Z71 Adventure Wagon

[B-train]

No I’ve got the 6L80 6-speed.

I extracted the fluid via the transmission dip stick/fill tube - it was a super easy process. Then I measured what I took out, and filled it back up with the same amount and checked the level after a drive.

I’m also going to do another drain and fill when I drop the pan to replace the filter.

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

I've used that process in the past for the 6 speed and it definitely saves taking a bath when pan pops loose. I've also had good luck with letting the pan drain with most bolts out, then suck out what ever I can through the gap before wrangling it out of there.

 

[Doubeleive]

I assumed that based in the year, but could be wrong (?). I thought OP stated he had the 8 speed. I was wondering about the process since there is no dipstick on the 8 speed.

I could be wrong but I think the 8 speeds have a internal thermostat, as well as no dipstick I have read that some people put the corvette dipstick on them as a remedy. or something to that effect.

 

[B-train]

I could be wrong but I think the 8 speeds have a internal thermostat, as well as no dipstick I have read that some people put the corvette dipstick on them as a remedy. or something to that effect.

To be honest, I never looked that hard ar mine to see if it does. I thought they used a similar design, but don't know for sure. I did ask my buddy who is a master GM tech and he said the 8 speed is more robust than the 6 speed and that the temp wasn't an issue.

I probably should dig deeper before my next service is due in the summer. I can't really recall ever seeing high trans temps when using tow/haul mode, but then again I'm relying on a buffered signal to an idiot guage.....

 

[Doubeleive]

To be honest, I never looked that hard ar mine to see if it does. I thought they used a similar design, but don't know for sure. I did ask my buddy who is a master GM tech and he said the 8 speed is more robust than the 6 speed and that the temp wasn't an issue.

I probably should dig deeper before my next service is due in the summer. I can't really recall ever seeing high trans temps when using tow/haul mode, but then again I'm relying on a buffered signal to an idiot guage.....

all I can say is the 8-speeds seem to have issue's based on buyer feedback, but the 10 speeds seem to be pretty good. I would advise doing flushes annualy to hopefully mitigate any problems. just my .02 cents. last one I looked at with the 8 speed had such a bad engine tick I could hear it a block away lol, the sales lady had a deer in the headlights look when I told her I wouldn't even consider buying it like that. it would have made a good youtube video

 

[B-train]

all I can say is the 8-speeds seem to have issue's based on buyer feedback, but the 10 speeds seem to be pretty good. I would advise doing flushes annualy to hopefully mitigate any problems. just my .02 cents. last one I looked at with the 8 speed had such a bad engine tick I could hear it a block away lol, the sales lady had a deer in the headlights look when I told her I wouldn't even consider buying it like that. it would have made a good youtube video

Maybe @Geotrash has his first option to buy and delete. Gotta be rust free though....LOL

 

[BlackBrud]

@Joseph Garcia helped me out in my intro thread, and I confirmed that I do NOT have electronic or air suspension. These RPO codes would be present if I did:
Z55 - Electronic Suspension
Z95 - Magnaride Suspension

Also a good thing to note is that starting in 2018 GM started replacing RPO code stickers with a QR code sticker - that QR code will return a list of your RPO codes when scanned.

 

[BlackBrud]

Had an eventful Friday/Saturday around here, and got two big ticket items done. I’ll split them into two posts though.

The first is my transmission service. The pan gasket and filter came in on Friday, so I spent a few hours getting the transmission all taken care of.

It shouldn’t take a few hours, but I wanted to take my time in case I encountered anything out of the ordinary. Honestly it could have been much quicker if I didn’t spent like 45 min just trying to finagle the pan out.

I was not able to fully drop the pan due to the exhaust - I had seen some posts and videos where it was tight but the pan could still be removed, but mine couldn’t. I removed the small heat shield and tried all sorts of angles while being gentle. Still no dice.

Luckily, I was able to get the filter out (I left the small filter gasket that was in there - no room to replace it), and was able to get the new one in as well. I cleaned the magnet, and also got the new pan gasket in there.

Thankfully, I didn’t find and chunks of metal, just a bit of varnish on the pan and some light shavings/dust on the magnet. I pumped out another ~5qts of transmission fluid, and replaced it with valvoline dexron VI, and a small dose of lube guard.

I cleaned it all up, and the test drive was great! It wasn’t a night and day difference, but it’s definitely noticeably smoother and the temperature seems to stay consistently lower.

Here’s a photo of the finagling process.


I took it for a long drive today with highway, city, and some light off roading. The highest transmission fluid temp I saw was 193 when I was off road in 4wd. On normal roads it stayed below 160 - this is with a thermostat bypass as well.

I’m glad that I’ve got that service all done so I’ll be set for a while, and I really appreciate all of the info on this forum that helped prepare me!

 

[BlackBrud]

Next up is the tune!

I thought it would be a bit farther out, but I found a great deal on a superchips flashpaq f5, and snagged it.

I installed the 87 octane tune for now, and included some options:
-afm/dod disable
-increased idle by 50rpm at idle in park and drive
-increased my tire size

All I can say is Hooollyyy Shnikeys! It’s so much smoother and more responsive!

I read a few threads about slightly rough idle on this forum, and I wonder if those people could benefit from just upping their idle a bit. Mine seemed a bit lopey at idle here and there, but now it’s super smooth.

The shifts are more crisp, and the mpg has been great! I averaged 20mpg on the way home tonight without being gentle at all - round trip was ~40 miles.

So far, I am incredibly pleased with the superchips tune. Shout out to @Doubeleive for answering my questions about superchips before I took the plunge

Oh, and here’s some pics from the light off roading today outside of boulder:

 

[SavageDad]

Nice to see a truck out there in her natural environment rather than sitting in another mall parking lot!

 

[BlackBrud]

Nice to see a truck out there in her natural environment rather than sitting in another mall parking lot!

Thanks! The z71 was in its element