03 1500 Suburban bad shifts

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 11:43 AM

I was towing my boat to a nearby lake yesterday and when I was climbing a grade in tow mode the shifting seemed sloppy. second to third seemed to slip a little and the shifting seems a little off. This is a care my wife drives locally and I commute in a beater. The truck is a 2003 1500 suburban 5.3 with 127k.
I called the dealer to see if their records show a tranny service but i have not heard back from them. Any tips or suggestions on what to look out for? I live in the new york suburbs and am nervous that I will get ripped by dealer or aamco. I have asked around and no one I know can recommend an idependent tranny shop. Any tips or suggestions?
CS

**Jimmiee** · 08-17-2009, 12:56 PM

How does the fluid look? Is it burned with black on the stick or just an amber color? If the fluid is burned you can expect internal damage. I would take it to Auto Zone and get it scanned for codes. This will tell you if there any problems. If your trans starts slipping it will set a trouble code.

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 01:11 PM

I checked the fluid this morning and it looked fine. No smell or burnt color and nothing on the stick.
I got in touch with the local chevy dealer and the service manager told me that I have to tweak the throttle when shifting from 1 - 2 and tow in 3rd because of a band? that can slip. He said he will take a test drive later with me. Does this make sense? Am I in the market for a tranny?

**Z07** · 08-17-2009, 01:17 PM

I don't know the '03 MY but can I ask if your owner's manual says anything about towing in "drive" instead of "overdrive"?

**Jimmiee** · 08-17-2009, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by chas960

I checked the fluid this morning and it looked fine. No smell or burnt color and nothing on the stick.
I got in touch with the local chevy dealer and the service manager told me that I have to tweak the throttle when shifting from 1 - 2 and tow in 3rd because of a band? that can slip. He said he will take a test drive later with me. Does this make sense? Am I in the market for a tranny?

Tweak the throttle?? I've never heard that before. It is a good idea to tow in 3rd going up long hills to keep the trans out of overdrive. This has nothing to do with slipping in 3rd gear however. The band comes on in 2nd and 4th. On the 2-3 shift the band comes off and the clutch comes on. If it's slipping in 3rd then the clutches are slipping not the band.

If they can't duplicate your problem don't buy a transmission. If on the other hand the transmission is slipping then the odds are it needs to be rebuilt.

If they say you need a transmission tell them you are going to shop around.

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 01:26 PM

When I said tweak the throttle, I meant to back off a little so the shift to 2nd is not under full load. I am on the way over to the dealer now and will let you know what he said.

**Jimmiee** · 08-17-2009, 03:02 PM

Well good luck. Backing off the throttle is a bunch of BS. Hopefully you will get hooked up with a tech who cares and not the service writer who is on commission. <GG>

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 03:22 PM

I just got back from the dealer and the tast rides. The shift from 2-3 is weak and the shift from 1-2 is not right. They said I caught the problem early and may be able to rebuiold based in dropping the pan and seeing what's inside. they quoted $3500 for a certified rebuilt w/ torque converter or about half to have their own tech rebuild. (I know the tech from when I was younger-Good guy) he said the bands were slipping and the clutches and he would have to look at the drum to see how it is. He said that if the torque converter is marginal or shot, I should go with the certified rebuilt with 3yr/36mo warranty, his warranty would be 12/12.
I called the nearest aamco and the guy on the phone wants me to come by and look at it. I have to say he sounded a little too much of a pitchman. I may blow him off as I have beenusing this dealer from day 1 and trust the tech.

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 03:37 PM

I looked in the owners manual and they did say that I should tow in 3rd in hilly conditions (thats what it is like around here- I often tow to the adirondacks) So I guess that makes me the perp in this case. The way the tech explained it is that over the life of the tranny towing in drive has let it gradually develop a slip that probably would not have occurred if I had used third except going downhill and low or no load situations. and that i should back off on the throttle a little between first and second to initiate a shift.

**chas960** · 08-17-2009, 05:31 PM

I just spoke to the local aamco dealer who insisted he should look at the tranny. he gave me a price of a total rebuild of $2450. Can these guys be trusted? This guy is a little pushy to say the least. I know you are paying alot of overhead with a dealer etc. but does that much of a price difference make sense?