[DURAMAXXED]

WELL ABOUT THE LAST MONTH MY TRANNY WONT SHIFT INTO 5TH UNTIL TRUCK IS DRIVEN FOR ABOUT 4-5 MILES. HERES THE SITUATION .I START MY TRUCK UP LET IT RUN FOR ABOUT 10 MIN THEN I TAKE OFF AND IT SHIFTS INTO 1-4 NO PROBLEM WHEN IT COMES TO 5TH GEAR. IT WONT SHIFT INTO IT UNTIL I DRIVEN IT KIDNA FAR RPMS WILL BE 2000 @ 55 MPH AND WILL CLIMB WITH OUT IT SHIFTING. AND YES I KNOW ABOUT THE ALLISON DATA SHEET THAT SAYS WARM UP BEFORE DRIVING AND SHIFTS WILL BE HIGHER RPM RANGE. MY TEMPS HEREIN LAST MONTH WERE NO WERE NEAR 32. TOOK IT TO DEALER 2 WEEKS AGO PTO WAS LEAKING AND I TOLD THEM THEN ABOUT TRANNY IT ONLY HAPENS WHEN TRANNY IS COLD WHEN IT IS WARM NO PROBLEMS. I SAID DRIVE IT FIRST THING IN MORNING. NOPE THEY DROVE IT AFTER I BROUGHT IT THERE AND SAID NO PROBLEMS FOUND ASKED IF IT WAS SITTING BEFORE DRIVEN AND OF COURSE NOT BUT DIDNT KNOW THIS UNTIL IT WAS NEXT DAY . WELL I TOOK IT IN AGAINLAST NIGHT AND I GOT A RENTEL AND I ALSO TOOK THE KEYS TO MY TRUCK AND SAID SEE YA IN THE MORNING YOUR GONNA SEE IT HAPPEN WITH ME IN THE TRUCK. WELL I GOT THERE WE WARMED IT UP AND HE CHECKEDOUT THE LEAK I HAVE COMING FROM THE CONVERTER AREA (NOT BIG LEAK MINOR BUT ACCUALLY MAJOR FOR ONLY 10639 MILESON THE TRUCK) THEN AFTER LETTING IT WARM UP EXTRA TIME THEN NORMAL WE TOOK IT OUT HE DROVE IT AND NOW FINALLY BELEAVES ME HMMMM . HE SAID HE WAS GONNA CALL CHEVROLET AND ASK IF THERE IS EITHER REPORTS OF THIS AND IF HOW TO FIX IT, I TOLD HIM THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR TO LONG EITHER FIX IT RIGHT OR GIVE ME NEW TRANNY OR TRUCK. HE SAID WELL IT IS UPTO GM WELL NOW THE WAIT GAME AT LEAST IM GETTING A CADDY ESCELADE FOR MY FREE RENTAL DAM THERE FUEL HOGS eelout

DURAMAXXED

 

[ob_1jr]

When is the last time you changed your fuel filter? air filter? tranny filter(s)??Have you ever cleaned your MAF sensor? I would start there.

 

[DURAMAXXED]

well first off i have new air cleaner about 2000 miles ago i did not change fuel filter yet. and tranny filter is coming any day now in the mail! i have 10700 miles on it didnt think i needed to change those other too yet. mechanic went for a drive with me and noticed my problems said yes front seal is leaking and needs to be pulled for front seal ,but he isnt sure what the shifting problem is so he called tech they dont know gee great now they put a computer to my data port and i drive it and hit the button when it wont shift it takes picture of my computer and records before and after i push it and so i did it this morning returned computer to dealer now the waiting game begins.................
thanks duramxxed

 

[BOWTIE2]

Hey Duramaxxed,

I have always seen this shift situation with my '02. It only shifts to fifth readily in warm weather. If it is 45 outside it takes two, three or more miles to shit to fifth. A couple of times this winter it got down in the upper teens over night and it didn't shift to fifth for six miles. I read that this would be the case, in order for the trans to warm up, not the engine. I found that if I plug in my block heater the night before it will shift sooner but never right away. I always thought this was normal. I am interested to see what they say about yours. I may get some needed work at their expense. Exchanging info like this is a good reason for this forum! Thanks for posting.

