Hi all - sorry for the long post but wanted to give some background along with my questions. I've had my 2001 Silverado 2500 6.0L for about 10 years now, I was a poor college then grad student the first several years and outside of oil changes and emergency repairs, I didn't put a lot into other maintenance. The last few years I've had a mechanic friend kindly help me with multiple projects as long as I provide the parts and drinks, and more recently I've been learning to do more repairs myself and trying to get up to date on all the maintenance needs it should have had done (has 270,000 miles but still in pretty darn good shape all things considered).
This spring I noticed a burning smell coming from the engine/general area and despite multiple engine cleanings I can't get it to go away and was told it's probably just oil on the exhaust. We've tracked down and replaced multiple gaskets over the last couple years hunting oil leaks but it does still have a substantial oil leak that appears to be coming from between the transmission and engine. I believe the only way to get to this is to drop the transmission to access that gasket?
But my main question is to do with the transmission service, it's definitely overdue for a fluid change. Quite recently it began to "shudder" occasionally while idling. Its inconsistent but worrisome as we have a camper trailer and this is the only hauling vehicle we have with trips coming up soon and our usual reputable mechanics are booked weeks out even for diagnostics. The RPMs don't change, the truck isn't throwing any codes, and several other parts have recently been replaced that are the typical causes of rough idle (fuel pump, knock sensors, spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, cleaned MAF sensor, new starter, and a few other parts I may be forgetting). It's also been having some difficulty starting since this idle issue began, though it does always start eventually. From my recent research trying to learn about transmissions, it seemed that low fluid would explain those issues but I've checked multiple times with the truck cold, running, hot, all points and the fluid check always comes back full. I plan to change the fluid and install a new filter tomorrow, and I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be looking into while I've got it jacked up and am under there? I'm not set up to try and drop the transmission to access that gasket where the oil is leaking yet but may rent a spot in a DIY garage this fall to tackle that. Aside from those symptoms listed above, the transmission seems to be working smoothly aside from the occasional (as in once or twice a week and it's a daily driver) delay while shifting up while accelerating. Do these symptoms seem to fit with old transmission fluid, or should I be worried about other issues? Is there anything else you'd recommend I do while I'm under there? If I drop the transmission later to do that gasket, will I need to replace all the fluid again?
Thank you for taking the time to read, and input appreciated to help me out in my mechanical learning! I love this truck and hope to make it last as long as I can.
This spring I noticed a burning smell coming from the engine/general area and despite multiple engine cleanings I can't get it to go away and was told it's probably just oil on the exhaust. We've tracked down and replaced multiple gaskets over the last couple years hunting oil leaks but it does still have a substantial oil leak that appears to be coming from between the transmission and engine. I believe the only way to get to this is to drop the transmission to access that gasket?
But my main question is to do with the transmission service, it's definitely overdue for a fluid change. Quite recently it began to "shudder" occasionally while idling. Its inconsistent but worrisome as we have a camper trailer and this is the only hauling vehicle we have with trips coming up soon and our usual reputable mechanics are booked weeks out even for diagnostics. The RPMs don't change, the truck isn't throwing any codes, and several other parts have recently been replaced that are the typical causes of rough idle (fuel pump, knock sensors, spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, cleaned MAF sensor, new starter, and a few other parts I may be forgetting). It's also been having some difficulty starting since this idle issue began, though it does always start eventually. From my recent research trying to learn about transmissions, it seemed that low fluid would explain those issues but I've checked multiple times with the truck cold, running, hot, all points and the fluid check always comes back full. I plan to change the fluid and install a new filter tomorrow, and I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be looking into while I've got it jacked up and am under there? I'm not set up to try and drop the transmission to access that gasket where the oil is leaking yet but may rent a spot in a DIY garage this fall to tackle that. Aside from those symptoms listed above, the transmission seems to be working smoothly aside from the occasional (as in once or twice a week and it's a daily driver) delay while shifting up while accelerating. Do these symptoms seem to fit with old transmission fluid, or should I be worried about other issues? Is there anything else you'd recommend I do while I'm under there? If I drop the transmission later to do that gasket, will I need to replace all the fluid again?
Thank you for taking the time to read, and input appreciated to help me out in my mechanical learning! I love this truck and hope to make it last as long as I can.
