tranny goes out at 70K on 99+ silver?

Dustin07 · August 2, 2004

I don't know if this is true or not, but when my tranny blew the mechanic told me he had 2 other silverados from the same era in witin a week or two of each other, and that he sees a lot of them in the 70-80,000 mile range. something about the change over in 99 i guess he said...

Has anyone else had this experience? could have been that i was just rippin into my truck more than average? since the rebuild (been 50,000 miles now) my truck still shifts better then it ever did stock.

also, when i first got it, at about 20,000 miles, there was one time when i put it in reverse, nothing happened. i gave it just an ounce of gas...wait... snap, went into reverse no prob. never happened again until 50,000 later when the tranny went out.

i've read that in 99 they dropped cubic inches a little, but increased horsepower... is it possible the engine got a slightly build up and the tranny was left behind, or did the mechanic just blow smoke up my @$$? either way the rebuild was done well and inexpensively.

Shaners · August 2, 2004

either way the rebuild was done well and inexpensively.

Sorry about the problems you have had... I know alot of people that have 100K+ on their 99's with know problem... At least the rebuild was not priced out of this world!!!

Dustin07 · August 2, 2004

yeah, it wasn't a real big deal, i got it done for around $1800, which was about $1800 less than the dealerships quoted, but i just wondered if anyone had issues like this.

who knows, i bought the truck when i was 18, maybe i just beat the hell out of it myself... although i remember thinking that wasn't the case.

ClipperSkipper · August 3, 2004

$1800 isn't a big deal? Jees a weeks pay for most people

and preventable. Change the tranny fluid and filter every 10,000

miles and park the biggest cooler (Z-71's already have 'em) out

in front. The front pumps and torque converters in the 4L's are still the

weak links in the drivetrains of the light duty pickup trucks.

If you have to add a coller, space it out from the A/C condensor since these

approach 300 degrees F in Summer traffic, don't forget what you are

trying to accomplish.

Have a great on!

NothinButBowTies · August 3, 2004

I agree with the post above. Keep the tranny fluid and filer clean. When I was at the serivce dept this week, they have filter, flush and fill for a $135 bucks! Thats alot cheaper than a rebuild.

B&M makes a great tranny cooler for like 50 bucks. Another cheap form of insurance.

commanche1 · August 4, 2004

$1800 isn't a big deal? Jees a weeks pay for most people
and preventable. Change the tranny fluid and filter every 10,000

miles and park the biggest cooler (Z-71's already have 'em) out

in front. The front pumps and torque converters in the 4L's are still the

weak links in the drivetrains of the light duty pickup trucks.

If you have to add a coller, space it out from the A/C condensor since these

approach 300 degrees F in Summer traffic, don't forget what you are

trying to accomplish.

Have a great on!

i put a drain in my transmission pan. its 5 dollars at parts store. i drain mine each year,in goes 5 or 6 clean quarts of fluid .1998 siverado.i dont think you need to change that filter at 10,000 but it does not hurt. i think if you did what i have doneDRAIN PLUG, you could change filter at 25,000 or more. i opened up filters for years and believe me, there is not much in them with 50,000 ,miles on filter.i can drain my fluid in 1 minute or so.its that easy.take care

Dustin07 · August 4, 2004

$1800 isn't a big deal?

no, not really. especially considering it's a drop in the bucket when you are spending $30-50K already on a vehicle. If you can't afford to fix things and maintaing things then you can't afford the vehicle. right?

we typically try to keep our trans fluid changed every couple of oil changes. on the farm especially because that truck only sees towing and hauling miles. but mine is used for outside sales and can easily rack up 4500 miles in a month so i might push mine back to 25-30k trans fluid changes typically. always 3-4k on oil.

Dustin07 · August 4, 2004

by the way, i don't know anything about aftermarket transmission coolers, can you provide more details?? definately sounds like a good idea for the price.

GnatGoSplat · August 4, 2004

$1800 isn't a big deal? Jees a weeks pay for most people
and preventable.

$1800 is a week's pay?

That's $93,600/yr. I want to work where you're working!

C1500 · August 15, 2004

$1800 for a rebuild? isn't that about the same price as a new one? & I'm on here looking for answers on how to rebuild a manual trnny because $500 is more than I want to spend for a rebuilt one.

03GMCinBC · August 15, 2004

I had a 97 that dropped its tranny at 47000 miles!

I was pissed , luckily, i bought the extended warranty and had a month left. My bro has the truck now and from what I hear he hasnt had a problem with the new trans.

I put in a brand new GM transmission in with the warranty instead of a rebuilt and got another 3 year warranty on it.

Dustin07 · August 16, 2004

$1800 for a rebuild? isn't that about the same price as a new one?

not in my world buddy. a new one from GM is $3k including install. and the warranty is the same as a good rebuild shop.

I put in a brand new GM transmission in with the warranty instead of a rebuilt and got another 3 year warranty on it.

Someday I'd like to have a vehicle where my warranty wears out because of time lapse instead of miles. my warranty on the rebuild came with a 36K and blew through that in about 11 months. oh well though, because 50K after the rebuild my truck still seems to shift better than it ever did originally. plus tranny cooler and fluid changes ever 20-30K... should last i hope.