Dead tow vehicle

[hopps1945]

Not a happy camper today. Got a call at work from the wife saying she thinks the tranny blew on the truck. Said it made a loud bang noise. Got home and a buddy and I checked it out and she is toast. So, at least the boating season was over so now get to find a new/used/rebuilt tranny to put in the truck......

[bryce2320]

Sorry to hear, that sucks. What kind of truck is it? Manual or auto?

[Wakeman22]

That sucks. My truck was in the shop while I was in Vegas and is in the shop again for the past 8 days. Ford dealer here is full of excuses.

[chpthril]

Im feelin ya! My wifes SUV and daily driver, and what I use when I need to pickup/drop off a boat, has nearly 200K miles. In the last 6 months:

2K for reman trans (no labor as im able to do the swap my self) and over $350 for 2 weeks car rental.

$50 for a waterpump.

$250 for belt, thermostat, diagnostic and tow bill after some random overheating at hiway speeds which ended up being a $10 radiator cap. I replaced it myself after the 2nd shop it was towed to couldnt find a reason for the overheating.

$200 for a broken radiator I busted trying to replace the bad fan clutch with a free used one a buddy hooked me up with. Well, the free one is no good, so I have ordered a new one, so another $115 and I get to swap it again.

Good luck

[hopps1945]

It is an automatic on an 04 Chevy PU. Has 100,000 on it. Not the best but what I have read on this model year and tranny, a LOT of people have seen them go bad with as little as 30-40,000 miles. Yikees! So, been checking around getting prices and will see...... Luckily I have a backup, my old 1978 3/4ton Chevy Pickup. This was my daily driver until we got the 04. I have to say I have always been a chevy/GM fan until owning the 2004. Because of that truck, I will probably never own one again.

Chpthril - sorry man! Hopefully mine is just a swap and call it good with no additional problems (fingers crossed!)

[Timmy!]

Get that rebuilt and have the Z-pack clutches put in it this time. My '03 Avalanche transmission went out at 65k miles or so and had it beefed up so it wouldn't happen again. Towed a lot better after the upgrades.

[bspot]

If you going with a reman, don't be afraid to call your local GMC dealer. In canada we can sell them for under 2k and have a 3 year 160,000km warranty part and labour. Even if you install it yourself. Typically most parts are even cheaper buying in the US.

[hopps1945]

Thanks guys for the info. I will look into this tomorrow when I start calling around.

[Joeprunc]

Just curious is it a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? I've been looking at upgrading my truck with an 06-07 Chevy 3/4 ton (hopefully with the Duramax & Allison tranny, but might settle for the 6.0).

[bspot]

Do not settle for a 6.0 litre. If you are thinking of getting a duramax, get one. They are absolute beasts when it comes to towing. Never have to worry about blowing transmissions.

[hopps1945]

Just curious is it a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? I've been looking at upgrading my truck with an 06-07 Chevy 3/4 ton (hopefully with the Duramax & Allison tranny, but might settle for the 6.0).

It's a 1/2 ton.

[Timmy!]

If you are having the shop do the work, also inquire about the size of the transmission cooler. You may/may no want to put in a bigger one. The factory one that was in my Avalanche was pretty small. Lots of shady transmission shops out there, always make them show you factory cooler (in the vehicle) and the upgraded one (in the vehicle) after the work is done. I've been burned on a transmission before...$1,500 down the drain.

[hopps1945]

Got the truck back today. 2 days in the shop and a new, beefed up tranny and a large cooler added. She's going to be a towing machine now!

[Timmy!]

Got the truck back today. 2 days in the shop and a new, beefed up tranny and a large cooler added. She's going to be a towing machine now!