Don't Do What I Did- Tranny Flush on '17 Tahoe

[iamdub]

i think you're giving them way too much credit for what you think they can figure out. Plus why would it be up to the OP to prove he didn't mess up? he doesn't have to say anything other than "there's something wrong with my vehicle"...

I consider myself not to be pessimistic, but realistic. I have no reason to be optimistic when it comes to things of this nature and GM. You may be right, I may be crazy.

 

[dmad1]

Thanks for all of the replies. All are good suggestions. Seems as if I live by Murphy's Law and I see him very often. Sometimes I think he lives in the spare bedroom. I really can't afford to trade it for a new or even demo right now. I think it would draw some raised eye brows if I tried to trade for an older one. Also would hate to make our big payments on an older one. Would like to be able to drive it another year or so. But on the down side, we make two 45 mile round trips a day and I am afraid that 100+ miles a day may take it's toll real quick and if it does loose the engine, it won't be worth much as a trade in. Would just have to bend over as suggested and take it... Feels like I am sitting on the park bench with Forest Gump and he is saying "Stupid is as Stupid Does".

 

[swathdiver]

On my '12 Tahoe LT I changed the fluid and it was a piece of cake. Just remove the clip that holds the return line from the top right corner of the radiator, insert a piece of 3/8" tubing and place the end into a catch bucket. I marked the bucket at each gallon level so I could see about how much I was pumping out. Had the wife help by starting and running through the gears for about 3 seconds each. Stoppedd at a gallon and added a gallon and repeated until I had a strong pink fluid coming out. Didn't take long at all. Now advance to this past Sat. as I changed or tried to change the fluid in my '17.

As before, removed the clip and inserted the tubing. Only this time it took 1/2" instead of 3/8". Seemed a little different from before but just thought GM wanted a little larger line. Wife was not available so since it went so well the last time, decided I could start it and run it through the gears. I did that and let it run a few minutes to pump it out and then went back around to check on it. The tubing had been blown out of the radiator and fluid was everywhere and a huge puddle one the driveway. And the engine began to have a big knock and rattle. The fluid looked very nasty and I thought I must have burn the tranny big time for it to look like that. It had quit pumping and only had about a quart in the bucket. Tried the procedure again a couple of time and still not pumping and then noticed there was no oil pressure and the warning message to shut off the engine. Yep, I had pumped 7 qts of engine oil out and it was knocking bad. After retracing everything, it dawned on me that GM had moved the tranny return line lower down the radiater and run the engine oil into the top of the radiator where the tranny fluid used to return from. I refilled the oil pan and it has quietened down somewhat but am very concerned what damage I may have done to the rod and main bearings. I did drive it around the neighborhood with no noticeable issues. Looking for suggestions whether I should plan on continuing driving it on my 90 mile round trip everyday or get rid of it. Needless to say I am upside down on the lien... Ideas appreciated.

Seems to me you forgot which side was which. Live and learn. I'm surprised the motor knocked with no oil. Synthetics used to not behave that way when they were Group IV based oils. What kind of oil is in your motor?

I would not begin to be concerned since you refilled it and it seems to be running fine. Change the oil in a thousand miles or so and send a sample off to Blackstone-Labs and then do it again every 4-5K until until 3-4 or tests are in your hands. Then you'll know with certainty whether the engine will last or not.

Decades ago, I had two engines blow those oil cooler lines. One was an Oldsmobile 350 diesel. All I had after duct taping the line was a quart of trans or power steering fluid. Poured that into the motor and drove about 5 miles to get home. Motor was fine.

A few years later another line blew on my Buick on the way to the drag strip. Didn't know it. Car ran best times ever that night but water temp kept slowly creeping up after each run. Finally popped the hood and saw the problem. Tore down the engine in my shop the next day and the bearings were pristine, no damage whatsoever.

The Olds got 15W-40 is memory serves, the Buick ran Mobil One 10W30 which was back when it was a group IV based oil.

I think my Dad saw this commercial, it explains why he never changed his oil!

Can't find it, but Mobil made a commercial where they had a bunch of motors on engine stands running and drained them all of oil and one by one they seized up. The only one left running of course was the one with Mobil One synthetic. Anyone remember this commercial? Is my memory faulty?

 

[HiHoeSilver]

LOL @ GM's "warranty". Aside from the fact that this is an unwarrantable issue caused by the OP, HE would have to prove that he IS NOT the cause for the failure, not GM proving that he IS. It'd be too easy for the dealership to find evidence that the system was tampered with. I'm quite sure there are at least witness marks on the oil line fittings. Maybe there's a datalog deep in the PCM that only they can access that would show the oil level sensor reporting "full" then "low" then the engine being started and ran while the sensor was reporting "low" and the oil pressure sensor reporting "zero". Who knows what they can dig up. If he tried to claim it under a warranty, they'd find evidence and deny and record it. If he decides to sell or trade it, what they found would be a bad stain on the vehicle's history.

