I've got a 2001 Silverado 5.3L Auto with about 105,xxx miles on it. I've been planning for winter maintenance on the truck (oil change, tire rotation, cleaning, waxing, lube, etc) and it occurs to me; I've had this truck for about a year or so now and haven't touched the transmission since I've had it. It's always shifted butter smooth and never given me even a hickup from the hottest summer days hauling loads of gravel and sand (weighed in at around a 2 ton load, I have the slips to prive it
) to getting me to work at 4:00am on the coldest, snowiest, iciest days of winter. Getting this Chevy has been the best vehicle decision I've ever made and I never plan on getting anything other than a Chevy, but that's a discussion for a different thread
My questions is this, as odd as it may sound: do ya'll change your transmission fluid and if so, how and how often? Did you have any problems afterword?
I ask because as far as I know, it's never been done and I want to take care of my machines the best I can. I've done quite a bit of research on this and heard conflicting opinions: one side ways if it ain't broke, don't fix it. What's in your transmission now is holding it together so don't mess with it. The logic behind this is as parts wear, the fluid thickens up and thus "holds things together". Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with me. The other side says if you're going to change it, do it right with a flush from a mechanic where you disconnect the pressure side and hook it up to a machine that puts in equal parts of new fluid while the old is being pushed/pumped out. The reason you do this instead of draining/dropping the pan is because if you drop the pan, you'll never get all the fluid out of the passages, channels, etc.
I've heard/read one too many horror stories of people changing fluid in these 4L60E transmissions and them dying after so I'd like some opinions from a group of people I have some trust in. I hate the idea of letting it go because it isn't broken but if I'm going to do it, I want to do it right so this truck will run for another 100k+. Thanks guys!
