2001 2500HD transmission slipping when not driven often

[10129]

2001 2500HD 6.0L 4L80E 4x4 107K miles

 

I have a company car so I often drive my truck to work on Monday morning and don't drive it again until Friday afternoon. Sometimes when I first put it in gear it sits there and idles as if the "clutch" hasn't been let out. If you rev it just slightly it will slowly begin to engage smoothly and move forward. By the time I get from the back parking lot to the street it is fine and shifts normal the rest of the weekend. It's been serviced with a new filter and fluid several years ago but driven very little since then. Any suggestions on what the cause is and am I risking making it worse by continuing to drive it? It's about to go in the shop for some other work, what should I have them do/look at?

[Black02Silverado]

How does the fluid look now? Is the level full? Can't really say but sounds like a valve issue that is sticking. Maybe someone else will chime in that has more info.

[txab]

For sure check the fluid level. My farm truck does that when it gets low on fluid since it has a little leak. As long as you drove it regularly it wouldn't have a problem with the low fluid, unless it was really low

[sdeeter19555]

Sounds like the Torque Converter is bleeding off/draining of fluid, and it takes that initial pause to get the fluid pumped into the system.

 

I know in some of the Dodges, there was a check valve/ball in the cooler lines to prevent the fluid from draining down...is there something similar to look for in the GMs??

[radrick]

if the fluid level is fine, it sounds like the fluid is draining out of the trans back into the pan. This is actually pretty common, sometimes it is a fualty check valve in the trans filter, or fluid may be just settling back into the pan after a few days. Try to let the engine idle for a few minutes before you drop it into gear, after the truck has been sitting a fews or replace the trans filter.