Frustrated! trans well maintained, still grenaded

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Tyson

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This is more a vent post than anything else.

I've pampered my 2002 GMC Sierra 2500, 6.0 with 4L80 trans with trans drain and fills every 15k miles.

Yesterday with 148k on the clock, the trans grenaded.

Climbing a steep, rocky road the trans temperature spiked to 220, followed by grinding and vehicle shaking. I stopped and let it cool, and started it up again and it engaged enough to get turned around and limp 20 miles back to town with a couple cooling stops involved.

The worst inconvenience is IT'S HUNTING SEASON! I need that truck to keep my sanity.

I'm hoping to hear from the repair shop this morning what the damage to the wallet is and the timeline.

I hope to get back on the mountain quickly.

Piece of crap GM product. In spite of excellent maintenance and no heavy towing, it still falls apart. I expected more than 148k
 
It sucks when you go overboard to take care of a car and it lets you down. I feel your pain....

What ATF did you use for your 15K drain and fills?
 
Sorry to hear, but it does happen even with good maintenance as you have found out! My F150 recently blew the motor with only 103K well-maintained miles. I hear ya!.
 
OP, that would tick me off too. I too maintain all my vehicles to a very high standard, and to lose a trans after pampering it with 15K drains and refills would twist my knickers.

Scott
 
I had a 2002 V6 Ford Escape Transmission grenade at 45,000 miles, and the transmission had been through 3 drain and fill cycles (2x each cycle).
Feel your pain....
 
Sorry to hear.

No chance it sprung a leak? But with a sudden temp spike makes me thing something broke--small or large, it sounds like a teardown is on order.

Wild guess here, but I bet it could be on the road in a week or two, as long as you are ok with a rebuild/reman.
 
Tire size? Weight of vehicle? Typical use?

Big tires, heavy accessories, hard use all contribute to wear and tear. Sometimes things just let loose for no reason and no fault of your own. Without having it torn into to see what failed there's no way of telling what went wrong. Happens with all vehicles and isn't any more or less common with any given brand. That drivetrain combination has been in in production without many changes since 2000, it's a pretty reliable combination for the vast majority of people who own them. Fortunately that transmission is very common and relatively inexpensive to rebuild or find a good used unit. Should be the same transmission from 2000 to 2007 when they went to the 6 speed.
 
Frustrating. I just follow the car maker recommendations for changes and fluids and it worked out even with Honda V6/5 speed auto people think are fragile (200k).


Upside is replacing it on Truck less labor intensive vs a FWD platform.
 
ATF fluid for the last 10 years or so has been Dexron VI. The first couple years was the preceding fluid.

Stock configuration, no lifts or modifications. LT245 75 16 tires for the first 10 years. The last 8 years, tires were upsized to LT265/75/16.

It's pulled heavy twice in it's life. 12kish weight trailer, for two hour round trips.

The rest of it's life it's been my daily driver to work, many long distance road trips, run kids around, in the fall I hunt it hard driving long distances and steep/rough roads. I do pull an ATV in a 5x10 trailer, less than 2.5k weight.

Engine oil is changed every 5k, trans every 15k, diffs and transfer every 50k, fuel filter every year, blah, blah, blah.

I'm anxiously waiting the repair estimate and warranty from the shop. I'll likely repair it if the timeline is quick.

If not quick, I may just shoot it and go buy a different horse.
 
Excellent maintenance will make a component last as long as is can . It does not prevent parts from breaking or abnormally wear from improper heat treating assembly or a minimal design.etc.
 
Originally Posted by Tyson
ATF fluid for the last 10 years or so has been Dexron VI. The first couple years was the preceding fluid.

That's the hidden 'trouble' of keeping to the OEM's recommended viscosity grade or a grade or two lower .
Oh yes, I hear it clear and loud ,OEM's engineer/accountant knows best.
 
Last edited:
Bites the big one indeed, but at least you know the failure wasn't due to lack of maintenance. The 4L80 tends to be a great AT, but like anything mechanical, you never know.
 
Originally Posted by zeng
That's the hidden 'trouble' of keeping to the OEM's recommended viscosity grade or a grade or two lower .
Oh yes, I hear it clear and loud ,OEM's engineer/accountant knows best.

What clued you in that the fluid was the cause of the failure?

Talk about making stuff up.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by zeng
That's the hidden 'trouble' of keeping to the OEM's recommended viscosity grade or a grade or two lower .
Oh yes, I hear it clear and loud ,OEM's engineer/accountant knows best.

What clued you in that the fluid was the cause of the failure?

Talk about making stuff up.

+1

For all we know it could have been something simple that needs r&r.
At this point it's anyone's guess as to what was the cause.

The only thing I do know for a fact is regardless of maintenance, the more you use something the more you run the risk of failure.

Hopefully OP will keep us updated.
 
In part, it can be the luck of the draw. There are probably a bunch of owners who performed minimal tranny fluid changes on similar vehicles that got many more miles than this one did. More often is obviously better than less often for fluid changes, but it is not the only factor.
 
Quote
in the fall I hunt it hard driving long distances and steep/rough roads. I do pull an ATV in a 5x10 trailer, less than 2.5k weight.


This sounds like 17 years of hard use. Good maintenance hopefully extends life but doesn't erase honest wear. Still stinks to possibly lose a major component in hunting season. Hope you get rolling again quickly.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Quote
in the fall I hunt it hard driving long distances and steep/rough roads. I do pull an ATV in a 5x10 trailer, less than 2.5k weight.


This sounds like 17 years of hard use. Good maintenance hopefully extends life but doesn't erase honest wear. Still stinks to possibly lose a major component in hunting season. Hope you get rolling again quickly.



What about the filter? No mention of filter change?

It wasn't that long ago when 150k was about all you could expect from an AT. The 4 spd gen 1 tundras from around that time were known for eating OD, especially if there was towing involved in OD, with 150k seen by many as about the max they could make it. Plenty of folks talk like the 7-8-9 speed transmissions are doomed to shorter lifespans due to complexity today...

OTOH I don't think this qualifies for hard use, especially in a 3/4 ton. Except for the bout with the 12k lb trailer (2 times) the rest is all within the specs of a minivan, SUV, or easily a half-ton. He's driving a 3/4 ton truck. Speculation - manufacturing flaw, metallurgy defect, or simply some rubber bits let go, pressures dropped, and unplanned wear began and loaded something up with debris leading to failure... there's a lot that can happen in 17 years!

OP - good luck - IDK what rates are but I'd hate to swing at having to replace a 3/4 ton transmission.
 
Does this particular truck come with a "tow package" that includes an additional trans cooler? A slow crawl up rocks can definitely stress a transmission because you may not be getting enough airflow through the radiator.
 
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