Chevy & GMC Vans

Hello,
so here is my story I am a college student at MTU (hougton, Mi) I drive a 99 AWD and it has been driving ok for a while usual problems here and there fixed and still driving. Around Christmas I was going home for break and a deer jumped out and I hit him. There was very little damage to the van but I was in a ditch of snow for an hour and a half. When I got home about 2 weeks later I was driving home and it started making this very high rpm noise. I don't really know how to describe it but I took it to this place and after a few days they told me everything that was wrong. The fan clutch was frozen and they pretty much rebuilt the whole Transmission. I drove it home and everything seemed to be fine I drove it for 3 days and of course the day before I had to go back to school it starts having problems like when starting driving it would jerk alot like it was not getting gas or something. I could not take it in as they were closed and I will not be back home till may so I decided to take my chances. I got up here ok and drove for a few days with no problems then it happened. Something else happen and now the car will try to shift out of first and it doesn't it keeps accelerating and finally will shift out around 40 mph. I don't know why this is happening but I am going to take it back to the guy in march when i go home 6 month guarantee. Will it hurt to drive on this or is there anything I can do to help this I will have to drive it at least once a week I like to start the engine up once awake since it gets cold here.
Thanks for you thoughts

Wish I could give you a great answer but I can't. Best thing at this point is call the shop that did the work and let them know what is going on. Maybe they will have some advise. At the least they will know there is a problem and be ready for ya.

The 4L60E transmission in that van does not like to shift when it is low on fluid, so first place to start is look at the dipstick with the engine at operating temperature. Second, look underneath the van for signs of oil. If you slid into the ditch, there would be presented the question as to whether or not the driveline got bent, even just a little bit, would cause a drive from way the heck up in the Tundra at Houghton to lose up to 2 quarts or more. The way that the driveshafts on our lovely astro vans are built in with a natural cup that collects transmission fluid while driving, and if you aren't looking for it at stops, it will pour out onto the ground, not leaving a trace of a leak.

I also would look at the transmission pan for dents, the shift solenoids can be damaged by a whack from something solid in a ditch, or possibly a broken wire on the internal harness in the transmission, or maybe even a loose connection at the side of the transmisssion, either the large plug up high on the side, or at the speedometer housing, a whack to that plastic sensor could also cause the stumbling and driveability problems you describe.

Could any of this happen and not show for 3 or more weeks though it was not doing this when I took it to the shop and on the 500 mile drive back up then it started after a day up here. Do you think it is safe to drive I am calling the shop today.
Thanks

Yes, my van does it very intermittently. Since I only drive it in the summer, I forget that it happens, and the sudden "lurch" forward can darn near mess your shorts. I've never actually moved that I can remember, but the V8 wants to take to flight when the A/C disengages at a stoplight.

Same symptoms on my 2001 AWD Safari - when its tranny blew 4 months after our 5,000 lbs Travel Trailer trip. For my van, it lost 2nd and "R" rear when pulling away from a normal red light. Think it lost its OD gear as well. But luckily, we were able to "wimper home" going from 1st gear and hopping into 3rd gear. My tranny specialist installed a "rebuilt kit" into its original factory tranny. Gaskets, oil replacement, bushings and a few other parts. When he returned our van, all gears - inluding OD and "R" worked. And, she shifted evenly into each gear as well. Job well done!!!!

My local tranny specialist also said that he installs rebuilt kits into many Astro/Safari vehicles. Too many. He says their "average grade" tranny will blow when the tranny is over worked, over stressed or too much "sudden jolt" on its system. Perhaps sliding into the ditch and entire vehicle (including its spinning wheels) blew something in your tranny? Our tranny blew 4 months after its "over stess" event. Even if we weren't towing a trailer, he recommends all his Astro/Safari vans get a properly sized LPD Aux tranny cooler. Sized for a minimum 3,000 lbs trailer behind the van. Or, sized for the max weight of trailer your van might pull. Extra Aux coller is an "over kill"? Maybe. But he says an extra LPD (Low Pressure Drop) design tranny cooler keeps its oil in a more even temp range. It allows faster warm ups and faster cooling. Thus, reducing "over freezing" and "over cooking" within the tranny. Especially on the summer hot days and NOT towing a trailer at all.


Long story short, do ask a few cooling and tranny shops in your area. Your van may need a rebuild kit and extra LPD tranny cooler as well.

Hope this extra info helps as well...

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I found a local shop that is going to work with the guy I payed back home so I am hoping that i will not have to pay. but when i went to the guy I feel like I got ripped off the first time I payed ~2100 for everything including a fan clutch and labor when I went to this local guy he said he does the same for 1400 with double the warrenty. Does anyone remember how much they payed for a rebuild

For my 2001 van's tranny rebuild (using tranny kit with same clutch fan and same torque convertor) in CDN dollars, I paid $1,100 cash. If I had to pay taxes, it would have been around $1300. Picked up on a Friday afternoon and returned Monday afternoon.

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2100 U.S was def on the high side of things,if it was a competant shop with proper warranties they should almost be eager to right the wrongs,if they were not what they purported to be,then you may have a hard time getting stuff fixed,you shouldn't have to pay 1 red cent more to have your tranny fixed properly.

the guy that did it doesn't come back till wed but the shop up here said it is kinda messed up internal damage burnt fluids. The guy that was at the shop down state wanted me to tow it back to their shop. i Laughed for the 500+ miles and 9 hours it would be cheaper to buy me a new safari ;) thanks for the help I will keep you updated.

IIRC I paid 770 CDN for a rebuild on my 93s tranny. Did a good job too solid as tank again after it was done

So i finally got info on the whole tranny situation. The guy downstate finally agreed to pay the 700 for the local shop to fix. I wish it was that easy. They decided to pay the 500 for labor and send the parts all the way up here. Can anyone tell me if this makes any sense. To me I would think paying the 200 more would be less painful. So still a sitting duck for a few more days I wish I would of just done this myself. I have learned and I have a feeling that is the last time I get screwed.

Yeah, these hits hurt. I'm actually thinking about grabbing a tranny from the JY rebuilding it myself, then prepping it for storage.

YAY it is finally done i got it back drove it for a while today. everything seems to be working right. I am going to the junkyard tomorrow to look for a hitch and replacement molding from when the dear hit me. does anyone know how these moldings come off and if they go back on. the one i need is the silver left corner piece it is not very big. and does not look to difficult.

OK I need help big time. I went out to drive today and when I got back to the parking lot the check gages light was on. The temp had skyrocketed all the way. could this be related at all to the Transmission like is there a sensor that would put cause this to go on I have driven it with no problems since fixed. Is there anything else that it could be I didn't see a leak in the radiator, the coolant looked ok. Please help