Transmission Rebuild Time?

[Chads93GT]

I've rebuilt auto transmissions before. I've seen high mileage transmissions fail weeks after a fluid flush. I talked to the GM tech's at several dealerships. Their recommendation was not to change the fluid unless it smelled burnt. Well its not burnt. It shifts great, so I am not going to piss with it

 

[withac]

Here's the way it was 'splained to me. The reason some old time trannys fail after a flush is this; Imagine a glass with sugar in the bottom, you pour in tea and stir it up, now the sugar is swirling all around in the glass. Now imagine the sugar is metal filings that have been sitting in your tranny and the flush has stirred them up. I have a friend who does a flush every couple of years so he has no problem but I've heard it can cause problems on high mileage trannys. This sugar analogy was given to me by an RP rep, he said it was his opinion not the opinion of Royal Purple. He recommended a pan drop and filter change with RP. He said their film strength was so much higher than the factory fluid that it would over power the factory fluid. He recommended another pan drop 5K miles later to get a higher concentration of RP into the tranny.

I agree with rjardy, just 'cause it doesn't smell burnt doesn't mean it's fully doing it's job. I wouldn't recommend a flush on an old tranny based on the opinion of others but I would recommend the pan drop and filter change.

FWIW

 

[withac]

The guys on another forum I hang out on tell me these 4l60e tranny's that most of these rides have are notorious for failure around the 100K mark. Mine went out at 93K, needle bearings on the sun gear. Fortunately they were caught by the filter and didn't go through the tranny. I'm not recommending an unecessary rebuild but if you have any doubts at all find a trustworthy mechanic (there are a few out there) and have them take a look at it. Ask to see the pan and filter when they drop them, then you can see for yourself if there are metal filings. Or I guess you could do the pan drop yourself, it's not difficult but it can be messy.

 

[Chads93GT]

Your sugar anology was similar to what ive been told for years, i just didn't feel like typing it out lol.

 

[Scoobey]

'00 Z71 Tahoe have one of the iffy trannies?

<blockquote>these 4l60e tranny's that most of these rides have are notorious for failure around the 100K mark</blockquote>

Is it mainly the 4l60e that has this problem? As someone who (a) just sold an old AWD Mazda because the tranny repair was too expensive for the value of the car, and (b) is about to buy a Hoe with 109,990 miles on it, the transmission going out on the new car would be a nightmare.

Anyone know which tranny the '00 Z71 Tahoe had, and what I can do to minimize my exposure to big expenses here?

 

[Chads93GT]

Dude I bought my tahoe 2 years ago with 100k miles on the clock and I wasnt even worried about it. Chevy trucks last FOREVER man.

 

[withac]

Your sugar anology was similar to what ive been told for years, i just didn't feel like typing it out lol.

Slacker. :lol:

 

[withac]

<blockquote>these 4l60e tranny's that most of these rides have are notorious for failure around the 100K mark</blockquote>

Is it mainly the 4l60e that has this problem? As someone who (a) just sold an old AWD Mazda because the tranny repair was too expensive for the value of the car, and (b) is about to buy a Hoe with 109,990 miles on it, the transmission going out on the new car would be a nightmare.

Anyone know which tranny the '00 Z71 Tahoe had, and what I can do to minimize my exposure to big expenses here?

That's what I understand. YOu can tell what tranny you have by the codes printed in your glove compartment but I dont' recall which code. I got this info on http://www.ls1truck.com/forums/. Helpfull guys. They're really into high performance not just daily driver type stuff but they do know a lot. You could post up there and ask or do a post search by username and look for posts by me, I use the same username there. It might take some searching but somewhere in one of my posts they told me what to look for to tell which tranny I had. You'll also find all the questions I've asked and all the feedback I've gotten on tranny questions. It might be worth your time.

 

[withac]

Dude I bought my tahoe 2 years ago with 100k miles on the clock and I wasnt even worried about it. Chevy trucks last FOREVER man.

The trucks do but the tranny's don't. I bought my 'Ho in December with something over 90K miles on it and had to have it rebuilt in April or May at 93K. If you bought it new, put a cooler and shift kit in it, flushed the fluid every 2 or 3 years you'd prolly be bullet proof but buying used you have no idea. If a guy has any doubts I suggest finding someone you trust and have them look or at least do a pan drop yourself and see what the pan looks like, but even then, if I'd checked before my needle bearing went out in the sun gear I would have found nothing and it could have gone out a week later. I just think better safe than sorry. Even had mine not gone out I planned on a shift kit, 'Vette servo and cooler to help it perform better with less wear.