 

[DURAMAXXED]

no problem! i never had this problem until about 1 1/2 months ago and here is sc our weathers been mostly in the mid 40's to high 8o's in that time period. i had my truck in Pa. in Jan. where temps were 4 degree lows and had no shifting problems . so my local mechanic thinks it might be some kind shifting actuator that is messing up. but still waiting for final results. will post here soon as possible

duramaxxed

 

[SixInARow]

My powerstroke does the same thing. It's nothing out of the ordinary, most vehicles do that when they are cold to run the engine at higher RPM's to help get the engine warm faster.....

 

[ob_1jr]

well first off i have new air cleaner about 2000 miles ago i did not change fuel filter yet. and tranny filter is coming any day now in the mail! i have 10700 miles on it didnt think i needed to change those other too yet. mechanic went for a drive with me and noticed my problems said yes front seal is leaking and needs to be pulled for front seal ,but he isnt sure what the shifting problem is so he called tech they dont know gee great now they put a computer to my data port and i drive it and hit the button when it wont shift it takes picture of my computer and records before and after i push it and so i did it this morning returned computer to dealer now the waiting game begins.................
thanks duramxxed

Sounds like a bad fuel filter. That 15000 miles for a fuel filter change is way too long. I changed mine at 8500 and cut it open...it was pretty black all the way around. All it takes is one bad tank of fuel to mess up a fuel filter.

 

[DURAMAXXED]

thanks ob i will take that into consideration and get me a new one asap... your right about waiting until 15k and one bad tank fuel and your right that all it takes i have seen it my self.now as for the tranny filter when is a good mileage range for that? i dont haul anything with my truck always drive it sensible.

 

[ob_1jr]

I believe they say to change the external one every 25,000 miles. I have read that is too long also. I change mine when I change my engine oil. About every 8500-10,000 miles. I figure to just change the filters at the same time that way I don't really have to remember when I did it last. Also, it is cheap insurance on a very expensive investment. Just remember to pull the magnet off the old filter and put it on the new one.

 

[mschn99]

boy...if at 8500 miles your fuel filters are plugged.....either you are getting TERRIBLE fuel and need to switch fuel stations....or chevy is using a way too small fuel filter. the ford 6.0 is very picky about fuel filters being plugged.....if fuel pressure isnt maintained due to a plugged filter......injector failure is immenant.....and i have never seen one with low pressure or an extrememly clogged filter if they are changed every 15k............you guys have me curious from a mechnanical standpoint now........Marc

 

[ob_1jr]

My filter wasn't plugged, but it was really dirty. I didn't do a restriction test, but older versions of the filters didn't filter that well. I added a pre-oem 2 micron filter for this reason. Diesel fuel in and itself is pretty dirty anyway. There are a lot of factors that affect this...ie when the station changes their filters on the pump. For most of the problems that people are having with the duramax, the first course of action is to check/change the fuel filter. You can check it if you have the right guage for restriction. Now, the new filters that we have are supposed to have a 2 micron layer and 10 micron IIRC.

 

[BOWTIE2]

mschn99, I think they were referring to the engine oil filter and trans filter at the time. I do agree that you should always try to get the best fuel. The most reliable places would possibly be the newest because in-ground tanks rust and leak in ground water over time. Lots of rain in a short time can put water in the filler neck of such a tank also. So , you can never be too sure your fuel is the best quality. The best solution would be to add an extra filtration system (such as Nicktane System - nicktane.com) that is up to 99 percent efficient instead of the 60 percent efficiency OEM. Leaving the OEM system in place and putting this system between the tank and pump will help ensure nothing gets to your injectors but clean fuel. Letting your dealer service dept change all your OEM filters on schedule will keep their mouth shut in case anything goes wrong, though. That way they can never say that you screwed it up.

 

[DURAMAXXED]

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh

WELL HERES THE SCREWING IM GETTING AT MY DEALER...................
i put the lil computer on my truck fist time it didnt take...now i did it again and they got a reading and they claimed it was my error not letting the tranny warm upto 112 degrees before moving it hmmmph and they gave me a paper saying what gm recommends during cold weather(sorry folks 80 isnt cold to me!!!!) let it idle and waste fuel until tranny temp gets that high sounds like bullshit to me especially since the outside temps are in the 80's...... well i called a authorized allison dealer and they laughed at what i told them. i told them that this started happening within the last 2 months. he said my dealer is trying to burn me. but!!!!! he cant work on it while under chevys warr. but there is a alternitive there is a chevy dealer about 60 miles from me that sends all there allison work to this place because they dont work on them so i might have to go that distance and fight for my rights. the allison dealer told me the average drivers tranny wont get to 112 degrees until ussually they get to there destonations that is average he told me. he said dont let my dealer hold me back, go lil farther and git R done. by the way during my 10 mile trip there computer showed my tranny only reached a maximum temp of 82 degrees so i guess to there standards i should wake up a hour early:rof let my truck run for that hour and then maybe it will shift properly :liar ....... i will send them my fuel bills too. damn i hate stupid people.
duramaxxed

