Friends, it's a sad day

[tbisaacs]

The day that I had hoped would never come finally did.



I was on my way to work, tried to accelerate and the engine revved freely. My stomach sank. I was hoping that it was just pump, or torque converter.

But nope. Planetary gears. Catastrophic failure. Rebuild was about 50% of KBB for the Suburban. So it's sadly mothballed in my driveway.

I'm not sure what I'll do yet. This thing is incredibly well sorted otherwise. 5 new tires, brakes, shocks, plugs, battery etc. I'm hoping to find the right kind of buyer and sell as is.

Thankfully, she got us home one last time before giving up. It's been a great vehicle otherwise

But not is all lost. The stable wasn't empty for long.

Been a real pleasure contributing to this board y'all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Littlehouse]

Sorry to hear about the Burb, but that is a serious upgrade IMO! Put some ATs on that thing and get back to it!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Transmissions are dime a dozen in junkyards for these things, could even swap in the 4l80e for more dependability, then turn it into a trail monster!

 

[Martinjmpr]

I paid $2k for a transmission rebuild at a local shop here in CO. What did they quote you? Unless you have super high miles a suburban should be worth well more than $4k, more like $6k - $8k.

 

[arveetek]

I paid $1460 for a complete rebuild/upgrade on my wife's Envoy with the 4L60E last summer. Local race shop that did a great job. Has been running great since. I would still fix that 'burb if I were you! Shoot, I've got 322K miles on my '95 Tahoe, and if the 4L80E ever goes out, it's definitely getting a rebuild! Fix it and keep driving is my mindset.

Casey

 

[Martinjmpr]

When my transmission went out last August there wasn't even a thought of not fixing it. The way I looked at it was this: I figured that for any decent new-ish vehicle out there, in order to get into it I'd have a minimum of a $500 monthly payment. So my projected $2000 repair cost was just the equivalent of 4 payments - on a vehicle that I wasn't making payments on anyway.
.
I'll take that trade-off, especially since it means I can feel pretty confident about the transmission from here on out.
.
Unless there was a crap ton of things wrong with it (and it certainly looks clean) I can't help but wonder if the OP was looking for an excuse to buy another vehicle. But then again, I sort of get that, too. Sometimes you're just tired of dealing with the same little issues - broken pieces of trim, or the torn seat, or the AC or radio that doesn't quite work right but it's not worth it to spend the time and money to fix it right, and then when something catastrophic like a blown transmission or a blown head gasket happens, that's the last straw and you just want to be done with it and start fresh with something newer.

 

[ChevyPit]

Please let me know if you are considering selling it. I might be interested in bringing it down to Guatemala, it's a long run, but everything has it's right price. If you decide, please let me know the upgrades it has, and what comes with it. Thanks.

 

[rayra]

~$1500 for a 4L60-E rebuild around here.
Lots of easy solutions for warrantied rebuilt swaps.

 

[malibubts]

That's a bummer, I enjoyed seeing the updates on your build thread. I'm in the camp with seemingly everyone else; get than trans rebuilt and keep it as a trail rig!

 

[snowblind]

Rebuild was about 50% of KBB for the Suburban. So it's sadly mothballed in my driveway.

If you are judging the validity of repairs by their percentage of KBB value then you need to stop buying older vehicles. Most people buy older trucks knowing there will be repair costs but this is offset by the lower purchase price.

Good luck with the new rig.



Matt

 

[tbisaacs]

Heh, love the passion of this group

Rebuilds here in Seattle area were $1500 on low side, $4500 on high side for "upgraded" 4L60e.

 

[tbisaacs]

Please let me know if you are considering selling it. I might be interested in bringing it down to Guatemala, it's a long run, but everything has it's right price. If you decide, please let me know the upgrades it has, and what comes with it. Thanks.

Will send you a PM!

 

[pappawheely]

I had several transmission failures on my Colorado. The transmission shop told me to put an off the shelf replacement tranny in it. They said these companies have thousands of units in the field and don't like warranty problems. They have figured out all the weak points and build them to last. I went with a rebuilt unit, added an external cooler, and have had no issues since.

one example: http://www.monstertransmission.com/...vy-Duty-2pc-Case-4WD_p_5076.html#.WYOpdYjytPY

 

[ChevyPit]

Thanks Travis for the pm. I responded.
I think buying a monster transmission would be and excellent option, I have bought from them before and sent them down to Guatemala, and are very good transmissions. Lately, I found and excellent mechanic here and usually we buy parts from monster and he rebuilds them here, but usually the cost is around $1,500.

 

[ExplorerTom]

So my projected $2000 repair cost was just the equivalent of 4 payments - on a vehicle that I wasn't making payments on anyway.

My thinking exactly.

Sorry to hear about the Sub though.