Truck transmission gone bad.

[mommicked]

I have a 98 Chevy S10 w 4.3 and auto trans. w 150000mi. It just started shifting hard into 2nd gear,(will bang or chirp tires w not much throttle at all) and when I went to look under the truck tranny fluid is everywhere.I think its worn out and getting hot in the 90 degree weather.Should I have it rebuilt?A friend said he could do it for about $650 if I remove it and bring it to him.$1000 if he removes/installs it.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

How much does a junk yard want for one with a warranty?

 

[CVX20SPRINT]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

How much does a junk yard want for one with a warranty?

Wreckers just keep feeding you tranny's until you get a good one,but they don't pay to change a bad one out.If it is a 4wd the tranny is a bit of a b*tch to get out so you don't want to do it anymore than you have to.$650 is a decent price if he is doing a total rebuild and replace the convertor.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Thanks,A co. said 4 to $800 for a used one w undetermined mileage and a 3 mo warranty.My friend is a pro and says it will be better than new when he rebuilds it,but I wonder if it will need extra parts replaced like the converter,and cost more than a grand.

 

[wifisher]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Even if it cost a grand because of unforseen parts, I would go with the rebuild. Especially if you plan to keep the truck for any length of time, or use it to tow anything.

Junkyard parts are just that. In a pinch, they will get you moving again, but should be avoided as much as possible.

JMHO

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Thanks to all.Im gonna get the rebuild and maybe add an external cooler also.Im gonna have to pull it in my gravel driveway after I wash the fluid off,Oh boy,I cant wait to start!!!!:facepalm:I hate to put money in this truck,but I cant afford another right now.

 

[CVX20SPRINT]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

The convertors can't be flushed that is why they need to be replaced(not really that expensive)and the tranny cooler in the rad needs to be flushed out as well.Clutch material and crap in general will be in the convertor and the rad cooler and can dislodge and cause havoc with your fresh rebuild.I was the tranny guy at a GM Dealer for 15 years and did a ton of tranny's and the only way I would do a tranny on the side and warr. it is that I would have to install it to make sure these things are done.Other than that it would get the tail light warr......60 ft or 60 sec.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

If he can do a complete rebuild for 650, then do it...

I know in my 95 truck (4L60E) I rebuilt that myself. Replacing sprags, sun shield, and a few other hard parts plus converter, all clutches and steels as well and upgraded corvette servos. I did it myself for less then 500. Been 4 years strong so far. No issues.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Thanks again for the helpfull advice.I replaced the radiator 4 yrs. ago and the installed tranny line fittings were not tight from the factory and I didnt check.so after installing and cranking, it sprayed fluid all over the engine!!I was upset.The oil cooler fittings did not come w it and I tightened them when i put them in.I just hope its repairable, it has been whinning for months now and eng.temp has been a little up w the hot weather.I hope its not burned up too bad to rebuild.My buddy has got me pretty confident,he says he can tweek it to make it better than when it was new and probably outlast the engine.

 

[444]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

If your buddy is a trans pro, I wouldn't hesitate to have him rebuild it over going with a junkyard trans. A junkyard trans is good if you want to dump the truck, that's about it. FWIW, your trans at the local u-pull junkyard would run about $120 and come with a 90 day warranty.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

While getting the engine cleaner, guy at Advance checked a replacement tranny.$1600 my buddy used to work for a Ford dealer and now works from home.he is obviosly very good as he stays very busy rebuilding them for local dealerships.and makes good money at it.I know he wont screw me and will tell me if its to bad to fix once he tears it down.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Sounds like a good buddy to have. Let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

eng.temp has been a little up w the hot weather.I hope its not burned up too bad to rebuild.
Just curious why you had to replace the radiator.....if it was because of the orange dexcool crap clogging up your radiator then you may still have problems. I had the dexcool problem and it was a nightmare until I found a successful procedure for flushing the gunk out of the block.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

I replaced the rad. 4 yrs. ago. leaking from a crack in the plastic jug at one of the oil cooler line fittings along w a new waterpump, and switched to the old green antifreeze.I flushed the motor w/o the radiator/theromstat and and had a hard time getting the red crap out of the motor until I filled it w water and a capfull of calgon dish soap I believe, and took out the plugs in the sides of the block when draining. Someone told me to try calgon or some powdered dish soap and it worked,I flushed it 2 or 3 times and it was clear and clean.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

I replaced the rad. leaking from a crack in the plastic jug at one of the oil cooler line fittings along w a new waterpump, and switched to the old green antifreeze.I flushed the motor w/o the radiator/theromstat and and had a hard time getting the red crap out of the motor until I filled it w water and a capfull of calgon dish soap I believe, and took out the plugs in the sides of the block when draining. Someone told me to try calgon or some powdered dish soap and it worked,I flushed it 2 or 3 times and it was clear and clean.

Yeah, that is what I done but used 1/2 cup cascade and it came out like new.....the commercial flush wouldn't touch it. The radiator and heater core was plugged and my chevy dealer wanted close to 2k....a little bit of my wife's cascade saved me a big repair bill.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

Fatwing chris, what do you flush the cooler lines with?trans. fluid? compressed air?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

He was talking about the cooler itself, not just the lines, but I guess you could flush it through the lines. Use something like Kooler Kleen to flush out the cooler.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

To flush the cooler the make a can of cleaner that you can thread on to the old line. Put one line in a container, the other to the cleaner and spray clean.

For advanced automotive guys auto guys, A transmission rebuild isn't all that tough, it's just the time and cleanliest.

Oh for some broken trans pics. Here's what I did to mine.
http://www.computervitals.com/gallery/main.php?cmd=album&var1=Transmission/

 

[mommicked]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

When drained the trans. fluid was dark and not clear at all.it smelled OK. Fatwing Chris, I thought the lines through the radiator were just a tube like the rest of the pipeing from the trans,does it take a solvent to flush them?. I did not flush them when I changed the rad. 4 yrs. ago but they did drain when they were disconnected. Fluid looked better 4 yrs. ago when changed. I cracked the plastic housing on the park/neutral switch trying to unplug the top elec. connector and still havent got it out, RAIN. First AT Ive removed and I remember why I always liked manual trans!!I could have changed 2 clutches in the time Ive spent on this and Im still not done!

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Truck transmission gone bad.

If the body of your truck is still good, rebuilding the transmission is the way to go. Although it has 150K miles, the 4.3 is a very good engine and will last if properly maintained.

Unfortunately, people don't understand automatic transmissions, and they don't properly maintain them--changing filters and fluids, etc. Heat is the biggest reason for failures in automatic transmissions. You would expect the oil and filter to be dirty in a truck with so many miles.

My recently departed son in law was a Master Mechanic, and he loved to rebuild 2 wheel drive Chevy truck transmissions. He could remove a 2wd Chevy transmission, tear it down, clean it, replace the bands, reassemble the transmission and reinstall it in about 75 minutes. He charged $1100 for the job--and seldom put more than $125 in parts into the job. Transmissions are often a license to steal for a repair shop. Shops are charging even more for repairing electronic transmissions, when they're actually less expensive to repair.

Good luck with your repairs.