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Company Truck w/Trans issues

DieselSlug

DieselSlug

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Location
Fabius, NY
Good Morning Guys,

Our trusty 2004 3500 Dually got towed to our shop yesterday. Driver stated RPM's were rising on a highway drive to the jobsite. We checked the truck when it came in and the fluid was way over full. Supposedly the driver added some transmission additive in an attempt to fix.

This is a company truck with Reading box so its ROUGH. It has over 400K miles on the odometer.

I read the codes today:

PO872- Trans E solenoid.
PO335- Crank Sensor.
PO380- Glow System.
PO404- EGR.
PO700- Gen. Trans Malfunction.
P1093- Emissions.
P1404- Emissions.

So obviously the truck has had several outlying issues and was just driven as is, however the trans now shudders as you drive it. I'm assuming its in limp mode. We will be taking it over to a local shop we use to see if it can be reasonably fixed (for a rotted 04 w/400K miles).

We brought it in thinking the trans is going, however it seems like it may be a sticking e valve? Any experience guys?
 
A sticking E valve is fairly common when the fluid gets alot of clutch material built up in it. You seeit alot when the torque converter is letting go. You might be able to flush the fluid, drop the valve body, ream the e valve bore, and put it back together to get some more miles out of it, but it sounds like she hasn't lead an easy life.
 
Yes this truck has seen it all.

It was originally the company owners travel trailer hauler, then went to our shop manager. At 150K miles the engine was replaced under warranty due to some type of injector failure that caused catastrophic engine failure. I do believe at some time the trans was replaced, but I'm not 100% sure. Then the truck went to our lead mechanic and that's who was driving it. About 50K miles ago a new transfer case was installed due to some type of internal failure.

The truck is severely rotted out due to NY winters. A few weeks ago it was involved in a t-bone accident that took out the passenger cab corner and the front corner of the Reading box. So yeah, she rough.... We are looking at an 09 3500 for possible replacement if we can't get some more time out of the 04.

I personally drove it to the local shop we send all our company vehicles to yesterday and it was shuddering VERY badly from 10 MPH to 30 MPH. I hit the towhaul button and the shuddering happened at a different speed, more like 25-35.
 
It's hard to get and retain good people. A POS for a company vehicle is encouragement to seek employment elsewhere. Just saying it's waaaaay past time.
 
WarWagon said:
It's hard to get and retain good people. A POS for a company vehicle is encouragement to seek employment elsewhere. Just saying it's waaaaay past time.
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Yup, exactly what I was thinking. Maybe it's not a big deal in your area, but here about half the people I know will see the fleet condition of a company and that tells a lot of their financial stability and their willingness ro spend it on their employees.

Younger company is one thing, but if hey have been around 10 years and are putting lead individuals in beaters then most people won't deal with the company, either as employer or as a business they hire.

I am going to need a new a/c unit for my house sometime soon. No frigin way I am making a major purchase on something with a long term warranty on a company that doesn't look like it will be around in 4 years.

I have worked at many small family owned companies- now I list them on my resume and my potential employer cannot even be sure they ever existed because they are closed and gone. I have missed out on some major jobs because they weren't satisfied with my job history being untraceable when they are looking for someone with many years of experience. Something I never considered, but in mentioning to others, they all look at me surprised and say "ya..."

It has actually gotten much easier since '08 economic mess, because so many outfits went under here.
 
The owner of the company that I work for is a firm believer in having new or well taking care of trucks. All of us foremen know to keep our trucks clean or we will hear it from the big boss. He is also a believer in if it's broken then take it and get it fixed. I like it because if it's not something major then he'll let me work on the trucks and get paid by the hour even if I'm on overtime. Good looking trucks make a huge difference when you pull on a multi million dollar construction job.
 
My company has been around since 1999. Out of all of our fleet vehicles this by far is the roughest. Our on-site guys have 07 and up 1/2 and 3/4 tons while others have 08 and up F250's that are all in very good shape. Unfortunately in our field of work (demolition/decommissioning/remediation) it is hard to keep these trucks very nice. They get used, and hard. So I don't blame it on our company or see it as we are unstable. Our drivers are responsible for their vehicles whether it be maintenance, washing and so on. Its hard for my company to monitor our fleet trucks as we work all across the U.S. Its very frequent we don't see them for several years at a time. So we really can't monitor how they are taken care of on a regular interval. The reason the 04 stuck around so long was because of the Reading box. Our mechanic loved it for all of his tools.

