Kaamacat

Nothing within 200miles to replace with.... And part of the trip was using the AT4 sitting up nice and high to disconnect and see the sights from "up high". The loaner we got was a small SUV from Enterprise (very small), but still having the AT4 was part of the total experience. (And the trip did not really start yet... next stop was Monument Valley where the real vacation was to start... then onward to Lake Powell/Lone Rock, Yellowstone, BadLands... 100% all in the toilet). So when people asked how the vacation was... "Well, we left on 9/9... arrived in Gallup 9/12... truck broke... got truck back on 9/28... drove 1500miles back home" You just can not replace a year of planning... I'm not celebrating my 65th birthday again for this trip... (unless time travel is possible). And you should only know how many times the "should-a bought a Ford" came up from people with zero political skills. Again. Being 1500 miles from home, stranded, two jobs to think about... and pets with us... Whole different ballgame than if you just died in town.

Most disturbing items were... The dealer (Colonial Buick GMC) where we bought it from, when called to ask for any assistance had zero interest. The tech at the Chevy dealer in Gallup (these guys were great), knew exactly what seal was defective in the center of the trans (exploded diagram) because Chevy told him which it was. So GM knew there was a defect. And to top this off, this trip had been planned literally for 1yr.... lots of $$ lost on items purchased, reservations made at RV sites... Vacation time wiped out. (GM would only recover $750 worth). Had someone offered a new Ford or RAM for trade the AT4 would be history. NOW LET ME SAY... that we have put ~10K on her since and running great (knock on wood). But imagine the feeling when you are so far from home, could have been worse had we continued on... TO THIS DAY the selling dealer NEVER asked how we made out...NEVER. (So when your tech says "Total transmission rebuild" that is a bad day)

dalek77.... any news from your friend on what the dealer says that leak is? From the area, that is below the tq converter and could be a seal more forward, or from the converter to trans. Either way not good to see. (And in all of this, if you were to ask anyone..... even Ram, Ford owner and such, the Allison is supposed to be the #1 transmission most wish they had).

Just got off the phone with the tech that did the rebuild. He said that when he initially called it in to GM, that their Techline knew exactly what the issue was, which has to do with some teflon seals that must be resized to fit...etc. (A known issue). Which now makes more sense since he showed me an exploded pic of the Allison before they dropped it and had an arrow pointing to a specific seal area.... The work order though was showing a total of 9 seals and one line item was a kit. I am thinking the tech that did the rebuild probably did a better job than the initial line builders. This guy, you could just see talking to him, had some excellent work ethics. (In fact everyone we met there was outstanding).

The issue becomes....is there something cast improperly within the trans, or, was it just a bad set of seals from Allison, or even during assembly done poorly. With a vehicle barely 1yr old, paying almost 80K for what should be the best-of-the-best with the Duramax and Allison (not to mention wife and I burning 3wks of vacation for nothing).... Leaves a sour taste BUT we love the AT4. Think about being stranded 1500miles from home..... Would you attempt a long trip again. (Whole different ballgame). Could have turned out much much worse had we continued out of Gallup NM up to Moab and the trans died vs me spotting the leak in Gallup.

Just returned from a 10mth planned lifetime trip that never happened. About 1500m from home (w/only 17K miles) the Allison started a slow trans drip. Ended up needing a pull a rebuild of seals and stranded in a RV Park for 18days. Made it home fine, AT4 ran excellent but honestly unsure of the safety for any future trips. ANY SUGGESTIONS on how I might go about recovering the total loss for the trip. (Planned 10mths, my 65th bday Out-West trip with family that never happened). Honestly shocked it happened to what should be a tank of a vehicle. FYI.... Trailer only weights 6000lbs (which is a nothing for the AT4). Kept about 65mph on average over total highway, so not even a strain at any time. (Note that the technician pointed to a specific seal within the center of the trans, wondering if this is a known item in advance for potential failure. They had to order ALL the seals and seal kits for the unit) But yes, they pulled everything out behind the engine as it sat until it was back alive 18days later..... then the return home. (GM may need to rethink those AT4 ads on tv)

Sadly on the 4th day of a 20d trip, 1500m from home our AT4 developed a trans leak at the tail of the Allison joining the xfer case. Only 17100m and the trans is being dropped in Gallup NM. Fluid is weeping between the case join then forming a slow drip. (10months of planning and a few thousand $$ blown on what we expected to be the last thing to ever cause an issue) This is NOT any of the reported line leaks... pan gasket and such. Our local dealer in Loganville offered zero assistance (eg. where we could take it..... nothing other than sorry to hear).