My 2014 Sierra 1500 with the 6L80E transmission is pushing the 50K. I bought it new. It had a pretty gentle life until we moved to the mountains. It definitely gets a work out now. So, I've decided it might be a good time to drop the pan and change the filter. I would also like to flush the system via the cooler lines. I know I'm going to have to deal with the crossover exhaust pipe that prevents the pan from dropping easily. I've been game-planning for that. I have several questions I hope someone can help with.
Q1 - Does anybody make a transmission pan with a built in drain plug besides B&M and PML to fit the 6L80E? I have no problems with their offerings other than the price. I find it hard to justify $300+ for a transmission pan. I see so many cheaper options for other transmissions by many more companies. With the number of 6L80Es on the road, I would think someone would come up with a more affordable option given the disgust by so many who deal with the exhaust pipe interference issue. I know you can buy a drain plug kit and install it on the existing pan but I'm not real impressed with the offerings out there. And I'd like to deal with the exhaust issue just one time, not every time I need to replace transmission fluid.
Q2 - In all the other vehicles I have done a flush on, after changing the filter and putting the pan back on, I refilled the pan with exactly what I measured coming out of the pan. I would then flush the system, two quarts at a time, from the radiator cooler fitting until fresh transmission fluid came out. I've heard/read that in the 2014 MY this transmission was equipped with a thermostat. If this is true, does that mean the truck would have to be at operating temperature before I could do the flush? There's no way I could do a pan drop, filter change, pan and fluid replacement before the transmission cooled down. Having to bring the transmission back up to operating temperature would negate my flushing regime, without wasting a lot of new fluid. And, I have no desire to fight with a hot crossover pipe. This very issue, if true, is why I'd like to replace the factory transmission pan with one that has a drain plug so I could compensate by doing regular drain and fills to keep the fluid fresh.
Q3 - Am I totally off base here? If I'm misinformed please let me know. Anything you can offer, in anyway, would be much appreciated.
Q1 - Does anybody make a transmission pan with a built in drain plug besides B&M and PML to fit the 6L80E? I have no problems with their offerings other than the price. I find it hard to justify $300+ for a transmission pan. I see so many cheaper options for other transmissions by many more companies. With the number of 6L80Es on the road, I would think someone would come up with a more affordable option given the disgust by so many who deal with the exhaust pipe interference issue. I know you can buy a drain plug kit and install it on the existing pan but I'm not real impressed with the offerings out there. And I'd like to deal with the exhaust issue just one time, not every time I need to replace transmission fluid.
Q2 - In all the other vehicles I have done a flush on, after changing the filter and putting the pan back on, I refilled the pan with exactly what I measured coming out of the pan. I would then flush the system, two quarts at a time, from the radiator cooler fitting until fresh transmission fluid came out. I've heard/read that in the 2014 MY this transmission was equipped with a thermostat. If this is true, does that mean the truck would have to be at operating temperature before I could do the flush? There's no way I could do a pan drop, filter change, pan and fluid replacement before the transmission cooled down. Having to bring the transmission back up to operating temperature would negate my flushing regime, without wasting a lot of new fluid. And, I have no desire to fight with a hot crossover pipe. This very issue, if true, is why I'd like to replace the factory transmission pan with one that has a drain plug so I could compensate by doing regular drain and fills to keep the fluid fresh.
Q3 - Am I totally off base here? If I'm misinformed please let me know. Anything you can offer, in anyway, would be much appreciated.