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2006 V6 - " Transmission Hot" warning

JEG in Raleigh

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JEG in Raleigh New Member

JEG in Raleigh

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Hello, first-timer here.  I have a 2006 GMC Sierra I bought last year with 165,000 miles on it.  It's just the basic V6, automatic, and I just use it to run to Home Depot, etc.  I put about 3000 miles a year on it.  I'm pretty sure the torque converter is going, because i get a vibration like I'm going over rumble strips when I'm in the 45-60 mph range.  I had a Chrysler minivan with a bad torque converter, and the rumbling sensation in the Sierra is exactly the same as it was in the Chrysler when that torque converter went.  Anyway, I've been trying to avoid spending the money for major tranny work, and because I drive it infrequently, I was hoping I could nurse it along for awhile before I had to put the money into a rebuild.  

Usually, I'm just driving it very local to my house, but in the past few months, I have driven it round trip, about 100 miles each way to neighboring city.  Once i get on the highway and my consistent speed is 70 mph, there is no rumbling vibration from the torque converter.  It is only in that 45-60 mph range where that happens.  And I drove those 100 miles each way, with no warning popping up.  Well, today i drove it to a plant nursery to pick up some plants for our house, and it was about 50 miles each way, with mixed driving on city street and on 2-lane roads, where my speed never got above 55 mph.  The rumbling vibration was happening a lot.  And shortly before I got home, I noticed the "Transmission Hot" warning on the dash.  So, I have a few questions:

1.  When I am traveling 70 mph, why is there no rumbling vibration occurring?   Does the torque converter sort of lock above 60 mph or so, so there is no slippage occurring?

2.  If the torque converter is going bad, does that cause the transmission to overheat?

3.  If I continue to drive it like it is for a while longer, and just locally....no longer trips......will it continue to function, but just keep vibrating, or will I have a catastrophic failure at some point that leaves me by the side of the road?

 

Thanks very much for any advice.

CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

Low speeds will cause the torque converter to lock and unlock more often. It will lock in 3rd and 4th but when you take your foot off the throttle it will unlock and can re-lock once applied again. So it's a lot of on and off around those 45-55mph. At speeds around that 65-70mph the torque converter is going to stay locked just about all the time so that could be why you never feel it there.

 

The on/off of the TC can cause fluid to heat up. And if the torque converter is slipping, that will cause the fluid to heat up even faster. If the fluid inside the transmission is as old as the truck, there isn't much life left in it and making the problem worse.

 

I think at this point it's just a matter of time before it get even worse. If it was me and I wanted to spend about $30 just to give something a whirl here is what I'd do. I would go buy a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix and couple quarts of the cheap transmission fluid for that truck. Then I'd suck out a few quarts from the transmission dipstick tube and dump the whole bottle of Lucas in there and top it off with transmission fluid. Don't drop the pan or anything, just replace some of the fluid. I've gotten a few vehicles to last a good while longer with that stuff before. Was a pretty popular thing for the 4T65e's in the W-body GM cars.

JEG in Raleigh New Member

JEG in Raleigh

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Thanks a lot,  I’ll give that a try.  Just curious...if I kept it in 3rd gear at those speeds so the rpm is a bit higher and it can’t upshift to 4th, will that help at all?

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted

If the converter fails bad enough, it will take out the pump and the rest of the trans bit by bit.  Clutch and metal shavings everywhere.

 

The overheat warning comes on if temps exceed 275F, so if you saw that, she got REALLY hot.  I would definitely limit your driving distance with it if you don't plan to fix it.  

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