Transmission

[Tom G]

I dropped the pan on my truck today. The fluid was - a good, nearing "deep red" color.

The pan had "a lot" of metal in it. I did not like that at all.

 

If I were to press a dime into the pan the metal shavings would have been taller, maybe even two dimes. . . ergghhh I have had this truck for a year. Bought it at 90 thousand miles and its at about 105 thousand now

 

I have been hearing this buzzing noise occur sporadically during accelerations and carrying loads. It lasts about a few seconds. It sounds like as if two thin metal plates were within milimeters of each other and one was vibrating at a high rate on to the other one. Shop could not figure it out.

 

Just recently another noise has started to occur, for never more than a few seconds, at 45 and or 55 while accelerating, never while decelerating. it sounds and feels like falling asleep and hitting the rumble strip, or more like the metal grating on a bridge. I read all kinds of forums that suggest that the transmission fluid swap caused that problem to go away in every instance.

 

Here is my plan of action

 

1. drop the plan, (do not clean it) and just pour out the old fluid, replacing it with new fluid.

 

If the noises are still there, drive for a week and

 

2. drop the pan again and do the exact same thing.

 

If the noises are still there drive for a while,

 

3. drop the pan again, this time cleaning out the pan of all the metal shavings, replacing the filter and putting new fluid in one more again.

 

at this point if my transmission still hold gears well, but is still making noises then,

 

4. go to a garage to get them to flush the fluid.

 

If that does not work,

 

5. I plan on bringin the truck into the shop, and telling them that my warranty covers my transmission, hoping that since I have been following the care schedule that my warranty will replace the parts necessary to cause the truck to function as it should. There shouldnt have been so much metal in my pan. The fluid is not black nor smells burnt, but was def old.

 

I am almost certain I am on at least the right track with this POA, but I am also certain that I could make some adjustments to this plan of action.

 

What do we think about this?

 

[O_J_Simpson]

So you want to drop your pan but not clean it? Then why bother even dropping the pan?

[Raptordude]

If your warranty covers the transmission, have it replaced. Changing the fluid will not help you. If you see that many shavings, something is roasted. No amount of fresh fluid will replace a steel plate

 

 

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[Black02Silverado]

I would go ahead and clean everything up, put in a new filter and press on. Just changing out fluid will not change much. If the transmission is toast then it will show up down the road. If it isn't, and I'm betting it isn't, then at least you cleaned out the pan and put in an new filter and if you want to change out the fluid again later down the road you can and it will freshen up the fluid.

[Tom G]

So you want to drop your pan but not clean it? Then why bother even dropping the pan?

Yes. As a first step. Essentially I am reducing 1 variable at a time in order to figure out exactly what it is that is causing the rumble strip noise.

 

The first step is simply taking a portion of the stressed fluid and replacing it with brand new fluid.

 

 

 

If your warranty covers the transmission, have it replaced. Changing the fluid will not help you. If you see that many shavings, something is roasted. No amount of fresh fluid will replace a steel plate

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It does not smell like burnt, neither is it black. Maybe there are only a few shavings mixed in with other non-metal disc particles? I dont know, its just a guestimate based on watching youtube videos and reading this forum. Plus, the transmission works well, it is just acting like it needs some attention, Thats all.

 

I would go ahead and clean everything up, put in a new filter and press on. Just changing out fluid will not change much. If the transmission is toast then it will show up down the road. If it isn't, and I'm betting it isn't, then at least you cleaned out the pan and put in an new filter and if you want to change out the fluid again later down the road you can and it will freshen up the fluid.

 

I basically agree with you. I have driven around town at speeds under 40 for 2 days after step 1 and the filter and gasket are on the way in the mail for step 2. I got a new pan screw, as the one of those pan screws is playing hide n seek. It is winning.

[Tom G]

Super funny thing happened today and I have no idea why.

My truck is parked on a level concrete pad in a garage. I took out about 4 quarts of stressed tranoil a few days ago and then put in four quarts. I checked every half quart after the first 2 quarts. Once 4 quarts was in I warmed it up and checked the level the right way. I went ahead and put in about 600 ml of new fluid because the level was just barely at the lowest of the hash marks before I began the fluid swap.

I slept. I woke up. I checked the fluid, cold, before going for a short drive. When I checked the fluid cold, before the drive, it was way up the dip stick about 7 inches or so and really dark. I had not started the truck in over 12 hours. Then, I went to run my errands and when I got back I checked it, warm, and the level of the fluid was a little bit lower than it should have been: Just barely reaching the hash marks just like it was before I added the 600 ml.

 

Im going to add 200 ml at a time until it is in the middle of the hash marks if that is a good suggestion.

I just do not know why the fluid had raced up the dipstick while sitting overnight.

[Tom G]

Christmas eve I dropped the pan, didn't clean anything, and literally swapped out the transmission fluid only.

 

I drove it that way for about a week, and had no issues at all.

 

Just before the new year I dropped the pan again, swapped out another 4-5 quarts of fluid, changed the filter and put in a new gasket. This time I cleaned the pan. There was not nearly as much metal as I thought was in there. It was just a little speckled. The fluid itself was dark red and never had any burnt smell to it.

 

It seems that the rumble strip sound at 45 mph has gone away. Not compeltely. It has made the noise a couple times, while accelerating slowly past 45 and going up a hill. In this same circumstance it has also slipped a little bit, which it never did before. Sigh.

