Transmission Failure

coyotekid · April 8, 2004

Hi all,

This is my first post on this site, but I look forward to learning all I can from everyone here. I have many questions on the way, but we'll start with this one.

Aren't transmissions supposed to last longer than 9,700 miles? I recently took a trip to Moab, UT with some friends to ride dirt bikes down there, and the tranny in my '03 2500 HD (4 speed automatic) (4L80E) would not engage and go into gear. It's a really long story, including one tow truck breaking down, but once we got to a dealer the truck acted completely normal, and the service department wouldn't do anything about it. We headed back to Moab, but the tranny started slipping really badly, and it wouldn't go back into gear as soon as we could get off the road.

Really long story a little shorter is that the tranny completely ate itself, and most of it fell out when the pan was removed. GM put a brand new tranny in under warranty, so I'm satisfied that way, but this truck only had 9,700 highway miles on it! It has been meticulously cared for, is not modified, and it has pulled moderately loaded trailers less than 1,500 miles after the truck was properly broken in!

Have any of you guys had or heard of any similar problems? I'm very pleased with the truck otherwise, but this has me a little worried. The new tranny seems flawless, but I still have some doubts.

Thanks for your help!

Shaners · April 8, 2004

If it makes you feel any better, GM put a new Transfer Case in mine at 4k miles because of "harsh" engagement. The truck was in the shop for 2 weeks.

Welcome to the forum, and enjoy yourself here... there are alot of great people here that love to BS about their trucks!!!

solariz007 · April 8, 2004

hey sry to hear about that but im not sure about exacts and i deleted the webpage from fav. but there was a recal on some tranies from the factory problems with overdrive they said though is u put it in 3rd no problems at all so im sure if u go to google and search for tranny problems with HD's ull get a hit if not search this forum if not others on specifics sry for not rembering but if u search u will find it

latr takr easy and good luck!!

Solariz

JimWilson · April 10, 2004

I've heard a number of stories saying how strong the 4L80 is, but mine suked too. By 18K the torque converter and pump were toast. Unfortunately, GM wouldn't do the right thing and give me a new tranny, they merely told the dealer to fix it. Took almost a week.

Guess they aren't so stout after all, huh?

apache sierra · April 10, 2004

hey sry to hear about that but im not sure about exacts and i deleted the webpage from fav. but there was a recal on some tranies from the factory problems with overdrive they said though is u put it in 3rd no problems at all so im sure if u go to google and search for tranny problems with HD's ull get a hit if not search this forum if not others on specifics sry for not rembering but if u search u will find it

latr takr easy and good luck!!

Solariz

they were talking about lack of lubrication for the overdrive. Apparently they had some trouble with the pumps. I think they issued a tsb for it.

mitchntx · April 10, 2004

The question ... "Shouldn't a tranny last more than 10K miles?" is a valid one. Simple answer ... yes ... it should.

However, realize that 90% of a failures happen in the first 10% of a product's life and in the last 10% of the products life. It's called a bathtub curve ...

While it's no comfort, you are a victim of that first 10% failure statistic.

coyotekid · April 12, 2004

After I've considered it some more, I'm relatively convinced that I simply got a "Friday afternoon/Monday morning" tranny that was a fluke deal. The new one seems to be much better so far, and it doesn't sound like this is a widespread problem.

Fact of the matter is...

I've had trouble with Dodges, I've cussed Fords, and now I can cuss Chevys!

If it's mechanical, it can turn to s**t regardless of who made it. On the plus side, I've driven about 4 or 5 other 4L80's/4L60's and there have been no problems whatsoever with any of them.

422 SS · April 12, 2004

I have noticed the tranny in my 3500 Express cargo van felt odd pulling my car hauler Saturday.I seems to be slipping,and is slow to respond to a heavy right foot.I'm at 23,000 miles so GM will be footing the bill for any repairs.

KISpeed · April 13, 2004

I had a slipping problem in my old Surburban 4L80E. It had just been rebuilt 11000 miles prior by a shop for $2200.

I took it apart this time and was going to do it myself. I found two loose valve body bolts. There are pressurized circuits under these bolts so they were bleeding off pressure. Not knowing anything at first, I ordered a complete rebuild kit with a towing converter and big solenoid from Level Ten. I put it all in and could swear I was getting better mileage with the new converter.

Worse part was, this truck needed the AC fixed, brakes, rotors and drums, interior was worn, blah, blah, blah. Long and short of it was I needed to put a lot of money in it to make it a decent truck. I only paid $5000 for it two years earlier so it did not owe me anything. When the radiator started leaking, I had had it and traded it in on a 2003 Chevy Crewcab Dually with an 8.1/Allison. What a truck.

My point in all this I just did the tranny a month ago and got rid of the truck last week, but not because of the transmission. I was just tired of chasing it's problems.

What I did learn in my tranny investigation is sort of interesting/scarry. I spoke to a GM tranny tech and he said about 50% of the 4L80Es he sees have loose valve body bolts. Once they start losing pressure and you drive it too long unnoticed, the tranny is done. Mine just quit locking up the converter and going into OD before I took it out. I ordered all the parts, $1289.00 worth, before I even took it out. Stupid me. I disassembled it, found the loose bolts and found everything else was in perfect condition. Only the direct clutches had the slightest bit of heat marks in them. I put all the new parts in, because I had them and was planning on keeping the truck, and it worked perfectly. The converter made a big difference.

IF I still had that truck, I would change my fluid every 30000 miles and retorque the valve body bolts every time. Certainly, if you ever notice it slipping slightly or not going into OD, have it checked or drop the pan and check it yourself. I drove it approx 40 miles with the no OD problem and all I really had to do was drop the pan and tighten up the bolts.

I know this won't fix every situation and I apologize for the length, but maybe it will help someone.

Sad part is I spent $1289 on the tranny and at first, they would only give me $1200 for the truck. It was ugly and pi$$ing antifreeze all over their lot though. Oh well, I love the new truck.

Later,

Eric

Stove · April 14, 2004

I fought a bad tranny from the factory. Mine finally gave up around 15k, and IMHO it seems that the pumps is what fails, and it takes other parts with it. The pump failed on mine. Thankfully, my dealer had a complete unit overnighted as a replacement, not before many failed attempts to patch the original up. At 45K now the replacement has been flawless, even with the westers installed.

later