Ok Guys Figure Out This One For Me

z7107sierra · June 6, 2010

I'll try to explain this as best as I can..

My Girlfriends father bought a 2008 Chevrolet 2500HD LTZ 4x4 crewcab shortbed..Very good looking truck..He had the dealership special order the truck for him back in early 08 or late 07 I beleive? anyway..Its a 6.0 Gas with the Gm 6speed..Not the allison..

He told them @ the dealership he wanted the Allison 6speed same as whats in the deisel..I dont think you can get a 6.0 with that transmission..but anyway thats what he ordered & its on paper & he actaully paid the extra money for it...Still I dont think its even possible but thats besides the point..The Dealership placed the Order...Anyway the truck was delivered & he brought it home & found out that it in fact did not have the Allison.."even though he was charged for it" The Dealership basicly just gave him a bunch of excuses & he was never given a refund or another truck...

Ok this is where I'm stumped...The 6speed Gm trans is a good transmission..I'd pick the Allison over it but I wouldnt run away from one..Anyway he has an 8foot plow that he plows with..This is where things got interesting.. He always used to complain & call the truck a "pos" because the transmission "Sticks" or gets "bound up" in reverse...I never really thought much of it but then I started to & I ask does it only bother the most while your plowing? Turns out it does.... but then he got complaining about how the Transmission is so messed up it barely spins its tires even on gravel..

Getting any Ideas yet? The Stabilitrack & Traction control.......Makes sense doesnt it? Try plowing on snow & ice & pushing snow into a snowbank then back up..Trucks almost always spin alittle bit even in 4x4..The Traction control kicking in was making him think the Transmission was "sticking"..Because he had the pedal to the floor & the tires barely turned...He thought it was bound up & it wouldnt really let the motor rev up either...He isnt at all used to all of the new computers on Trucks today..

So anyway I climbed into his pickup to show him the butten to push to turn the Traction control & the Stabilitrack off....

He doesnt have any buttons below the Heater controls...Just one for the power adjustable pedals...Thats it...

Why would Gm put a 2500HD together without that button? Every other new body style 2500HD 07 & up that I've seen have that button..

Can he buy the button & Plug it in?

Anyone else here buy a Truck that didnt come with a disable button??? Did the Factory screw up building the Truck or what??!

MS3DALE · June 6, 2010

The HD's did not have Stabilitrak/Traction control until '09....and even then only certain models do. You want to look for RPO code "JL4" on the SPID label in the glovebox.

And your correct...You cannot get the Allison with the 6.0,and he probably was not charged for it,although he might think he was (If its not on the window sticker he should not have been charged for it)

MS3DALE · June 6, 2010

If you post the last 8 digits of his VIN,I can run the build sheet and invoice to make sure the Allison is not on the invoice,and that he does not have the JL4 code.

I also moved this to the HD section....in case any of the guys here have had the same issue.

C. Charles Hahn · June 6, 2010

The HD's did not have Stabilitrak/Traction control until '09....and even then only certain models do. You want to look for RPO code "JL4" on the SPID label in the glovebox.
And your correct...You cannot get the Allison with the 6.0,and he probably was not charged for it,although he might think he was (If its not on the window sticker he should not have been charged for it)

The dealer may well have charged the guy extra (or just not taken as much off the deal) for the sake of getting a sale since they had someone sitting there insisting what they want even though it can't be had. Not very ethical or straight-up, but they can't help trying to make money.

What really strikes me though is that anyone serious enough about actually needing a highly capable truck they're planning to actually use should put forth the effort to do their research and figure out what is and isn't available to suit their needs, and/or why things are what they are. Buying something when you don't know what you're buying is just plain dumb IMHO.

Diesail · June 6, 2010

MS3DALE is right, no stabilitrack in an '08 HD. I would be looking for the G80 code in the glove box. Sounds like he doesn't have a locker to me.

z7107sierra · June 7, 2010

I can check the ID tag in the Glove box for those codes..I'll get the last 8 of the vin number next weekend..

The truck is the z71 model & I know for a fact it has the diff locker in the back..

I own a 2007 Half ton Sierra & I have the stabilitrack & traction control..You cant do anything with the truck on gravel or ice with it on..Abs kicks on & it cuts power & it straightens itself back out from a slide or etc...

The truck IS a 2008..I know that for a fact..I also found out today that when the order was placed for the truck during that period while they were waiting was the same time they shut down the Factorys when they went bankrupt..it took over 6months to get the truck & for awhile they thought they were not going to get it..

I have driven this truck & I can tell you that it does drive like it has Traction Control & Stabilitrac....It'll start to spin its tires & cut the power back just like my truck...If you try to slide it sideways on a gravel road you hear the abs kick in & it cuts engine power & it straightens itself out just like my 07 half ton does....My Truck has the yellow traction light that flashes when I start to break traction..The 2500HD doesnt flash or do anything but you can clearly tell when it kicks in when you loose traction..

