Its the return of the freakin SES light....

[firebird99]

Check this out. This has happened several times now. Every once in a while my SES light comes on and when I take it to Autozone they give me the same code reading. They say it's code 1870 and that it is to the transfer case for a 4x4 transmission. The last Autozone guy said there must be a problem from the factory and he erased the code(so I wouldnt have the annoying light on). Other times it comes on and then it goes away after a while. Well this time they said they couldnt erase it because it was against policy. They said the last guy shouldnt of done it. They told me to call the dealer so I did and of course they said it was probably a major problem in my transmission and I needed to take it in. [img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img] The dealer said it meant my tranny was slipping, however, my car is running fine. I think they just wanna stick it to me. I just want to know if anyone else is having this problem? The Autozone guy said another guy has an automatic Firehawk and he said he is having the same problem. Any help on how I could stop this annoying problem? :mad:

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

General Motors P1870 Transmission Component Slipping

sounds like gm knows what they are talking about..

BTW that is off of autotaps websites dtc search
I have found that they are pretty accurate..

~Billy

[96v6bird]

i had that same code
and 1k later it was finally fixed... turns out the valvebody was worn so that sometimes overdrive would engage late or wouldnt engage at all..so since you've said that its been comming on and off for a while...... i suggest you just go have your tranny rebuilt because they probably will find parts of stuff in your fluid pan of the tranny (mine was on for 2 weeks and not being driven, it was just drove 80 miles because i was awayfrom home at the time and had to nurse it home).... but hey its an excuse to have it rebuilt to race specs!

they fixed it by installing a shift kit..

sorry for the long post...

[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: 96v6bird ]</p>

[firebird99]

Well guess what? I'm driving home today and just like that, the SES light turns off. What I'm wondering is if the problem is solved or if it's just gonna get worse. A friend told me if I get the tranny rebuilt I should get 410's? What else could I do to have it rebuilt to race specs? Is it gonna be costly? Also if I ignore it do you guys think my tranny is gonna give out? Thanks for the help.

[BillyCobin]

There has been a lot of discussion on this. You may not need a rebuild, and if there is damage, it could be to any number of components.

First thing is to pull the pan and check for shavings/friction material in the pan. You might want to have a rebuild shop do it, so that if there is something in there, they will be able to identify it. Just changing the fluid/filter might solve your problem, for around 80 bucks if a shop does it.

Is it shifting hard? If it is, then it is probably a problem with the throttle body. A shop will charge around 350+parts to rebuild that. You could ask them to put in a shift kit as an upgrade if you wanted.

The lockup clutch in your torque converter could be slipping. Does the code come on when you are cruising at highway speed, then come off after you have been driving around town? Could be a sign that your TCC is going out. That would run somewhere around 400+torque converter+misc parts . You could upgrade the torque converter to a performance one. They will cost anywhere between 400-1000 bucks.

Does it come on after you have been beating on it for a while? Doing some hard 3rd gear pulls? The friction material on the clutch packs (inside the tranny) could be burnt up. If this is the problem your fluid will be a dark color, and will smell. Plus there will probably be some of the material in your oil pan. This require a full rebuild, somewhere between 1000-1600. You will have to talk to the transmission shop about upgrades to the internals, there are many, but too much to get into here.

A lot of people have had this problem, do a search in the drivetrain section for 1780.

Good luck.

[Wolfy]

go and talk with a guy that knows bout trannies, if it is driving fine then i would say it is something small and minor. when i had my trango and corvette servo installed, he also put in a small cyinoid type thing, now this is what controls the lock up on the torque converter. he said that gm screwed up when they put this type of one in, and it will actually wear out your tranny faster then the one he put in. he knows what he is doing, and it made sense what he said.
i would suggest you taking it to a guy that you know is good and talking with him, i would have the tranny serviced, with new fluid and filter, that never hurts, and when they do that he will be able to tell you if there is anything else wrong with your tranny.

good luck

[JVT007]

i had it.. and its a GM problem most reputable mechanics know about it.

I walked in to a transmission shop.. he said is that your camaro... are you getting p1870..

apprently from what he told me that the problem was so bad that GM made a specific tool for it or something...

something sticking... he just rebuit it and replaced something..

I didn't care it was under carmax warrenty.

[strobhen]

Had it too, fixed under GM warranty

Test for slippage:
Speed up to 40 mph, coast down to 25'ish
Slam the gas
Rpms should jump, but the downshift should be fairly smooth
If your slipping, its going to bang rather hard.