Transmission Life

ta.minor · June 28, 2010

I am the owner of a 2001 gmc sierra 5.3L V8 ext. cab. I bought the truck last year in great condition, and I am confident that the previous owners have treated it equally as well. Although the truck has 250,000km (155300 miles) mostly highway, I have never worried about a transmission blowing, but just recently two of my friends with slightly newer gmc/chev trucks (that were bush trucks) have needed to replace their transmission (~$2700.00 CAD), so I've started to worry.

My question is, how long are transmission on well-maintained 10-yr old trucks supposed to last?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thx

kuhl_530 · June 28, 2010

With regular maintinence and a gentle foot you should be able to make that transmission last as long as the truck. I've only owned two vehicles in my life, both GMC's. My 91 Jimmy I sold for $400 cash with 297k miles original engine, trans, and rear end. My current truck is a 95 GMC K1500 with 226k miles, again, original engine, trans, and rear end. I make sure I change my fluids at or near the recommended intervals and use quality products.

ColoradoSkiCountry · June 28, 2010

Sorry but I have to disagree. Even with proper maintenance and a light foot, I would not be surprised if the thing failed around 180,000 or less. The Trannies are the weakest thing on these trucks as they are in any other vehicle out there. Yes there are alot of people on here who have gotten their trucks up to 200,000+ on the original tranny, and there are those who have babied their trucks and had the trannies go out with only 120,000 miles.

[email protected] · June 28, 2010

Sorry but I have to disagree. Even with proper maintenance and a light foot, I would not be surprised if the thing failed around 180,000 or less. The Trannies are the weakest thing on these trucks as they are in any other vehicle out there. Yes there are alot of people on here who have gotten their trucks up to 200,000+ on the original tranny, and there are those who have babied their trucks and had the trannies go out with only 120,000 miles.

Hey, at least I agree with you on that.

txab · June 28, 2010

Sorry but I have to disagree. Even with proper maintenance and a light foot, I would not be surprised if the thing failed around 180,000 or less. The Trannies are the weakest thing on these trucks as they are in any other vehicle out there. Yes there are alot of people on here who have gotten their trucks up to 200,000+ on the original tranny, and there are those who have babied their trucks and had the trannies go out with only 120,000 miles.

+1

We're at the mercy of a poorly designed OEM sun shell.

rodram · June 28, 2010

... again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I would definitely start to budget for a $2500 to $3000 transmission r&r plus total rebuild.

... it's called a regular maintenance item if you want to keep your GM truck for a long time...

... it should not crap out suddenly and leave you totally stranded somewhere, but you will know when the end is near.. you will get some slipping, some hard shifts, or weird shiftin g response ....

cyoung1253 · June 29, 2010

... again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I would definitely start to budget for a $2500 to $3000 transmission r&r plus total rebuild.

... it's called a regular maintenance item if you want to keep your GM truck for a long time...

... it should not crap out suddenly and leave you totally stranded somewhere, but you will know when the end is near.. you will get some slipping, some hard shifts, or weird shiftin g response ....

Back in the fall of '07 I drove my '05 to work and all was well with about 50k showing on the odometer not even a hint that anything was wrong with the trans. Headed home in the afternoon and found I did not have overdrive so I called the service dept of my dealership about 50 miles away. They said "bring it right in and we'll check it out", ran out of forward gears about 2 miles from the shop.

Wingnut · June 29, 2010

I think it's luck of the draw to some extent.

My '89 hit around 350,000 miles with the original engine and transmission before I sold it. And I bet I only serviced that transmission 4 times. My TBSS was driving around on it's 5th transmission when it got stolen. I hope that f***er grenaded and cut that SOB's feet off.

briddle3 · July 8, 2010

Sorry but I have to disagree. Even with proper maintenance and a light foot, I would not be surprised if the thing failed around 180,000 or less. The Trannies are the weakest thing on these trucks as they are in any other vehicle out there. Yes there are alot of people on here who have gotten their trucks up to 200,000+ on the original tranny, and there are those who have babied their trucks and had the trannies go out with only 120,000 miles.

dont forget about those of us that had one go out at 30,000

KMGZ400 · July 8, 2010

I think it's luck of the draw to some extent.

My '89 hit around 350,000 miles with the original engine and transmission before I sold it. And I bet I only serviced that transmission 4 times. My TBSS was driving around on it's 5th transmission when it got stolen. I hope that f***er grenaded and cut that SOB's feet off.

hahah wow... 5th tranny on a TBSS? please explain

Wingnut · July 8, 2010

First transmission was sprag and second gear. Second tranny was output shaft and third gear. Third and forth, I didn't ask...But the 4th time it went, it completely came apart...Blew the pan and shit parts all over the highway.

All covered under warranty.

ColoradoSkiCountry · July 8, 2010

Actually I had it go out on my old 2007 @ 11,000 miles. Sun shell issue apparently. The tranny mechanic at the GMC dealership just shook his head and smiled and commented that he thought GM had fixed that issue and that the sunshell on the GMT-900s were not supposed to do that. I proved em wrong They dropped in a brand new tranny and shipped the old one off on a freight truck to GM Engineering.

KMGZ400 · July 9, 2010

First transmission was sprag and second gear. Second tranny was output shaft and third gear. Third and forth, I didn't ask...But the 4th time it went, it completely came apart...Blew the pan and shit parts all over the highway.

All covered under warranty.

and was this TBSS modified? theres no way you didnt have any major performance add-ons.... and it was it covered even with add-ons?

Wingnut · July 9, 2010

Bone stock man. Bone stock right down to the paper air filter.

Skip Talker · July 11, 2010

My 04 Z71 tranny went out with 35,000 on the odometer. had it rebuilt lasted 2,000 miles, soemthing about debris in the coolant line? Second rebuilt went out at around 230,000. Put a junk jard tranny in it and still going at 279,000. When it went out it was sudden, no warnings. I did put a fluid coolant on it the second time. My 2010 came with a trans fluid cooler. Hope it last longer than 35K..