Hi there! I have an 09 silverado 1500 5.3L 2WD with 140,000mi that started having a major issue out of nowhere. It was stuck in slow traffic for a while and when the speed picked up it never came out of 1st gear. The clutch isn‘t burnt, it has new solenoids & filter, it has no issues in reverse and no OBD diagnostics codes popped up although I question if my diagnostic scanner is trustworthy. Any suggestions or am I out of luck?
Same thing happened to my 4L60. Transmission was done.
I had it replaced and suddenly the vehicle shifted better than ever before
The 4L60E - I have that in my 2009 Hummer H3, still on original at 169,000 miles and going strong. When you had it replaced did you go with a remanufactured one? Do they make remanufactured ones?
Yes. Plenty of them. It was one of the most common transmissions on the road
but my previous vehicle had one too, and it was still working perfectly at 200,000 miles. I think this one was just abused.
I'm pretty sure this transmission was one of the most reliable that GM ever made, it was originally all-analog before GM switched it to electronic shift points sometime in the '90s.
. I will be having someone else run an OBD scanner on it first thing monday and see what codes are popping up.
a bad transmission won't necessarily produce trouble codes. Even when totally failed. Mine didn't
An experienced tech will attach a scanner, test drive the vehicle, and watch live data to diagnose problems.
Or he may condemn the transmission based entirely on the test drive.
A typical lower-end OBD2 scanner is not able to diagnose transmission problems. You need to take your vehicle to a transmission expert that has a professional-grade bidirectional scan tool.
I actually ended up taking it to a local mechanic who scanned it with a higher end diagnostics reader and he failed to tell me any codes and immediatey recommended a new transmission. I think I’ll be taking it elsewhere for a second opinion.
The clutch isn‘t burnt, it has new solenoids & filter, it has no issues in reverse
Automatic transmissions don't have a clutch. The mechanism is a torque converter, a type of fluid coupling, and allows the vehicle's transmission to be independent of the engine. This is why when you're stopped, the engine keeps running.
I presume he was referring to clutch packs which control the movement of planetary gear sets to enable the transmission to engage the correct gear
How can you tell clutch packs aren't burned without opening up the tranny?
I was indeed referring to the clutch pack. I suppose I can’t definitively say it isn’t burned having not completely opened up the tranny, however I’m going off of color and smell of the transmission fluid as, I’ve been told, a burnt clutch can usually be identified off of putrid transmission fluid smell and abnormal coloration.
Take it to a mechanic who you trust to have them look at it. Shady mechanics will say to need a new transmission, simply because it's 14 years old.
Did you go to a chain store, by any chance?
Unfortunately I’m in between a rock and a hard place on this one. I recently moved and don’t have any mechanics around who I can fully trust. I simply took it to the nearest mechanic since it’s stuck in 1st gear and I can’t go very far without fear of tearing the truck up even more & I didn’t take it to a chain store
Try manually adjusting from 1st to 2nd once you're going and see what that does. Check back with us.
sorry for the late responses. I tried manually shifting gears and it still will not shift out of first. I will be having someone else run an OBD scanner on it first thing monday and see what codes are popping up.