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Transmission fluid change to Synthetic, now problems!

22K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  Mak25 
#1 ·
Hey Guys,

Im new to the forum, awesome site. Been doing some searches on the transmission fluid change I just did, got some helpful tips. But I ran into some issues after doing mine. I just bought the truck used, heres the info on it

2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (Crew, 4x4)
5.3L
4 speed automatic electronic (4L60E)
68,000 miles

So being somewhat of an anal person, I decided to go through it and check all the fluids & change what I thought was neccessary. I changed out both difs with Amsoil SG 75w-90 (found this info on here, thx). Then decided to do the Transfer case & Tranny fluid change (gasket & filter pan drop). So I find out there is no drain plug on pan, WTH. Also, the shifter bracket is in the way & a pain to get off. Ok, getting back on track, change filter & gasket, fill pan with 5 qts as manual states. I used Vavoline Dexron VI full Synthetic. Take her for a test drive & everything seems ok except when I floor it, it wont shift into 3rd. It revs up then down slightly, at about 4-5k rpm. Then when I let off, it will go into 3rd. tried it multiple times and same issue. Tranny was warmed up when I did this, about 160+. It shifted fine when driving it easy. I go back home & check level on dipstick & it looks way overfilled. it looked almost double of where the full is on the Hot hasmarks. So Im thinking its overfilled, loosen pan & drain out to reach full on Hot hashmark. attempt to put into R & it wont engage. Crap, now its too low, fill it back up, guessing on where to fill to. I add about 1 1/2 qt and it engages in gear but seems to be rough when going into drive & reverse. its over the Hot hashmarks like before. I add some more, after calculating what I took out & put back in. I put in about 4 1/2 qts total, so according to manual once again, Im about 1/2 qt low. I know I sound like a rookie here, But Im not. So now Im wondering if the Synthetic fluid is too thin for this type of transmission, even though I have read about others experiences with Synthetic & it seems to be what a lot of guys are going with in their trucks. So maybe 3rd gear in my tranny is starting to go & now with fresh fluid in there, Im noticing it more. Now that Im thinking about it, I want to say there was a tiny hesitation into 3rd before but not sure, I have only had the truck for a week. IDK, what do you guys think? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
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#3 ·
I don't think your problem is the fluid. You done something, did not replace the shift linkage or trans filter properly or possibly got a bad filter. 5 qts is what it should take to R & R the trans filter.

everything seems ok except when I floor it, it wont shift into 3rd.
Was it ok when you did this exact same thing before changing fluid? Or is this the first time you been flooring it and it won't shift?

You can overfill these pans by about 1/2 qt + and it should NOT affect trans operation, its a sump. I done that before and drove and never had a problems. Too little will cause shifting problems though. The main reason they warn about not overfilling is safety, over filled it can expand (all atf does), foam (poor quality atf) and puke out the fill tube, hit hot engine parts starting fire. GM trucks had the problem in early 90's, they redesigned dip stick with lock.
 
#4 ·
Thx guys for your replies. I pushed the shift linkage all the way forward til it clipped in the mount. Now if it wasnt all the way forward, wouldnt it not shift into the proper gears? The filter felt tight in the ring assembly. So if its a bad filter then at an higher RPM, maybe its not providing enough fluid? So what do you do once you have replaced the gasket & filter & have the pan back on, do you fill 5 qts and then check everything or put less & add if needed?

Was it ok when you did this exact same thing before changing fluid? Or is this the first time you been flooring it and it won't shift?
Yes, it seemed fine, I kind of remember a possible slight hesitation going into 3rd. It def did not do what I described here.

Should I get a new filter/gasket & more fluid & change out again, this time really taking my time or take it to the dealer? The dipstick was really throwing me off.
 
#6 ·
I doubt it's the tranny fluid doing this. I just serviced my tranny (4L60E) about 19,000 miles ago with the same fluid (Valvoline) and had zero issues. Your truck is still within the 5 year/100,000 mile mark for the warranty, take it to the dealer that you can trust (if that's at all possible).
 
#8 ·
Valvoline Syn ATF is 2nd only to Amsoil for tranny fluid quality. It's not the fluid. I agree with the others. Probably just something out of place.
You are under warranty, but you may still have to pay the dealer if something got messed up. If you are lucky, they'll just take care of it for ya.
 
