Help!! My Trans. is screwed....

Hey guys, need some trans. masters on this one. '02 silverado 1500HD crew cab. 78,000 miles 4l80e tranny.

Sorry for the long post but this is difficult to explain...

For a couple of days now my trans. is shifting very hard into overdrive. There is large hesitation from 3rd to 4th and when it does finally shift it's a very hard jerk into gear and then a light "rattle" comes from the tranny you can hear through the floor in the truck. Seems to only do it in overdrive. I've drove around once or twice in 3rd and didn't notice any problems but then stop and shift to overdrive and take off and does it again. Today when I got home and put her in park there was a strange "growl" or light humming noise that was definately coming from inside the tranny pan. It would go away if you held the brake and put in gear and come back when put in park or nuetral. It does not slip and has all the torque and everything when you step on it and speed up. The fluid IS good. I changed the filter about 1,000 miles ago and filled back up with the good syn. dextron. No, I have not had it scanned yet but I'm going to but I live in the sticks and have to drive 70 miles to the closest place with a trans. scanner. I'm just looking for opinions from you trans. educated guys on this forum, I've got great help from here in the past. I'm just afraid this is gonna be a rebuild and the cheapest I can get it done in my area is $2,400.00. AND I STILL OWE OVER 10 GRAND ON THE TRUCK!

Thanks in advance for any and all information to come....

Hey guys, need some trans. masters on this one. '02 silverado 1500HD crew cab. 78,000 miles 4l80e tranny.

Sorry for the long post but this is difficult to explain...

For a couple of days now my trans. is shifting very hard into overdrive. There is large hesitation from 3rd to 4th and when it does finally shift it's a very hard jerk into gear and then a light "rattle" comes from the tranny you can hear through the floor in the truck. Seems to only do it in overdrive. I've drove around once or twice in 3rd and didn't notice any problems but then stop and shift to overdrive and take off and does it again. Today when I got home and put her in park there was a strange "growl" or light humming noise that was definately coming from inside the tranny pan. It would go away if you held the brake and put in gear and come back when put in park or nuetral. It does not slip and has all the torque and everything when you step on it and speed up. The fluid IS good. I changed the filter about 1,000 miles ago and filled back up with the good syn. dextron. No, I have not had it scanned yet but I'm going to but I live in the sticks and have to drive 70 miles to the closest place with a trans. scanner. I'm just looking for opinions from you trans. educated guys on this forum, I've got great help from here in the past. I'm just afraid this is gonna be a rebuild and the cheapest I can get it done in my area is $2,400.00. AND I STILL OWE OVER 10 GRAND ON THE TRUCK!

Thanks in advance for any and all information to come....


when you replaced the fluid and filter,,,what did this look like describe the debris found....

did you install the same exact filter as removed,,,did the filter look different..? I had issues with part stores selling the wrong filters..

why did you do this 1000 mi ago ??? problems then...do you know if the transmission has had prior fluid /filter replacement...?

what is the work usage , that this vehicle is expected ??

I just picked this thing up in February and I had no maintenance history on it so I changed all the fluids. Judging from the 1/2 inch holes in the box I new it had a fifth wheel in at one time so I new it was a puller and figured a trans. filter change would be good for it. The filter is the right one and everything in the pan looked and smelled good when changed. NO METAL SHAVINGS...All I do with this truck is drive highway miles to work and such. I do pull a 20ft. gooseneck two or three times a month with only two horses in it, not a heavy load for this truck by any means and I NEVER pull in overdrive.

The thing that gets me is when I was looking to buy this truck, knowing about the fifth wheel, I test drove this thing 3 times and cautiously checked everything out and then 4,000 miles later here we go. But, what can you do, gotta bite my lip, get it fixed, even if it's a $2,500 bill...

I just picked this thing up in February and I had no maintenance history on it so I changed all the fluids. Judging from the 1/2 inch holes in the box I new it had a fifth wheel in at one time so I new it was a puller and figured a trans. filter change would be good for it. The filter is the right one and everything in the pan looked and smelled good when changed. NO METAL SHAVINGS...All I do with this truck is drive highway miles to work and such. I do pull a 20ft. gooseneck two or three times a month with only two horses in it, not a heavy load for this truck by any means and I NEVER pull in overdrive.

The thing that gets me is when I was looking to buy this truck, knowing about the fifth wheel, I test drove this thing 3 times and cautiously checked everything out and then 4,000 miles later here we go. But, what can you do, gotta bite my lip, get it fixed, even if it's a $2,500 bill...

the drive train in these vehicles are built good..they do require frequent fluid servicing..rear/front dif,transmission/transfercase I replace these fluids at the 30,ooomi point...

the rear diff with the eaton locker is in need of a easy does it breakin, when new/replaced,, this has caused the diff to get a bad reputation..

I also check the fluid condition/level every 6mo...

When you replaced the trans filter, did the rubber o-ring go in ok? Did you have trouble getting the old o-ring out? I have heard people state that it was hard to get out on the 4L60E and want to make sure you did not add the new one without taking out the old one.

Yes, the old ones are hard to get out but I did replace it. Actually I was just remembering how snug the old filter fit in the old ring. When I installed the new one the filter did not want to stay up in place. I pushed it up as firm as I could get it but it still seemed loose. Is it possible for the filter to fall down far enough with the pan on to not be getting full flow of fluid??

I think I'll pull my pan tomorrow and take a look. What's another few quarts of fluid on top of what it's probably going to cost me in the end anyway...

