Slight Tranny Slip

I have a '00 4x2 and have noticed a tranny slip at times. It doesn't happen often but after sitting for a bit then driving, the slip goes away. I changed the fluid and filter about a month ago. Does anyone think a bottle of Lucas Tranny fix will solve the problem?
Thanks for the input..

Make sure it is full of tranny fluid.
When is the last time you replaced any of the tranny fluid?

Do you have any codes stored, like TPS?

When you changed fluid, why did you do it? Was it already giving you a problem? If not, then you need to change the fluid again. This time use a very high quality fluid and perhaps an additive. Many folks are not paying attention to the fluid they use. The price will tell you whats the better thing to do. A cheap fluid seems alright but the transmissions are pressure dependent. This makes them viscosity dependent. So problems can happen at higher temps.

I know, not yours. On the other hand, yours sounds like a sticking problem. Only cleaning the darn thing thoroughly can get rid of this and many times, only a rebuild can clean it well enough. Sorry to say that out loud??? It may be that the sticking can be resolved with a slightly higher viscosity bexause at startup because the pressure is a litle higher also. Generally this is NOT so.

Whats even worse is that it is completely possible that if the problem did not exist before changing the filter and fluid, that you may have introduced some small amount of dirt, or weaker fluid, yourself.. Not accusing, but simply disturbing stuff causes problems at times and in transmissions that have never been serviced this can easily happen. A piece of anything like old filter material or part of the small filter seal that might have come apart, many things can add problems where it seems none existed before.

How many miles did it have on the tranny when you changed the fluid. If it has over a hundred thousand and hasn't been changed before then there is a 90% chance that it will go out soon. At least that is what they say in tranny school.

Know what stikes me odd?? It almost seems that the factory wants us to burn up transmissions. No drain. On some of our blazers its next to impossible to remove the pan. My jimmy had to have the crossover pipe AND the tranny mount taken apart just to take pan down. I did it anyway, but isnt that kind of idiotic design mistake a totall blunder?? Or could it be planned to be that way??

Aftermarket manufacturers produce kits all day long to add filters on the outside and to place them in a nice location that anyone can reach. If the factory wanted us to be able to change the fluid, wouldnt they do this from the git go? How about checking the status of your stick shift?? Top of the darn tranny is where stick comes out and it would certainly be easy enough to check from the top on mine with no console. A provision COULD have been designed.

Its as simple as abc. They want us to burn up our cars.


So whats up with the tranny?

I changed the fluid & filter about a month ago at aprox 80K. I never had any trouble before and it only had the "slipping" issue happen once last week and not again since then. I should note that I've only had the truck for about 5 months now and don't really know any of it's history. Should I go ahead and change the fluid again to be sure or have it looked at further?

quote:

ORIGINAL: blazingsadle

Know what stikes me odd?? It almost seems that the factory wants us to burn up transmissions. No drain. On some of our blazers its next to impossible to remove the pan. My jimmy had to have the crossover pipe AND the tranny mount taken apart just to take pan down. I did it anyway, but isnt that kind of idiotic design mistake a totall blunder?? Or could it be planned to be that way??

Aftermarket manufacturers produce kits all day long to add filters on the outside and to place them in a nice location that anyone can reach. If the factory wanted us to be able to change the fluid, wouldnt they do this from the git go? How about checking the status of your stick shift?? Top of the darn tranny is where stick comes out and it would certainly be easy enough to check from the top on mine with no console. A provision COULD have been designed.

Its as simple as abc. They want us to burn up our cars.


So whats up with the tranny?

*sarcasm*
HOLY HELL!!! It must be one big conspiracy! WOW
Better break out the tin-foil helmets everyone!
*/sarcasm*

Valid points, but I'd like to see you design several thousand components and have EVERYTHING be easily accessible. The fact is that GM (and just about any other auto manufacturer) is attempting to utilize parts from other platforms to keep things cheaper. If that means that one platform makes you jump through hoops to do things, well, so be it.

Anyway, any GM owner has nothing to gripe about when it comes to the life of their transmissions. Now Chrysler owners, that's another story...

Figured somebody would bite. All beside the point isnt it? No-one will ever convince me that a union shop is out to save me money. Sorry about that, I was union at one time.

