The Blazer ate it today
 

Well, today I added the Blazer to the Ford PowerStroked junk yard along 40 mile desert. It is the only Chevy out of hundreds of POWER JOKES. So Travis the heldaway money will be uped this month.
We brought our Blazer & cargo trailer over loaded to our new home. Outside Fallon I felt the tranny start slipping, then it quit. Got to Fallon pulled in for gas & burnt tranny fluid was dripping off the skid plate. Well gased it up & headed the last 55 miles. It started acting up about half way across 40 mile desert. Well we made it. It still shifts all 4 gears & reverse but the fluid was coming out the over flow tube in a nice burnt state. The difference between the Chevy & an Exploder is the Chevy made it. I took into a shop here to have it looked at. But my guess is I better get prepared for a $2200 rebuild. We are both glad to have got here in one piece. Sunday we will pull our trailer out of Pahrump & head this way. We plan to spend a couple of days in Tonopah.
From Pahrump to here you go over 4 passes over 6000 ft. basically it is all up hill. That cargo trailer is heavy. It's gross is 3500# but my guess is 5000# is more like it. Who knows what the story is on that tranny. I have to say I appreciated Prescott Honda taking care of all the problems without any questions. But this Blazer was not what they represented it as. I feel I took a screwing on that deal with them :mad:, but it is bought & paid for so I guess I will have to fix it. At least we both like it. Heck one piece at a time it will be rebuilt & like new.
Craig

if it werent for bad luck,you'd have no luck at all!

Mark

Darn shame, Craig. But as you said - at least it made it.

Craig.....first of all, glad you made it. Second of all.......no reason to continue bashing my Powerstroke at this point, it's RUNNING GREAT. Everyday......everynight, day in-day out. Never needed a tow truck, on my 2nd one, first one had 265,000, this one has over 160,000+ on it.......still going STRONG. 3rd of all......my held-away pay is financed by recycled metal from scrap-yard Chevy's :D Remind me again........who's truck is broke down, and who's is running again? :-fire Hope the mechanic goes easy on ya buddy........

Travis, Don't take it personally. I not picking on your diesel but all Ford diesels. Remember I'm a 460 guy. One day I hope to build my 460 just to out pull the Powerstroke, Cummins, & Duramax. One thing I know is the cost will be less than building a diesel. The Blazer is still running. It is being serviced & we will see if it will work after that.
Now my C-6 is showing signs of needing a rebuild. I just hope it will hold together at least to Fallon were there is a tranny shop. There is not anyplace that I know between Las Vegas & Fallon that builds trannys.
Just joking with you Travis, but I'll cool it down, Sorry if I upset you.

Craig

Sorry to Here your troubles Craig, Sure glad you wern't stuck in the Middle of Nowhere!

Fallon is about the best place north of Vegas for it to happen, there is a lot of nothing from Vegas to Fallon

Well had the tranny flushed, new filter, gasket & new fluid. Had the shop in Lovelock add a qt of Lucas tranny fix on the recommendations of a friend of mine. I as a rule only use LubeGard in A/T. I picked it up yesterday & it shifts great. So we will drive it until it quits. Then replace it. I talked to the mechanic & he was surprised it ran. He said the fluid was burnt bad, but not crap in the pan. He said he used 18 qts to flush it out real good. So the Chevy lives on. I asked racerchick about the place in Fallon & she said her husband said they were good. I have to say I'm surprised myself that it is shifting just as good as before. The 4L60 is tougher than I ever thought.
Craig

That's amazing there was nothing in the pan. Good deal - hope it lasts a long while before you have to replace.

Glad to hear that you are back up and running without a new tranny!!! Hope it last a long time for ya!

This is just a thought but I have seen the seal between the Xfer case and tranny go bad filling up the trans. When there is too much fluid in the trans it will hit the moving parts and foam up dropping fluid pressure causing it to slip and burn.

One question - four words.

GOT A TRANNY COOLER?

Burnt fluid happens from overheating. If you can stop the overheating (as with an external tranny cooler) you can keep the clutch discs in the tranny from getting scourged from over hot conditions. Burnt fluid loses it's properties, and the clutches between the steel plates in the tranny get eaten up.

Believe it or not - you can probably rebuild it yourself with parts from someplace like TRANSCO. I'm not sure if they retail, or just supply pro shops.

Mine is in the garage.....awaiting me installing it! :D

Yes it has a cooler. I was pulling 5000# plus trailer with the back of the Blazer loaded. I need to update the tranny if I'm ever going to pull like that again. I pulled this trailer over 700 miles over several mountain passes 4 over 6000 ft. The 4L60 in our Blazer is a a 1-2-3-DO, In third gear it won't up shift into fourth as many of the new updates allow. So to of drove the whole distance in third gear would of meant driving in the 3000-3500 RPM range or driving 40 MPH. I learned my lesson on this tranny. See our 04 Trailblazer you could pull in drive or third gear & it would shift into fouth but not overdrive. Same tranny just updated. Our 93 Lumina has the same pattern as our 04 Trailblazer had 1-2-D- OD & will shift into fourth in D.
The transfer case was checked & was full of clear red fluid so the seaks must be OK. That was one thing the mechanic that did the work was concerned with.