I think you have this backwards. Certainly agree that they will try not to cover it, but it is on GM to PROVE it was the owners fault, not the other way around.

Seems to me you forgot which side was which. Live and learn. I'm surprised the motor knocked with no oil. Synthetics used to not behave that way when they were Group IV based oils. What kind of oil is in your motor?

I would not begin to be concerned since you refilled it and it seems to be running fine. Change the oil in a thousand miles or so and send a sample off to Blackstone-Labs and then do it again every 4-5K until until 3-4 or tests are in your hands. Then you'll know with certainty whether the engine will last or not.

Decades ago, I had two engines blow those oil cooler lines. One was an Oldsmobile 350 diesel. All I had after duct taping the line was a quart of trans or power steering fluid. Poured that into the motor and drove about 5 miles to get home. Motor was fine.

A few years later another line blew on my Buick on the way to the drag strip. Didn't know it. Car ran best times ever that night but water temp kept slowly creeping up after each run. Finally popped the hood and saw the problem. Tore down the engine in my shop the next day and the bearings were pristine, no damage whatsoever.

The Olds got 15W-40 is memory serves, the Buick ran Mobil One 10W30 which was back when it was a group IV based oil.

I think my Dad saw this commercial, it explains why he never changed his oil!

Can't find it, but Mobil made a commercial where they had a bunch of motors on engine stands running and drained them all of oil and one by one they seized up. The only one left running of course was the one with Mobil One synthetic. Anyone remember this commercial? Is my memory faulty?

I remember it.

 

[homesick]

i think you're giving them way too much credit for what you think they can figure out. Plus why would it be up to the OP to prove he didn't mess up? he doesn't have to say anything other than "there's something wrong with my vehicle"...

This kind of crap pisses me off.

If you did the deed, you should take the hit. This talk of trading or unloading the problem onto someone else, some unsuspecting innocent, is shameful.

joe

 

[Doubeleive]

LOL @ GM's "warranty". Aside from the fact that this is an unwarrantable issue caused by the OP, HE would have to prove that he IS NOT the cause for the failure, not GM proving that he IS. It'd be too easy for the dealership to find evidence that the system was tampered with. I'm quite sure there are at least witness marks on the oil line fittings. Maybe there's a datalog deep in the PCM that only they can access that would show the oil level sensor reporting "full" then "low" then the engine being started and ran while the sensor was reporting "low" and the oil pressure sensor reporting "zero". Who knows what they can dig up. If he tried to claim it under a warranty, they'd find evidence and deny and record it. If he decides to sell or trade it, what they found would be a bad stain on the vehicle's history.

exactly what I was thinking, and I was also thinking how could you erase that evidence, lol

 

[homesick]

You mean the dealership? Some unsuspecting innocent there....

You can't be serious.

Cheating and stealing are cheating and stealing. The dealer would be an innocent victim in this case; but the ultimate loser would be the retail buyer, Period.

joe

 

[Miami-Dade]

Can we please stop the insults and get back on track so we can help the OP. Thank you.

 

[Doubeleive]

I would do oil changes and blackstone test's and see what the test's show that's really the only way to determine if the damage was enough to be permanent without tearing the engine down

 

[TahoeFL2017]

Thanks for all of the replies. All are good suggestions. Seems as if I live by Murphy's Law and I see him very often. Sometimes I think he lives in the spare bedroom. I really can't afford to trade it for a new or even demo right now. I think it would draw some raised eye brows if I tried to trade for an older one. Also would hate to make our big payments on an older one. Would like to be able to drive it another year or so. But on the down side, we make two 45 mile round trips a day and I am afraid that 100+ miles a day may take it's toll real quick and if it does loose the engine, it won't be worth much as a trade in. Would just have to bend over as suggested and take it... Feels like I am sitting on the park bench with Forest Gump and he is saying "Stupid is as Stupid Does".

My opinion is, based on the amount of warranty claims not paid/and or the BS warranties that have some much fine print and exclusions that render them useless, and dealers knowingly selling crappy aftermarket warranties, if the noises persist, take it to the dealer and let them figure it out.

If the dealer can get paid by GM to rebuild or install a new motor, then they will act in their best interests(not yours) and warranty it. I think people give dealers waaaaayy too much credit for being "honest", they are out to make a buck , period. Service is a huge % of dealer profits.

So I would consider it Karma coming back to GM if they have to fix your mistake--my Tahoe has both the known defects of brakes and AC condenser, and instead of a recall, GM just gives us all an extension of the 3/36 warranty, essentially kicking the can down the road, in hopes it breaks later and turns into OUR problem.

Love my Tahoe LT, but for f**k sake, Toyota recalled my wife's SUV for defective FLOORMATS, GM needs to be less shortsighted when selling $60k+ trucks, and give a damn about their customers.

End of rant