The amount of changes that have happened to fuel delivery ssytems in the last 15-20 years alone have proved to me that non of them knew what they were doing to begin with.

Anyone check out the latest 2 strokes motors fom Evenrude. Pretty soon they'll have it down to three moving parts. And they run cleaner??

What the real point is.......... No one ever changes ALL their fluid the first time. Couple to three quarts hang in there and still have that 80 thousand miles on them. If it was real bad then changing it again is a must. There are outfits that manage to remove most of it out the top. If you go there about twice within 6 months, you may get 85 % changed. See, its like this. YOU NEVER CHANGE IT ALL. It hangs in torque converter. So, badly contaminated stuff from a previous lack of maintanance WILL STAY for about 30 % through the first change.

If you then use a cheap fluid and no additive, you may have substituted cheap fluid without additive for old BUT high quality fluid WITH an additive. Its entirely possible to replace with a lesser quality although cleaner.

This alone ought to be reason enough for a drain plug shouldnt it?

I would leave it be and check the level once a week to see if it stays put. I would also keep a close eye on the color of it and if its not correct, then I would change it again cause too much trash has stayed behind.

What about a bottle of Lucas Oil Tranny fix? I noted in some other threads that has been used with a lot of success.

If there is a real problem with the tranny, adding detergents waon't fix it.

Where is the fluid levevl on the dipstick when the engine is running/warm?

To the original poster. You should be fine, won't worry about it. Swap out another 4-5 quarts next year.

For some general info.
The tranny cross brace has always been in the way of droping the tranny pan on the S-Series trucks. Its not a design flaw, or some other conspiracy. The cross brace is designed to hold the tranny t-case in place so it doesn't crack the bellhousing, motor mounts, etc. The tranny weighs roughly 200 pounds. Hanging that off the engine is alot of weight to go unsupported, toss in another 100 pounds for the t-case and you see why it needs to be supported. To keep things the same, the cross brace bolts into the same location. Either behind the 2wdr tailhousing or behind the 4wdr adapter. Both put the cross brace in the same location ont he frame. This requires only one set of holes to be drilled/punched into the boxed frame. Cost savings in the manufacturing process. Some engineer was thinkning when they deisgned this.

Unfortunately, the down side is that the cross brace has to be removed to drop the tranny pan. If you drive 12,000 miles per year, and change it every 30,000 miles, that is once every 2 1/2 years. It takes 15 mintues to drop the cross brace, if you have the right tools. The only time the exhaust cross over pipe has to be removed is when you have to drop the tranny for a rebuild. It gets in the way when trying to drop the converter cover, and you have to take the converter cover off to unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel.

Now, there is no real reason to drop the pan. A tranny flush is done through the top cooler line at the radiator. There is no reason to replace the tranny filter. It will only filter tranny parts, and if it is plugged up, you have much bigger issues to worry about. The only places the contamination can come from is your tranny. The tranny is not subject to the outside elements like oil, or gas is.

As for adding more detergents, don't bother. Tranny fluid is full of detergents, this is what gets people into trouble when they do a fluid flush on a tranny with high miles on the fluid. The new fluid will clean all the contaiminants off the seals, which might cause them to leak, which leads to slippage or a sticking valve. Over time those seals get hard, and contaimination build up helps prevent the slippage/sticking valve. Heat is the number one reason trannies fail. The heat causes the oil to loose its lubrication abilities, and it causes the seals/gaskets to get hard.

The idle tempurature for your trans is about 175 degrees. The higher you go over that the sooner the rebuild. I have seen a chart on the effects of longevity and heat somewhere on the net, might have been posted on this site. 100,000 miles is roughly 8 years @ 12,000 miles per year. That ain't too bad considering what they have to do. If you take care of it, you can double that pretty easily.

Every tranny tech I have talked to has recommended the same thing.
Install a drain plug and swap the 4-5 quarts that drain out once per year. More often if you tow, live in the mountians, or do a ton of stop and go traffic (like police and cabs). None of them recommend an external filter. Sure the first time you have to drop the tranny pan to install the drain plug, and the cross brace is in the way, but once that is done. Its done. The newer trucks are coming with drain plugs, at least the fullsizes. Just my 2 penny's.