disappointed with 2019 GM 5.3L truck; problems

[meep]

Were transmission, Tcase and axle lubricants changed regularly? Admittedly I think torque converter failures aren’t uncommon in the GM units, but in my very limited experience, neither are transmission fluid changes among the owners I’ve known.

If 4wd was used regularly, the vehicle was seeing some use, and the Tcase chains do beat up on the small qty of lubricant when used.

I’d be disappointed too, but 130k miles would be about right if the fluids weren’t being changed out.

I’ve seen these trucks go farther without major failures like this, but the guys I know are pretty solid on oil changes.

And conversely in agreement with you, there are definitely problem areas for all trucks from the big 3.

 

[Snagglefoot]

That would be a Magna Powertrain transfer case and it has a magnetic drain plug that builds up literally chards of steel that need to be removed every two years or so. (Say 24,000 km). Also, if it was an auto four wheel drive system and driven a lot in "Auto" that can be hard on the transfer case and help wear out the clutches in it.
Might not be the case, but can be in some instances.

 

[PontiacHO]

Severe service intervals for TC and trans are 45k miles respectively. In a fleet setting and the constant use of 4 wheel drive, these intervals are more than likely not going to cut it. More like 30k miles in snow/ice and off-road conditions.

 

[userfriendly]

Long story short, don’t buy a 1500 for work truck duty. That’s what 2500s and 3500s are for.

 

[dfarr67]

That would be a Magna Powertrain transfer case and it has a magnetic drain plug that builds up literally chards of steel that need to be removed every two years or so. (Say 24,000 km). Also, if it was an auto four wheel drive system and driven a lot in "Auto" that can be hard on the transfer case and help wear it out the clutches in it.
Might not be the case, but can be in some instances.

From my reading there is a smaller oem case saver that might fall out of place and of course doesn't protect the housing from perforating. The aftermarket has that covered- but only on a rebuild.

 

[BrendanC]

From my reading there is a smaller oem case saver that might fall out of place and of course doesn't protect the housing from perforating. The aftermarket has that covered- but only on a rebuild.

that would be the earlier NP units.

 

[4WD]

trans fluid absolutely has to be changed every 65k miles on a 6l80. Transfer case was also probably never serviced.

I stick drain plugs in them and drain the pan yearly (before summer) and do the filter at 60k …

 

[D60]

I dunno, there's always stuff like this where the aftermarket steps in. Most people think of aftermarket as bling and bolt-on junk, but the aftermarket I enjoy is stuff that truly addresses reliability issues.

Example: 2008 GMC 2500 with LMM Dmax
-the transmission cooler lines would blow apart. I replaced with aftermarket full length hydraulic hose
-the Ally filter just falls out. Aftermarket makes filter locks or new pans that support the filter from underneath
-tie rods are about the size of your index finger. Aftermarket offers tie rod sleeves (although i just made them on the lathe from stainless stock)
-the slightly earlier (GMT800) t-cases had the notorious pump rub, and the NP246 had a plastic caged bearing at the output. All this can be remedied, but not with factory parts

The cool aftermarket stuff is the stuff you never see 'cause chrome don't get ya home.

But yeah, fleets rarely do these mods, partially because of apathy and partially because they just want to drag the vehicles past a ~5 year finish line

 

[D60]

I could keep going - oh, don't get me started on how across all four of these stores like 1/4 of the prior gen Frontiers had bad airbag clocksprings that means the horn didn't work. To me, that is a safety issue, and they tried to fix it, but parts were not available. For a super common vehicle that didn't change for like 20 years! Nissans suck!

SJ Foresters are kinda the same but I found cheap import clock springs all over ebay. Is it a good idea? I dunno, but the one I installed restored horn functionality

Similarly, I see cheap units all over ebay for the Frontier for both '07-21 and '22+

 

[hemioiler]

Long story short, don’t buy a 1500 for work truck duty. That’s what 2500s and 3500s are for.

Nothing in his description requires a heavy duty. My truck gets worked a lot harder than that and so do many other chevy's and half tons without issues.

 

[bullwinkle]

Long story short, don’t buy a 1500 for work truck duty. That’s what 2500s and 3500s are for.

My company’s Transit 250s say “hold my beer”… 10R80 trannys blowing up all over, even had a 13K mile 3.5 one drop a valve & throw a rod cruising down the interstate!

 

[bdcardinal]

Right, then the truck explodes and they say "that truck was junk".

Yup, hear it a lot. Something is obviously abused and put away wet constantly and it is all of a sudden Ford's problem.

 

[4WD]

A lot of the fleets we provide parts for just want OEM replacement since they are a known quantity.

Also we see some fleets overmaintain and only rarely have issues, while others push the limits and have lots of major issues.

But as @dogememe said, once a vehicle is in a fleet and gets passed around between drivers, all bets are off. We have a 2004 Mazda B2300 for a backup delivery vehicle as well as a we drive it to lunch type thing. Alwasy try to take care of it, but then we let the lot porters use it to move old tires to the pickup spot and this happens:

View attachment 266995

Wut?

 

[PontiacHO]

I stick drain plugs in them and drain the pan yearly (before summer) and do the filter at 60k …

Curious…Does the filter ever have anything visible in it? My opinion….if there’s metal flakes, brass bushing wear, and/or clutch material seen, the damage is done and is going to continue regardless of a fresh filter.
Also, how do you negotiate the exhaust crossing over directly under the transmission pan? That’s another absolutely stupid design that does nothing but cook the fluid even more than it already is with that “brilliant” transmission cooler line thermostat (sarcasm). I do two trans fluid draws out of the top (10 qts total) every 45k miles and avoid the trans pan removal past that stupid exhaust pipe. Yes it’s the same filter but you know how I feel about the filter anyway (see above).

 

[4WD]

Curious…Does the filter ever have anything visible in it? My opinion….if there’s metal flakes, brass bushing wear, and/or clutch material seen, the damage is done and is going to continue regardless of a fresh filter.

I do 20k changes on all my vehicles - and that’s when the magnets are loaded and break-in puke is in the pan …
The later changes are much cleaner - I also white bowl some of the ATF when just using the plug …

 

[dfarr67]

Well, company decided to auction off as is.