Q: I have a 1998 Chevy K1500 with a 305. Worn TCC

Hi and thank you for submitting a question. Your 1998 Chevy K1500 truck with a 305 has a 4L60E transmission. With what you have described, it sounds like the torque converter clutch (TCC) regulator valve has failed. Usually when this happens, a check engine light appears and when you scan it, it gives off code 1870. What happens is the valve rubs its bore causing leakage and the computer sees this. So the computer demands the pump solenoid to max out the pump pressure. This will cause the TCC to slip and make a hard shift from 1st gear to 2nd gear. Yes, you can buy a kit that will fix this problem. I recommend buying the Sonnax brand spring kit for the TCC valve to solve this issue. You don’t need to remove the transmission to take the valve body off, you can just drop the pan and remove the valve body. Make sure that you do not loose the check balls. Also, when you buy the spring kit, buy a valve body gasket kit. When you remove the valve body, the gaskets will break. You will need to remove the gaskets and replace them with new gaskets. If you replaced the TCC spring with the new kit, depending on how long your transmission has been operated with this condition, you may have to replace the torque converter if you experience phasing in and out of lockup during overdrive. You can purchase the Sonnax brand TCC spring kit at any hot rod and performance place or JCWhitney online. You may be able to get the spring by itself on Amazon, but you will have to wait for shipping days. If you need any extra advice or help with installing the TCC spring kit, consider having an expert automotive technician from YourMechanic come to your home or office to help you.