New to me Suburban is already in the shop

[Gilligan]

can anybody sharpen up the picture?

Is that the intermediate housing (some call it 'adapter), between the transmission, and the transfer case that broke? It looks like it in that fuzzy picture. I have certainly those break before but the causes vary.


I build off-road trucks as a hobby and have for a long time...but not Chevy's, so I'm not immediately familiar with the Chevy setup. 700R4 automatic tranny?..what model T-case?

 

[GWguy]

Not much to work with... Looks like the lens was fogged.

 

[Dymphna]

I can see how you'd be hoping, but I just don't see how you can feel so sure you can put this back on the mechanic especially since huntr1 has already said, "It did great last weekend pulling the troop trailer to/from Little Bennet in Montgomery County." I guess we'll have to wait and see what the true point of failure was.

Multiple people who have heard about this, including my brother, father and others feel the most likely cause is something the mechanic did. Even if he didn't replace the parts that broke this time, he had them pulled out, so he would probably notice any pre-existing problems and if there weren't any, it is likely he put something back together incorrectly. But we'll see. He's supposed to pick it up today and look it over again. I'm trying to be optimistic here. Stop trying to burst my bubble.

 

[The_Twisted_Ear]

How about this one?

 

[huntr1]

Is that the intermediate housing (some call it 'adapter), between the transmission, and the transfer case that broke? It looks like it in that fuzzy picture. I have certainly those break before but the causes vary.


I build off-road trucks as a hobby and have for a long time...but not Chevy's, so I'm not immediately familiar with the Chevy setup. 700R4 automatic tranny?..what model T-case?

Unfortunately, it's not the intermediate housing. It's the transmission case between the back of the pan and the intermediate housing. Transmission is a 4L60E. Don't recall the model of the transfer case. In the first picture I posted, the rust brown part to the left is the flange of the intermediate housing.

 

[Gilligan]

Unfortunately, it's not the intermediate housing. It's the transmission case between the back of the pan and the intermediate housing. Transmission is a 4L60E. Don't recall the model of the transfer case. In the first picture I posted, the rust brown part to the left is the flange of the intermediate housing.

Gotcha. Eww..although the trans will usually be ruined by the intermediate case breaking too (because the output shaft of the tranny goes through there) so its not really a case of one failure being any better or worse than the other.

Good luck..I can see determining the exact cause of failure being pretty darned difficult to figure. I've seen broken tranny casings, broken adapter housings and broken transfer cases...some looked like they just 'decide to give up and let go for no apparent reason' while others were clearly being abused (off roading as sport does that). That it was just rebuilt and re-installed..sure does give one pause though, doesn' it?

 

[huntr1]

Drove the truck to work today. Or at least I tried to.

I think there may be a slight problem...

Got the truck back yesterday.

Still not sure what exactly happened, but whatever caused it snapped the transmission case in half, destroyed the internals of the transfer case and of course the broken driveshaft.

Mechanic replaced the rear driveshaft with a brand new one, replaced the u-joints on the front driveshaft, got a transfer case and transmission from Brandywine and completely rebuilt both of them to make sure they were in like-now (or better than new) condition. The only things in the drivetrain from the engine to pumkin that are original are the front driveshaft and the intermediate housing that joins the transfer case to the transmission. Everything else from the flywheel back has been rebuilt and/or replaced.

Oh, and the cost? $0.00.

After he was done telling me everything he did, I asked what I owed him. He said "Nothing. I stand behind my work. I cannot prove that it was or was not due to something I did or something that was damaged that I did not see in working on it in the past, so it's on me. I stand behind my work and we are good. You and I are good. Have a nice day and if you need anything else, call me. Keys are in the truck."

He will continue to get my work.

He does any work needed on a vehicle, not just transmissions, so if you want an HONEST repair guy, PM me for his info.

 

[Gilligan]

Wow. That is some of the best customer service I've ever heard of....

Good luck with the truck now. It owes you a few trouble-free miles at this point...

 

[huntr1]

Wow. That is some of the best customer service I've ever heard of....

Yep. This is why I continue to champion his work.

Good luck with the truck now. It owes you a few trouble-free miles at this point...

From your fingers to God's ears.