 

[ob_1jr]

That is so BS. I live in alaska and never had a problem with my tranny not shifting into 5th because of cold weather. I have gone for months at a time without the tranny temp guage not even moving. I think I have seen my fair share of cold weather up here too. I usually drive off base and down the road about 1 mile before the tranny goes out of warm-up mode (RPMs drop by about 2-300 on the tach), but it is in 5th gear. I have seen down to -50 F and had no problems with my tranny shifting. Looks like you will have to go the extra distance so you can get a real allison mechanic working on your truck. Could it be your internal tranny filter is filled with gunk? I believe you said that you changed your external spin-on filter? Did the magnet get put on? What brand of external filter did you use? I know there is problems with at least one of the brands of spin-on filters where the magnet plugs the holes. Wish I could be more help though.

 

[DURAMAXXED]

thankyou ob_1jr it is BS. i never ever had this problem well its kind of streching now for say 2 months or so. mine refuses to shift into 5th gear for few miles and there is something wrong. and yes im gonna go farther away for my service to Wilmington NC. thats were the other dealer is that takes there tranny work to allison dealer.dang i always wanted to visit Alaska maybe some day! yes i changed my filter for a exact replacement ac delco brand and put the magnet back on. thanks for all your help. one thing i caught the service lady saying that the tranny guy seen that something was being disingagedopcorn what i dont know hmm could it mean tc lockup or something worse ,she told me to call back today.

duramaxxed

That is so BS. I live in alaska and never had a problem with my tranny not shifting into 5th because of cold weather. I have gone for months at a time without the tranny temp guage not even moving. I think I have seen my fair share of cold weather up here too. I usually drive off base and down the road about 1 mile before the tranny goes out of warm-up mode (RPMs drop by about 2-300 on the tach), but it is in 5th gear. I have seen down to -50 F and had no problems with my tranny shifting. Looks like you will have to go the extra distance so you can get a real allison mechanic working on your truck. Could it be your internal tranny filter is filled with gunk? I believe you said that you changed your external spin-on filter? Did the magnet get put on? What brand of external filter did you use? I know there is problems with at least one of the brands of spin-on filters where the magnet plugs the holes. Wish I could be more help though.

 

[Cummins]

Fuel filters

I changed mine while trapping in WY, holy moly 43$ for a filter? The Cummins filter was 13-30$ depending where it was purchased. It was a real pain to change the Duramax filter, the Cummins was much easier. The Cummins filter doesn't have a wire connected to the bottom of it.
Last winter, with the Duramax, I had it start to jell up on me, never happened to me before. The Cummins has a heater in the fuel filter location, and in the manifold. I used the same type of fuel in it and never had a jell up in the Cummins.KY

 

[dmax500]

i know this post is a little old but are you sure its not going into fifth, gm when there trannys are cold will not engage the tourqe coverter clutch until it reaches a decent temp my old truck with a 4l60 did this and my new ally does it also when the tcc engages could you be mistakeing this for fifth gear?

 

[DURAMAXXED]

it might be

i think it might not be .would that hold the rpms up around 2k at 55 like with it not engaging the tcc ? if so than it might be going into 5th otherwise a normal 5th gear for me is around 67 to 70 having a 2k rpm reading when the tranny is warmed up. yes i am a noob to tcc so maybe you could help me to decide if it is actually shifting. what is torque converter clutch i hear the term alot just not familiar with what it actually dose please let me know when i drive the truck like 3-5 mile it then goes to the normal rpm and summer time it wont do this at all just late fall to winter and my worst winter is is like 38 to 50 degrees. thanks
duramaxxed

 

[ob_1jr]

it is normal operation for the tranny to not lock out the TC until it gets up to an acceptable operating temp. (locking is when you take your foot off the accellerator and the rpm stays up....if the rpms drop, your TC is not locked.....you can see this real good with the truck in tow/haul mode where it locks the TC in second on up) I know that when it is cold out it takes my truck a couple of miles on the highway for the rpms to drop. When cold my truck runs about 2100 rpms at 65.....once warmed up it runs about 1800.

 

[pete37922]

i really luv my 6spd manual attatched 2 my powerstroke engine !!!