#9 ·
So today when I drove it, it would not hesitiate when driving it easy. Moderate accerleration, it slips & hesitates into 3rd gear which I didnt notice that much yesterday. Under hard accerlation, it revs up & down like its hitting the rev limiter, same as yesterday. So I took it to a friends Tranny shop & he said there is a def issue with 3rd gear. He suggested a reputable GMC dealer, so I took it there. I was able to recreate the problem on the test drive with the Tech so they are going to tear into it and figure out whats wrong.

So long story short, it was nothing I did wrong. Thank goodness truck is still under factory warranty. I will find out exactly whats wrong soon.

Thx again guys for your help/input. I really appreciate it.
 
#10 ·
Please be sure to let us know what they find, and what the fix is. We're interested in the outcome.
 
#11 ·
EKinMN said:
Valvoline Syn ATF is 2nd only to Amsoil for tranny fluid quality. It's not the fluid. I agree with the others. Probably just something out of place.
You are under warranty, but you may still have to pay the dealer if something got messed up. If you are lucky, they'll just take care of it for ya.
Amsoil is a group 4 and Valvoline is a group 3, its apples and oranges. Valvoline is the same as all other Dex 6 brands out there. Amsoil is in a league of its own.

As for the truck and the problems, get it checked out, its not the fluid its something alittle more serious.
 
#14 ·
Yeah. You should probably have GM look at it. But Im having tranny problems too. It slips a little especially from first to second and they told me not to put new fluid in because it may just break the whole transmission. I don't know much about trannys so this was new to me but if it is new to you then Ill tell you why. Basically after being driven day by day your transmission smooths out and what keeps the plates together is the bits and pieces of the plates that smoothed out. This is was it uses for grip. Now if you put new fluid in you loose all of that grip. So it slips. You said it kinda hesitates when going into third so it could be slipping a bit. But I'd say take it to GM. :)
 
#15 ·
That just sounds like a dealership that doesnt want to fix the problem. Ive never heard of a tranny working worse after a fluid change, but mine def did work worse after so IDK. I really dont know that much about these trannys either, Im learning though. Mine is slipping into 3rd on moderate acceleration & would not even shift into 3rd on hard acceleration until I let off the accelerator. I had a transmission tech look at today and when it slipped on him, he immediately stated there was a big problem. Then I had a Tech from GM see the same issue & he stated the same thing. That there is a def problem in the transmission & they are gonna tear into it soon. He said there are some o-rings that tend to rip in there.
Maybe you should take it to another dealership & see if you can get someone to help you with your issue. Good luck.
 
#16 ·
Hi guys! I'm new here, but I thought I'd chime in anyway.
From what I've been told, there are 2 different filter's for the 4L60E. 1 for a deep pan and 1 for a shallow pan. Make sure you have the correct one. They look similar, but one is just a little taller than the other. If your trans requires a shallow filter and you've accidentally installed one for a deep pan, it may be having trouble drawing up fluid and causing your problems.
Just a thought.....
 
#17 ·
At the risk of sounding stupid, are you checking the fluid level with the engine running? The engine should be running and the transmission in park to check the fluid level. I'd guess you either did not seat the filter all the way into the pump or possibly loosened/knockled off a wire on a solenoid. I'd drop the pan again and check everything out.
 
#19 ·
Alright guys, the problem is resolved. And I feel like a total rookie. So the ring assembly didnt seat all the way in and it dropped the trans filter. 5 qts actually was too much fluid so it was overfull by quite a bit. The reason the transmission was acting somewhat normal was because it was overfull, so it was actually able to suck up the fluid during easy operation. But once I gave it moderate to hard acceleration, the fluid went toward the back of the pan and without the trans filter plugging in, it couldnt get enough fluid. So the dealer, changed the ring, filter, & gasket and filled her up to proper level. Truck shifts perfect now, easy to hard acceleration. Im pretty sure the filter/gasket I got was correct, I got it from the dealer. So it was probably my installation mistake other than an incorrect filter/gasket. The Techs at the dealer were awesome, no charge.

Im glad it wasnt anything serious, but I do feel like a dum dum :oops:
 
#24 ·
Now you know for next time, as do our members! Thanks for updating us.
 
#26 ·
:shock: I just dropped pan and installed new ring, filter and gasket and 6qrts dextron 6. Was shifting mint prior to change , just wanted some preventative maintenance @85k. Drove it out of garage and it shifted HARD out of 1 to 2 . All at her gears work mint. But shifting from 1-2 gives your the whiplash sensation and KLUNK noise .

Any other ideas?! Per this thread I will drop pan and reevaluate ring seat and filter seat, but other than that I do not know where to go next. Thanks!
 
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