Burned Tranny Fluid

[epa1775]

Yesterday my Dad and I performed the much talked about cooler line transmission flush. My dad has the same truck minus the lift and tires. When he drained his tranny fluid it was still red. When I drained my fluid it was black and burned.

This is obviously cause for concern. My truck has 77k miles on it. I purchased it used last year when I got back from deployment with 68k miles.

I did a search and saw the previous post about the burned oil but did not see what the end result of the poster was.

I just finished driving from 29 Palms California to Ft Worth Texas two weeks ago. I'll now be driving to Houston for a couple of days before heading up to Utah for three years.

What are the possible problems that could have caused the black fluid? What steps can I take to prevent further damage? Can I take it to a GM dealer and have them look at it under warranty with my oversized tires?

Thanks for any help and information that can be provided.

Pete

[Robyn]

Burned fluid is not a good sign. This is the result of slippage in clutches, bands ect.

Once friction parts are burned its game over. The clutch material is generally a paper material and when it slipps too much it chars and turns to a carbon.

Not much you can do but haul it out and get it rebuilt. (Or if its under warranty get them to do it)

Good luck and sorry to hear of the mess.

Robyn

[DmaxMaverick]

We've heard of a few and I've seen one. No explanation for it. The fluid just comes out dark. I have yet to hear of one of these failing down the road. Do a complete service and drive on. Synthetic fluid would be a plus, and peace of mind. Unless you have an extended warranty, you are SOL. The tranny is only covered under the 3/36 B2B warranty. Later models are covered by the 5/100 powertrain warranty. Even if you are covered, 35" tires and 6" lift will be a hard one to sell. You'll need the dealer's help to get around that one. GM policy is to deny any drivetrain warranty claims unless the OEM tire size is on it. Call around and talk to service managers to get their take on the policy. Some dealers sell them with lifts and tires.

The Allison has no bands.

[epa1775]

Thanks for the advice and help guys. I'll keep an eye on it and I'll probably change the filter again once I arrive in Utah. I'll keep the board posted on what I find as a reference to guys who run into this issue down the road.

Pete