I need some help on what route to advise my Father-in-law on his trucks tranny. He has a 95 4X4 auto with a #10 plate and 3 GSK for mods. The truck hauls a smaller 23' RV in the summer quite alot and runs empty back and forth to work during the week. It has about 315,000 Km (209K Miles) on it.

Recently it shudders under load and acceleration in OD. Even empty, if its lugged just a little under load it shudders. Are we looking at a full overhaul here? And what should the upgrades be if we tear into it? What would you do?

Thanks in advance..

 

Have you taken a look at the torque converter? There is a cover plate that you can gain access to the converter. If the lockup clutch is on the way out (which is what I think is occurring) the back of the TC should be changing color. Have you dumped the oil yet? If you have lots of material in the pan, you could be looking at a new transmission. If not try an oil change and blow out all of the lines. You could also put a hydralic line and a pressure gauge on the four or five different pressure ports and record your pressure measurements. This will give you good condition analysis of your transmission. Been there buddy, good luck. I'm on number 3 and its not even in the truck yet.

 

Well, I'd check the fluid first but at the very least it sounds like it's gonna need a converter. If you're doing the converter you should do a valve body, otherwise the stock one just won't have enough line pressure to keep the new converter happy. If you're in it that far, well you know how the rest goes..

As someone said earlier today, it's a slippery slope

 

Thanks guys.. I was saying TC myself, but with that many miles on it I was thinking it needs some freshening up. IF you read the DTT site, just slamming a VB and TC in there is a bandaid solution as the other components are now asked to work twice as hard and being less than new.

Fluid doesn't seem too bad really. We will have to drop the pan and see whats shiny I guess.

Ok, now you are into it for a VB and TC, what other things do you do to it? This truck is not a hard puller, so billet parts aren't required... But what is?

 

First start with dropping the pan and then do the pressure tests. If you still have decent pressures you should be ok. If you don't well there are lots of choices and all of them costs $$$. If you where closer I would lend you my hydraulic hose and gauge so you can do the testing. My last transmission the clutches where fine, just everything else wasn't. You could also put in a six speed, its about the same money and last two to three times longer than the autotransmission does. I'm impressed you got 300k out the transmission. Mine stocker lasted to 10k and my TC was toast. Fought with dodge and then put a BD TC and valve body in. That lasted until 160k. My PDR tranny only last till 230k. I know lots of guys still running there original stick tranny, not to many still running the original auto.

 

Well the truck is well maintained and the driver knows a good/bad tranny by feel. (Used to drag race in his earlier days and haul 25,000# with 454 Dually trucks). It just feels like clutch slippage to him, so I am not sure how hard to go into this unit. Thanks for the offer Mike... He actually lives in High River..

 

get a tripple disc converter. i have a single disc billet with a modded valve body and i can slip it pretty good with the same mods you have.