6L90 Transmission Woes/life expectancy

[CapnDean]

2009 3500 HD Dually with 6.0 Gas engine.   At 100K miles the truck got a crate motor from GM and a Crate transmission.  It was an extended warranty deal.  At least that's what the previous owner said.   The engine runs like a top, plenty of power and no noticeable oil consumption.   At 215K miles I lost the transmission.  Shifting hard, not shifting at all, revving up and BANG into gear from standing start.    My transmission shop dropped the pan and there was plenty of metal to go around.  Shop recommended buy a reman from one of the reman places.....   he said they can do it better than I can due to volume, they do more, it will be faster and the also have a longer warranty than I can provide (3 years 100K miles).

 

I contacted 3 of them, Powertrain products, Jasper and one other....  Jasper wasnt the cheapest but they had a gearbox on the shelf.   Had it installed, programmed and it worked like a Singer sewing machine..... until it didnt.    At 5000 miles and 60 days into our relationship......slipping in 5th and 6th gear.  So there it sits,,,,,in the shop, no transmission in it, waiting on a replacement transmission from Jasper.   If you search Jasper horror stories there are plenty,  But in my case ....  at least so far.... they are honoring the warranty without issue,  Granted they dont have one on the shelf so it will be 2 weeks with out my workin truck...that kinda sucks,  But here is my concern:  My truck seldom goes down the road without a trailer behind it, either a tractor, skid steer or mini excavator.   I know that this truck tows, tows heavy and tows often.  My question for this group is as follows;    Am I pissing in the wind letting Jasper replace this transmission?   Am I likely to be in this same boat in another 5000 miles?   Does anybody here have a line on a better transmission builder?   I am thinking about asking Jasper to upgrade the clutches in this one on my dime.....   Its not so much the money, its the down time that hurts me.

[diyer2]

Roll of the dice.  May last, may not.

I would have bought a reman from my local dealer.  

I would suggest changing the fluid often (25K) due to your heavy towing. 

[CamGTP]

Is the torque converter going to be replace as well again?

 

I can almost bet money that if you had a transmission tune done on it after it was replaced again, it would last longer. So long as it's not another bunk unit.

 

Transmission shift parameter changes and torque converter lock up settings help a lot with those 6 speeds.

[pokismoki]

have a look around https://gearsmagazine.com/

read all the 6/8 speed trans issue articles