[jaugustavo]

My 95 deville has thrown this code before, but it went away after awhile. Yesterday, i drove for about 45 min. straight highway driving at about 60 to 70 mph. My Service Engine Soon light came on, and i checked the codes and the P039 Current came up. I know that it has to do with the tranny and the clutch torque converter or something, so what do i do about this?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight.

 

[adalla]

To check the VCC (that's what 039 about) drive at steady 50-55 miles and with your right foot on gas pedal slightly depress the brake pedal with your left foot to activate the brake switch. Watch RPM on the DIC they should jump some 150-200. If they do not jump your VCC does not operate properly.

 

[jaugustavo]

what do i do if it's not operating properly?

 

[Stoneage_Caddy]

keep in mind its normal to see that code as the miles get racked up , yours is a 94-95 4.9 car isnt it ? if so and your around 120-140k id keep in mind that trannys gonna let go ....but till then drive it code and all , to fix the issue right the tranny has to come out , may as well save the money till the whole tranny goes belly up ...

in very basic terms the computer isnt happy with how fast the torque conveter is locking up , could be the conveter lockup clutch , could be a sticking solenoid ,could be low pressure , or a faulty vac modulator or bad vaccum supply to the modulator ....

i guess for now make sure all the vaccum lines are ok , if there cracking or rotted or leaking replace them , thatway the tranny is getting good vaccum supply to decide how much of a load the engine is haveing to deal with and gives it a beatter chance of selecting a senario the engine computer likes

edit: ive noted the trends here on this code , 2 cars have had the tranyn replaced and the torque converter left alone , on these cars the code came back , everyone else (includeing me) opted for a new torque conveter and the code never came back ....most likely there is some issue int he converters as the age , its mere coidncidence and excessive shifting fromt he issue that kills the trannys....like i say im not posisitve but thats how the numbvers are working out

 

[91TexasSeville]

For what it is worth, I never had any warning at all when the transmisson on my 1991 Seville retired. It had 153K miles on the clock and was running strong right up until the end. In order to do the job right, I would have pulled the whole transaxle, and engine in one unit through the bottom. Once apart I could not resist freshining the engine along with the transmission rebuild. Knowing my own weakness was to draw the line, and donate the car to charity.

So yes, Stoneage....the mileage is about right to signal the end of the transmission life. The dreaded P039 is usually a calling card to not drive more than walking distance from home...*LOL

It only makes good sense to replace the torque converter at the time of transmission rebuild. Heck, you are right there with it torn down. Why not? Saving a few bucks by not replacing the torque converter is like rebuttering bread that dropped on the kitchen floor. Not wise, but some do it.

 

[adalla]

For what it is worth, I never had any warning at all when the transmisson on my 1991 Seville retired. It had 153K miles on the clock and was running strong right up until the end. In order to do the job right, I would have pulled the whole transaxle, and engine in one unit through the bottom. Once apart I could not resist freshining the engine along with the transmission rebuild. Knowing my own weakness was to draw the line, and donate the car to charity.
So yes, Stoneage....the mileage is about right to signal the end of the transmission life. The dreaded P039 is usually a calling card to not drive more than walking distance from home...*LOL
It only makes good sense to replace the torque converter at the time of transmission rebuild. Heck, you are right there with it torn down. Why not? Saving a few bucks by not replacing the torque converter is like rebuttering bread that dropped on the kitchen floor. Not wise, but some do it.

Talking transmission... For some 6-7k miles I have beem hearing a noise, which sounds like a bad bearing or something. I can hear it only when the car moves. The lower the speed the more audible the noise (perhaps because road or wind noise do not prevail). There is strong correlation with RPM. No correlation with speed. I can switch to Neutral to increase the RPMs and the pitch of the noise will change too despite the speed did not change. I cannot hear anything while car does not move (in gear or in Park or Neutral no matter). I checked out AC, pulleys, alternator - they seem to be good. The tranny is the suspect. 147.000 miles , no codes. What rotating parts in the tranny could make that kind of noise? Is it possible something is going on in the ngine?

Any input is very welcome! Thanks.

 

[100yardDIGIDASH]

To revive this probably ancient post ive had 2 possibly 3 94 95 4.9 devilles with the 4t60e hydra matic and this code seems to be very common i never had a tranny quit on me (THAT had the code) i did lose the tranny on my first deville at about 300k miles honest to god estimate i serviced it countless times and rhe fluid got nastier and nastier it was blzck and gray before it finally went on the highway with a 70s caddy and a 2000s caddy + mine the oldschool punched it i tried to follow revved up didnt go anywhere and POP lost all my fluid and forward power in a huge ball of smoke lol but the other 2 caddys one early as 95k miles had this code almost everytime i got on it on the highway OVER 70 MPH ONLY i would clear the code and keep driving no worries now my newest has the code and im upset can't tell anythings wrong thats the only code in the car i kept it serviced adult owned 2nd tranny flush at 113k miles code comes on very seldomly but its ugly when it does i belive its electrical something with the brake switch wiring possibly causing it to burn up my torque converter but im a mechanic so im not too scared