This is starting to get really weird...Sounds almost like someone messed up @ the Factory building the truck..

If I have time later on this week I'm going to swing over & pull the ABS fuse out & see what happens..I know when you pull the one in my truck stabilitrac & traction control are completly disabled.. I do beleive that will for a fact prove that the truck does have the system...Even though its a 2008 2500hd...

As for the Allison I've been told that on paper it says the truck HAS that transmisson..Whatever that means..could mean a build sheet or window sticker..I dont know because I havent seen anything with my own eyes yet...I"ll dig deeper & ask to see the window sticker & go from there...

Diesail · June 7, 2010

look under the truck, if it has an allison you will know right away. The transmission is a monster and it has a spin on filter.

04JJHD · June 7, 2010

it will also say allison right on the tranny pan

z7107sierra · June 8, 2010

I've looked at the truck is does not have the Allison..I guess I should have made my point more clear about it.. So I've been told that on paper the truck "has" it & he was charged the extra money for the "Allison"..But the Truck has the Gmc 6 speed...

Not the Allison..Mainly because that transmission wasnt or still isnt an option for the Gas Job 2500's

I'll have to ask to see the actaul window sticker...If it indeed says allison transmission then I guess in my honest Opinion Gm should replace the truck or the transmission with the correct one or refund him the money... But I'll need to look at the actaul window sticker before I judge Gm or anything...But it really isnt a "Huge" deal to the owner that it doesnt have the correct transmission..I just beleive it to be crooked by the dealership to be told that he could get it & was charged for it & the truck doesnt even have it...

My main reason for this post is the Stabilitrack & traction control that now I've found out the truck isnt even supposed to have for that year... I'll check it out saturday & pull the abs fuse which disables both systems along with the abs & if I can actaully spin the tires on gravel or slide it & it reacts like a truck would without the system it will in fact prove that a 2008 2500HD actaully does have the system when it isnt supposed to and it doesnt have the button to disable it on the dash like the 09's do... I'm 99% sure the truck does have Stabiltrack & traction control..I just want to be 100% sure & pull the fuse hopefully this Saturday & I will write a follow up post... I dont enjoy eating my own words..

If I'm correct which I beleive I am I think the dealership should get in touch with Gm & supply the correct computers & wiring harness's so he can turn the system off because he cannot plow with the pickup the way it is & it was clearly an error made at the factory that Gm should do something about..If it cant be corrected someone has to eat it & the truck only has 28,000 miles on it..Its still well under Warr.

Shaners · June 8, 2010

I wonder if the dealer was just a little confused on the '08 options. I believe '07 was the last year for the 8.1L gasser and the Ally (6-speed) tranny combo. From there the 6.0L got the standard 6-speed auto but it wasn't an Allison. Dealers/salepeople/and the ordering system itself become very confused at model year change over time.

SS Crew · June 12, 2010

The truck IS a 2008..I know that for a fact..I also found out today that when the order was placed for the truck during that period while they were waiting was the same time they shut down the Factorys when they went bankrupt..it took over 6months to get the truck & for awhile they thought they were not going to get it..

The truck may have been ordered in 2008, but if the factory was shut down because of GM's financial woes, he has an 09. I lost my truck due to an accident in early 2009 and wanted another one, but in February to April of 09 there was nothing on the lots and no one had any idea if GM would survive.

So it sounds like he has an 09 truck, check the build date on the drivers door, if it's made after 7/08, he's got a 2009 model and if it's a 2009 model, then he has traction control.

MS3DALE · June 12, 2010

The truck IS a 2008..I know that for a fact..I also found out today that when the order was placed for the truck during that period while they were waiting was the same time they shut down the Factorys when they went bankrupt..it took over 6months to get the truck & for awhile they thought they were not going to get it..

GM didn't go bankrupt until summer of '09,so with the truck being an '08 it would not have been ordered during that period.

sack1 · June 14, 2010

I wonder if the dealer was just a little confused on the '08 options. I believe '07 was the last year for the 8.1L gasser and the Ally (6-speed) tranny combo. From there the 6.0L got the standard 6-speed auto but it wasn't an Allison. Dealers/salepeople/and the ordering system itself become very confused at model year change over time.

The 8.1 never was built with the 6-speed Ally, only the 5-speed. Only the DM got the six. A shame, I was really waiting to see that combo.

2001bigblockburban · June 14, 2010

The 8.1 gasser came with the ally 6 speed in 06 and 07 classic HD truck. I know for a fact because I was close to pullin the trigger on a 07 classic with that set-up, just to park it and to say I had 1 of the last 8.1 HD's.