2014 Sierra Denali Multi Topic Discussion

mongoose71 · November 9, 2020

I have a 2014 Sierra Denali 4x4 5.3 6 spd that I bought new. I have about 108K trouble free miles with the exception of the AC Condenser that I fixed myself for about $200. I have also changed the gear oil in both differentials and the transfer case. I had the rear brakes replaced by the dealer. I do my own oil and filter changes with Mobil 1 Annual protection and Mobil 1 filters.

Although I never haul or tow with the truck, I'd like to service my transmission, preferably myself. I have seen videos where people jack up the back on the tranny and winch the exhaust down with ratchet straps in order to get the pan off. Has anyone tried this or has anyone had their dealer perform this with good results, as I'm not totally opposed to having a dealership do it?

Another issue that I'm having is my forward collision detection is acting up. My seat use to vibrate and the red light flash in the windshield. Now I get a loud beep instead of the vibration. Has anyone encountered this problem and fixed it themselves?

Yet another weird phenomenon that I'm facing is my seat belt chime. Even with it set on the quietest chime. it often time chimes as loud as it possibly can. I mentioned it to my dealer once and they didn't make an effort to fix it when they put new rear breaks on the truck.

What other preventive maintenance jobs have you guys performed on your trucks and when? Maybe Coolant flushes and spark plugs?

evad · November 9, 2020

i can agree with that seat belt chime ...that sucker on my 15 silvy will blow your ear drums out ...i have a 19 tahoe that the chime is nice and soft

Eddie 70 · November 9, 2020

For the transmission, use a pump and pump the fluid out the dipstick to clear the pan. Then you can work on the pan from below without the worry of making a huge mess. My 2014 is 113k miles. I changed the trans filter at 65k miles. I have since then pulled one gallon of fluid out the dipstick every 15k miles. Cheap enough and easy enough to do.

DeePa · November 10, 2020

I have a 17 with the 6 speed and 96k

next week I’m doing trans filter, oil change, plugs and wires. The trans was flushed at 50. Both differentials and transfer case were done at 50k also. Cabin filter once a year.

Will do the diffs / tcase again at 100, coolant and brake fluid at 150.

this truck has to last me 10 years and 250k. They’re too expensive now.

mongoose71 · November 16, 2020

On 11/9/2020 at 5:13 PM, Eddie 70 said:

For the transmission, use a pump and pump the fluid out the dipstick to clear the pan. Then you can work on the pan from below without the worry of making a huge mess. My 2014 is 113k miles. I changed the trans filter at 65k miles. I have since then pulled one gallon of fluid out the dipstick every 15k miles. Cheap enough and easy enough to do.

That's a great idea. What kind of transmission fluid are you using? How difficult was it for you to pull the pan and replace the filter?

Eddie 70 · November 20, 2020

On 11/16/2020 at 11:31 AM, mongoose71 said:

That's a great idea. What kind of transmission fluid are you using? How difficult was it for you to pull the pan and replace the filter?

I have the recommended Ac Delco transmission fluid. I bought in 2 one gallon jugs to begin with from Amazon. I found it cheaper by the quart at RockAuto so I bought 12 quarts. I was able to work the filter out by just working the pan and filter around. Got it back in the same way.

mongoose71 · November 20, 2020

12 hours ago, Eddie 70 said:

I have the recommended Ac Delco transmission fluid. I bought in 2 one gallon jugs to begin with from Amazon. I found it cheaper by the quart at RockAuto so I bought 12 quarts. I was able to work the filter out by just working the pan and filter around. Got it back in the same way.

I ordered and received two Gallons of AC Delco from Amazon. I picked up a Penzoil pump and poly tubing like you have from my local Home Depot. I haven't gotten a transmission filter yet. I may actually just pump and refill a gallon without tackling the filter just yet.

Were you able to clean the pan and magnet without removing the pan completely out from the exhaust pipe?

I'll check out Rock Auto next time I order more transmission fluid.

Eddie 70 · November 21, 2020

I was able to clean it, somewhat. I couldn't really see what I was doing but I got as much as I could. I know it was not perfect but it was better than it was. I was able on that change to get more than on gallon out of the system. I don't recall exactly how much I got out, seems like it was 6+ quarts. Get plenty of rags so you can do some blind wiping. That's what I did. Then after that initial change, I have been pulling a gallon out the dipstick tube every 15k miles for the last 50k or so. I should probably go after the filter again around 120k and actually get the pan off. I have a spare pan with an O2 bung I was going to have welded to it so I can have a drain plug. Still contemplating that one cause the fluid is going to come gushing out!!!

Eddie 70 · November 21, 2020

10 hours ago, mongoose71 said:

I ordered and received two Gallons of AC Delco from Amazon. I picked up a Penzoil pump and poly tubing like you have from my local Home Depot. I haven't gotten a transmission filter yet. I may actually just pump and refill a gallon without tackling the filter just yet.

Were you able to clean the pan and magnet without removing the pan completely out from the exhaust pipe?

I'll check out Rock Auto next time I order more transmission fluid.

I was able to clean it, somewhat. I couldn't really see what I was doing but I got as much as I could. I know it was not perfect but it was better than it was. I was able on that change to get more than on gallon out of the system. I don't recall exactly how much I got out, seems like it was 6+ quarts. Get plenty of rags so you can do some blind wiping. That's what I did. Then after that initial change, I have been pulling a gallon out the dipstick tube every 15k miles for the last 50k or so. I should probably go after the filter again around 120k and actually get the pan off. I have a spare pan with an O2 bung I was going to have welded to it so I can have a drain plug. Still contemplating that one cause the fluid is going to come gushing out!!!

mongoose71 · November 22, 2020

Well my first round with my transmission is complete. I was only able to get a couple quarts out of the dip stick with the hand pump. Not sure if it was a faulty pump or operator error, but sure got a good workout from all the pumping. I may try an electric pump next time. I also have minor concerns that the dip stick tube shaves off some of the poly tubing which could be harmful to the tranny.

I was able to get my pan off rather easily by using the 2x4 and ratchet strap method. I was surprised that many of the bolts holding my pan on were barely more than hand tight. I wasn't able to find an AC Delco filter at my local part store, so I settled for a Duralast. With the exception of the part numbers on the filters, they were identical. I feel like they came from the same machine/factory. I opted to leave the original filter gasket in place as my new filter snapped in snugly.

I replaced about 5.5 quarts after the job was done.

I'd like to do several "drain and fills" over the next several thousand miles in order to "turn over" the transmission's fluid so that it will be mostly new fluid.