One other thing...I did notice on the few times these symtoms have happened the tranny temp. was higher than it normally is. Usually even on hot days it's around 150. When it acted up it was up to about 180. I know that is far from the red zone but wonder if it's relevant or not.

this is why I stated''',,, are you sure the filter removed is the exact same as you installed...the filter must stay in place...if this slides down this is your problem......you are sucking air into the fluid this is very bad.

they have lots of O.D. problems. Bushing go bad or bearing failure. $2500 seems kind of high.

Well, I pulled my pan and I've got metal shavings. I'm not even going to put it back together. It's going on the trailer and getting hauled to the tranny shop. I don't know what happened but hopefully it's only in the overdrive and won't cost me a complete rebuild. I knew I should have bought that 5 speed Cummins instead of this lemon.....:disappoin :crying:

Well, I pulled my pan and I've got metal shavings. I'm not even going to put it back together. It's going on the trailer and getting hauled to the tranny shop. I don't know what happened but hopefully it's only in the overdrive and won't cost me a complete rebuild. I knew I should have bought that 5 speed Cummins instead of this lemon.....:disappoin :crying:

sorry to hear that...ya you will need a complete rebuild...also because of the contamination you will need a torque converter and a full tranny coolant line flushing before installing the rebuild tranny....

this posting hopfully will help guide others with the filter install,,,if it fits loosely its not right....

Yeah, talked to a couple different shops which work exclusively on tranny's. Both said from my description it will be a total rebuild so going with the best price and warranty I can get. $1,900 and 18 month unlimited miles warranty. At least this way I know what I've got when I get it back....

Yeah, talked to a couple different shops which work exclusively on tranny's. Both said from my description it will be a total rebuild so going with the best price and warranty I can get. $1,900 and 18 month unlimited miles warranty. At least this way I know what I've got when I get it back....

with a warrantee from a shop that has been in business for a good amount of time you should not have problems.....they usually won't take short cuts at your expense....you will need a new torque converter,,,don't use the old one...its impossible to clean them...

I'm hoping the converter is included in his price. He guaranteed it would not exceed $2,000 even if it needed the works. The shop is 48 years in business and with that warranty I'm assuming they will replace everything.

I'll find out today...It's loaded and ready to go..

Well, I pulled my pan and I've got metal shavings. I'm not even going to put it back together. It's going on the trailer and getting hauled to the tranny shop. I don't know what happened but hopefully it's only in the overdrive and won't cost me a complete rebuild. I knew I should have bought that 5 speed Cummins instead of this lemon.....:disappoin :crying:


don't say that, the cummins is great no doubt, but its not in a ford or chevy, chrysler cannot come near to making a truck to match the cummins' durability. they have cone leaps and bounds in the last few years, but....

I'm hoping the converter is included in his price. He guaranteed it would not exceed $2,000 even if it needed the works. The shop is 48 years in business and with that warranty I'm assuming they will replace everything.

I'll find out today...It's loaded and ready to go..

keep us posted, no idea on the root cause? If the filter dropped, the airated fluid would def cause catastrophic failures like that........

Not sure of the cause yet. The filter was still in place when I dropped the pan. Still fitting loosely but in place, could still have been a contributer to my problem though. I'll definately be asking what they think caused it when I pick it up on Tuesday.

j cAT: The shop owner said there will be a new converter going in as well. He would never give me the warranty without it.

jyount: I do realize GM overall is a much better truck than the Dodge. Chevy is all I've ever owned for a truck. But, I've used many a Cummins in the past and WOW, with the five speed tranny can you pull or what...
Here's an idea...A Sierra or Silvy with the 5.9 Cummins in front of the Allison automatic, now that's one I wanna buy.

On another note...I used a buddy's F250 and 27ft gooseneck to haul to the shop. That Powerstroke should be called POWERGULP because those suckers are THIRSTY for that diesel. 14.5 gallons in 160 miles WOW...But that's a topic for another forum I guess.

Not sure of the cause yet. The filter was still in place when I dropped the pan. Still fitting loosely but in place, could still have been a contributer to my problem though. I'll definately be asking what they think caused it when I pick it up on Tuesday.

j cAT: The shop owner said there will be a new converter going in as well. He would never give me the warranty without it.

jyount: I do realize GM overall is a much better truck than the Dodge. Chevy is all I've ever owned for a truck. But, I've used many a Cummins in the past and WOW, with the five speed tranny can you pull or what...
Here's an idea...A Sierra or Silvy with the 5.9 Cummins in front of the Allison automatic, now that's one I wanna buy.

On another note...I used a buddy's F250 and 27ft gooseneck to haul to the shop. That Powerstroke should be called POWERGULP because those suckers are THIRSTY for that diesel. 14.5 gallons in 160 miles WOW...But that's a topic for another forum I guess.

you're buddies truck must be a a fluke, or the newer trucks are something else, I had a 97 with a couple mods, it would pull a house and got mileage to be jealous of while doing it. it had 3.55 and a five speed. I would guess his truck probably had something wrong with it, mine sipped fuel, 19 or 20 mpg everyday, pulling 16 to 17. Pretty good for a 7000 lb truck, that is part of it too, his sd probably weighs over 10 grand empty.
No argument though, the cummins is a great powerplant, if it wasn't it, it wouldn't be in 90% of the medium trucks out there. I just won't have a dodge to get it is all.

Well, got it back tuesday night. The overdrive was trashed...Coming apart inside. My tranny guy said he suspects the previous owner may have pulled his fifth-wheel around in overdrive but it's really hard to tell why it broke. I've got a two page print-out of everything that was replaced. $1,958.00 later I'm good to go. Just in time, gotta pull the wife's horses to the 4th of July Rodeo bash this weekend......