fairly easy to pull the transmission and the assembly inside is not too complex if a man makes sure to reference his service material at each step. This is gonna be my second transmission to tear into further than the valve body. the other one I rebuilt was a 4l60e and it turned out great.

I remember when I did my first 4T60-e out of my 95 Bonneville. Then I did the 4L60-e out of my s10 because of the reverse sun gear. Wont do that again.

I picked up a box of gloves and I won't touch the transmission without it. That trans fluid is so hard on the hands.

Weird, I never had an issue with that. Though I still wear gloves on projects like that. Makes it easy to just rip a glove off if you need a clean hand/finger for something.