It happened. On Friday, the reverse gear in my wife`s `01 Jimmy blew. Thing is, she is really meticulous about maintenance (like me), and she drives like a little old lady. I don`t even think the Jimmy`s ever been off-roading. WTF?!?

I did some searching here on the forum, and thethread that best described what probably happenedis here (the thread is locked):

https://blazerforum.com/m_10794/tm.htm

The tranny is in the process of being replaced, but I`m a little pissed off because if it had just waited six months, I could have donated the tranny from my Blazer to the Jimmy, while doing the manualtranny swapthat I plan on doing when the weather warms up. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

The crazy thing is that her truck is the newer one. She just passed 100K miles recently. My Blazer has almost 180K miles and has never had a tranny problem to my knowledge. My mechanic buddy says that the 4L60s manufactured after `98 were oflower quality. Is this true? Any experts know about this? Thanks for the help.

 

Sound like you lost the reaction sun shell splines. It is not a difficult fix and if I remember right, a friend at work just had his 1999 Bravada sun shell replaced for around $250 complete. The sun shell was the only thing replaced in the transmission.

Tim (hanr3) did a write up on the rebuild of his transmission after a sun shell issue: 4L60E Tranny Rebuild Thread

 

That`s great. Only problem is that I`ve already taken the truck to the mechanic, and they will probably be replacing the whole thing. I mentioned to him what you posted, but the truth is, they don`t even want to open it up. What`s that all about? This is why I hate dealing with transmissions...

 

The days of shops actually having technician level employees is almost gone. Anyone can be a wrench turner, but when it comes to being able to take a complex peice of equipment apart and put it back together correctly, most places do not have the expertise nor do they want the responsibility. It is a sad fact.

 

You didn't take it to Glen Burnie Transmissions, did you?

 

Kyle >>>> Tell me about it!

Leeann >>>>> No...

You`re local to Baltimore? I haven`t seen you around here before. Looks like there are quite a few of us Marylanders on here.

Why do you ask?

 

Good. Because they're the kind of place that would sell you one of their rebuilds regardless of what was wrong, charge you an arm and a leg and it would fail one month out of warranty (happened to my bf, my coworker and my coworker's mother - and they tried to do it to me).

I'm near Annapolis, actually.

 

Yeah...I think a lot of mechanics (transmission specialists especially) capitalize on the fact that people don`t care to try to understand how these parts work. It turns out that the mechanic I took our truck to just removed the tranny and sent it to a third-party tranny specialist that he always deals with. He said that they rebuild the existing transmission - i.e., they open it up, see whatever is worn out, and replace those parts only. It comes with a (laughable) six-month warranty. We dropped it off on Friday, and it will be ready for pickup today. Final cost: $2,200.

I told him several days ago what Kyle told me above about the sun gear, so he said he will find out from the tranny specexactly what they did to it. I`m a little pissed that they would charge me this much money for a $250 repair, so I`m curious to know whatthe tranny guytells me was replaced. This is also whythe few times I do go to a mechanic, I always ask for the old parts. But I`m predicting that if I ask him this, he will say they "threw them away."

This is also why I want to tacklea tranny swap on my own, because I would be more empowered if I had a little experience in doing this type of work myself. It would also give me the ability to donate the auto tranny in the Blazer to the Jimmy, if their rebuild turns out to be shoddy. My retired mechanic buddytweaked the Blazer`s engine and tranny last year, and he says it should last me for years to come, so I would feel confident in giving her my old auto transmissionif she needs it.

Leeann >>> cool that you live in Annapolis. My wife grew up just past the Bay Bridge. I`d like to get to know the Marylanders on the board more, so that we can arrange some local meets some time.

I will update you guys on the situation after we pick up the Jimmy tomorrow. Again, thanks to everyone for the help and tips.

 

That is pretty stinkin' expensive for opening it up and only replacing what's worn. A total rebuild should cost no more than that. And the 6-month warranty is definitely laughable.


I actually grew up in CT, but I moved down here for school on the Shore. My bf is from Chestertown, though. Any time you're in the Annapolis area, let me know. My place couldn't be easier to find or get to.

 

Cool. Our wedding was in Chestertown! We should discuss hanging out in a PM, so that your info isn`t publicized. LOL.

About the truck, I agree. I`m going to ask to speak to the tranny people directly about this. I`m even considering sending the truck back to them to complete the full rebuild or demanding that they drastically reduce what they charged.

(quoted from Kyle, Swartllk)

On another note...I was looking at some other threads and saw what Kyle posted about trannies. I was browsing MonsterTrans.com and saw that ARGGGGH - I could have gotten a totally remanned 4L60E for HALF the cost we are paying! Even with the labor of someone doing a simple swap, we would have come out ahead. The wait would have been a little longer, but I would have the confidence of a better warranty and dyno-testing. DAMMIT! [:@]

They also have very good prices on manual transmissions. Prior to this I was thinking about dropping an old school Muncie 4-speed manual in the Blazer, but now I`m wondering if I should instead try the Turbo 350. They`ve got `emfor less than a grand! Could some tranny experts give me some advice on this? What`s a good manual upgrade for a half-ton? I`ve heard NV4500, but I don`t think I want that one. Any other suggestions?