 

I would also like to note that there is probably 150-250 ml of transmission fluid in there that need to pump out. It is hard to get a read on that dipstick accurately while in that process.

Has anyone else had a similar experience and can tell me what they did or didn't do? Thanks all. In Christ.

[VikingTrad3r]

Hi.

 

Sounds to me like the torque converter. is going out.

 

My guess is that the slipping you are feeling is either the one way bearing in the tc, which may also be the source of the metal, or, you are getting some slipping after putting clean fluid in. this will happen sometimes when the clutchpacks are very worn and you remove the "gritty" fluid out you are actually removing some material that ads to the friction between the clutch packs.

 

If it were me, I would look locally for a guy to rebuild the trans. But, i would buy one from the wrecker or on local classifieds that matches your truck exactly, and then have the rebuilder do it. when done, i would save the install $$ by dropping it myself. pretty darn easy to do on these trucks.

 

Now, ONE THING you really need to consider here is that your cooler lines are very likely FULL of metal.

 

I had a TC go out on me in my 80's vette (strangely, the transmissions are very similar in my 80's vette and you truck) and the cooler lines were PACKED with metal. I used an air compressor to blow the lines out. I had to pump fluid into the line and then blow it out. repeat, repeat, repeat. until i got zero metal coming out in the spray. i blew into a clear 4 ltr pop bottle. its a messy job but you MUST clear these lines are you will overheat and toast your new tranny.

 

where i live in canada i found a retired GM tech to rebuild a trans for $700 all in which is about $475 USD right now!

 

you can buy the rebuild kits off amazon.

 

if you area noob with basic tools, you should be able to swap a trans in a day easy. then sell your old trans for the cost of the one you got. that is how i would handle it.

[davester]

It's not strange that the vette uses the same trans as trucks...they both have engines that develop a bunch of power that drivers will use. Even the current vette uses the same trans as 2500/3500 trucks. Of course, it sucks WAY more to work on the transmission in the vette vs in a truck...

[Tom G]

Hi.

 

Sounds to me like the torque converter. is going out.

 

My guess is that the slipping you are feeling is either the one way bearing in the tc, which may also be the source of the metal, or, you are getting some slipping after putting clean fluid in. this will happen sometimes when the clutchpacks are very worn and you remove the "gritty" fluid out you are actually removing some material that ads to the friction between the clutch packs.

 

If it were me, I would look locally for a guy to rebuild the trans. But, i would buy one from the wrecker or on local classifieds that matches your truck exactly, and then have the rebuilder do it. when done, i would save the install $$ by dropping it myself. pretty darn easy to do on these trucks.

 

Now, ONE THING you really need to consider here is that your cooler lines are very likely FULL of metal.

 

I had a TC go out on me in my 80's vette (strangely, the transmissions are very similar in my 80's vette and you truck) and the cooler lines were PACKED with metal. I used an air compressor to blow the lines out. I had to pump fluid into the line and then blow it out. repeat, repeat, repeat. until i got zero metal coming out in the spray. i blew into a clear 4 ltr pop bottle. its a messy job but you MUST clear these lines are you will overheat and toast your new tranny.

 

where i live in canada i found a retired GM tech to rebuild a trans for $700 all in which is about $475 USD right now!

 

you can buy the rebuild kits off amazon.

 

if you area noob with basic tools, you should be able to swap a trans in a day easy. then sell your old trans for the cost of the one you got. that is how i would handle it.

Just yesterday My buddies and I took a drive to a neighboring town.... about a 30 minute highway drive. The rumble strip feeling is back and worse than before I started all this. It was non-existent, almost, until yesterday. Sigh. My friends gave me the same advice you gave me in reference to it being outside of the transmission. He suggested that "it sounds like the drive link, maybe" He told me to grab it with my hand and give it a shake. If it shakes, it is trouble. If it is solid, it is something else.

 

I will get to these things this week, and will get back with you on the outcome of it. I bet I will need to get a rebuilt transmission as It has been acting different, little slips here and there. Just enough to make me nervous.

[flyingfool]

how did it turn out? 

[asilverblazer]

Torque converter clutch solenoid? Try lightly pressing the brake pedal (only enough to illuminate the brake lights) when the noise starts, This will electronically tell the TCC solenoid to unlock. 

 

Just got through replacing this part on another truck that exhibited similar symptoms. The solenoid was worn in such a way that it would not lock the converter like it should and would instead cycle between engaged and not (very rapidly), making a rumbling noise. That is why turning it 'off' or unlocking it with the brake pedal would make the noise go away.   

[flyingfool]

i'll try it

[Drew Weidner]

I know this is a late response and you may have addressed this problem already, but I want to recommend that you try adding LubeGuard Instant Shudder Fix. 

Two years ago, I had a torque converter in a 4L60E transmission start to shudder (symptoms like you describe). I was three hours from home and was really just looking for something to get me home without having to have the truck towed. 

I added a tube of the LubeGaurd and the shuddering torque converter went away virtually immediately! I have about 25,000 miles on the truck since. I have dropped the pan and put a new filter and fluid in (partial change, not a complete flush) and added LubeGuard when I did that. The transmission still shifts like a dream. 

If there is damage to the TC, this won't "fix" it, but it may buy you some time to look for cost-effective replacements or to save for the transmission.