When it was involved in the t-bone it was going to be replaced, however the accident ended up being our drivers fault. By then there was no point putting it through on company insurance.

We just got an update this morning. The shop stated the transmission was overheated and is shot.
 
If the box is still good and they decide to out the truck for a new one, the box is easily swapped to another truck. Cab to axle measurement is about all that needs to be the same.

Emptying out the box is usually the longest part of the task best done by the truck's driver. Large forklift, front end loader, crane, or 2 post lift to raise money he box off after unbolting. If frame width is different some cutting and welding of the stringers is needed, then rebolt to the newer truck. Fuel filler hose is about the most annoying part to cope with.

When I co-owned the truck equipment shop, we could do a swap out with 2 guys in 2-6 hours depending how similar/ different everything was.

Truck equipment shops generally charge same labor rates as mechanic shops in their areas, so apply normal hourly costs for your ballpark.
 
Will L. said:
If the box is still good and they decide to out the truck for a new one, the box is easily swapped to another truck. Cab to axle measurement is about all that needs to be the same.

Emptying out the box is usually the longest part of the task best done by the truck's driver. Large forklift, front end loader, crane, or 2 post lift to raise money he box off after unbolting. If frame width is different some cutting and welding of the stringers is needed, then rebolt to the newer truck. Fuel filler hose is about the most annoying part to cope with.

When I co-owned the truck equipment shop, we could do a swap out with 2 guys in 2-6 hours depending how similar/ different everything was.

Truck equipment shops generally charge same labor rates as mechanic shops in their areas, so apply normal hourly costs for your ballpark.
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Unfortunately in the accident the front passenger corner of the Reading box has been severely compromised. Its scrap.

We just brought the truck back. Odometer says 425,359 miles. We are trying to figure out if the trans was original, I personally cant believe it if it is. After hearing from the shop some more I think Ferm is right on the money. TC is gone. It was throwing errors such as shift range inhibited today, so took a bit to get it in gear. She sits out back waiting to be stripped down. Shop owners son wants it to part out. Not sure if thats the route we are taking as of yet. We are going to clean the OEM bed up and try to sell outright. It was only on the truck maybe 3 years. Should be in real good shape.
 
A failing torque converter is the normal cause of a sticking e valve. I can believe 400K on a stock allison if it was semi cared for.
 
I figured i would update this thread and maybe ask a few more questions about this truck. Now that my personal truck has been "converted" to a company truck and bought outright from me I eventually want to get another beater for my more personal use (and of course as a backup if anything ever goes south at my job).

Ideally I want to take my time and over the next 2 years find another 6.5L to replace my previous one. I know the 6.5L in-and-out, plus cost of ownership is second to none for a Diesel. I know nothing about the Duramax trucks.

This old Duramax (previously mentioned in this thread) is sitting out in the lot at my office still. The truck is an LS trim full 4 door with an 8 foot box. It has been removed from service. I am wondering if the cost is worth it to try and pick this rig up cheap (as my 6.5L replacement). Going into it the truck needs A-LOT of work. Full trans replacement as mentioned, the truck was T-boned and the Reading tool box is scrap. There was also damage to the lower cab corner, rocker and door. Truck was still driveable. The rockers and cab corners are rotted away. It has several CEL's and other mechanical issues such as starter frequently grinding, carrier bearing and U-joints that will need addressing. I did some quick research finding the 8th digit in the VIN is a 1, so I believe it is a late model LB7. This truck had an engine replacement about 150-200k miles ago. Also the transfer case was replaced with a brand new OEM unit last year. My plans would be trans swap, pull the mangled box to install a flatbed, fix the other various issues, do some bodywork eventually and install a plow.

If I was to buy a 6.5L I would price one at $2-3K to buy. I would hope to hold that budget for the most part to get the Duramax truck on the road. Am I realistic? Should I bother trying to chase this truck? Typically when we get rid of company trucks the prices range from $1-500 depending on condition to employees. I would assume due to the condition of this truck it will be for less than a case of Beer to purchase outright.

What do you all think? I would perform the trans swap myself, but would have it rebuilt professionally. Of course I am 6.5L biased, but wouldn't mind a Duramax. This truck is a dually and way overkill for anything I will ever do, but for the most part will be a weekend rig for me.
 
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Buy the truck, use a sawsall to cut it into scrap, sell or use the engine in something else, sell the trans as a core or for scrap. Sell other parts as they are good or worth enough for the trouble. With this extreme high of miles, rust, and other problems it's a black hole for money and will never be worth what you have to put into it. Rust is the big limiting factor making frames weak... It's not fun to work on a rusty truck and with 4x the expected life in miles and over a decade of rust you will be touching every bolt and nut on the thing.

Trans, starter ring gear work with trans, front end shape, you know the driveshaft needs $500 in work just because it comes out with the trans (center bearing, ujoints, balance) body work, bed... How is the interior? Seat shot? Dash, etc...
 
WarWagon said:
Buy the truck, use a sawsall to cut it into scrap, sell or use the engine in something else, sell the trans as a core or for scrap. Sell other parts as they are good or worth enough for the trouble. With this extreme high of miles, rust, and other problems it's a black hole for money and will never be worth what you have to put into it. Rust is the big limiting factor making frames weak... It's not fun to work on a rusty truck and with 4x the expected life in miles and over a decade of rust you will be touching every bolt and nut on the thing.

Trans, starter ring gear work with trans, front end shape, you know the driveshaft needs $500 in work just because it comes out with the trans (center bearing, ujoints, balance) body work, bed... How is the interior? Seat shot? Dash, etc...
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The body seems to be the worst part. I prefer mechanical issues over body issues as that's where my skills lie, so yes major negative for me (I'm sure all the trucks in my price range will be this way). I'm right there with you on the rust thing, but up here its so common we are used to it. We get cars merely 5 years old rotting out, hell my ram is just over a year old and the bumper has rust stains in it already. The frame actually isn't bad at all. Minimal scale on the welds, would have put my old truck to shame.

The interior is definitely in need of a good cleaning. I'd say a 6 outta 10 for a work truck. The drivers seat actually isn't ripped bad, however it was a large fella who drove it and the foam is definitely worn. Dash is in good shape, A/C still works and the truck ran and drove normally (with some driveline vibes and u-joint squeaks) until the trans went. My worry is buying someone else's problem, especially in my price range its bound to happen. Not saying this truck wouldn't be the same way. I'm worried about the actual cost of getting the Allison rebuilt. I assume that's the biggest part of this.

I have receipts out the wazoo dating back to 04 of services and repairs. However the latest repair was the T-case, which was a bit ago. Nobody here knows I may be interested in it and honestly am not if I don't end up with a decent truck in the end. I did some cruising of craigslist and Duramax trucks of this vintage are all over in value even for rot boxes that look worse than this one. Seems like people want millions for junk these days. Truck shopping below $5K is a joke.
 
3500GMC said:
Dry as a bone AZ truck would be in a museum in Buffalo. Ooo niiice :)
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I honestly would hate to slap a plow on that truck its that nice. We live in a brutal environment up here, and I'm not referring to the weather. It's the damn liquid brine and lime green salt they dump on the roads.
 
A used 5 speed allison can be had for $750-1250 for a good used driveable take out. A rebuild, even stock, is going to eat almost your entire budget. As to the starter grindi,g, this is normally the starter, but a GOOD starter is NOT cheap either, so plan another $400-500 there. If the teeth are bad, then figure in another $125 for the rear flexplate half(there is no replacing the ring gear, and it's a funky 2 piece design). Driveshaft work for ujoints and carriage bearing won't be cheap either as the shaft will most likely need balancing, and you better hope it's not rotted out if it's crusty(you can thank GM for the glued in ujoints that you can never get centered correctly with replacements, so balanci,g is just about mandatory). If it needs a rear main seal or something while you're in there, that's a $80 seal iirc, and a $250 installer to put it in(hence why mine didn't get changed when I did my swap). I like the LB7 engine, but with your budget, you would be money ahead parting it out. If it still runs and can move under it's own power, the powertrain should fetch $1500-2500. If the transfer case is as you say, it's worth $800 or so by itself(thank you pump rub for trashi,g so many). The rear axle should fetch $350-500 as people do need them from time to time. The front doesn't normally fetch much. Or you can normally find somebody looking for a rolling chassis with a good title for $1000. But if it's like you describe, with your budget, buy it and part it out so you can grow your 6.5l budget.
 
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