Transmission dilemma on a Chevy Express 1500

[BinDerSmokDat]

I'm coming late to this game but I had a similar situation.
I inherited my stepdads 2001 Ford E150 in the Fall of 2017 after his passing with only 70K
I rebuilt the front suspension, alternator, accessory belt and hose. and it has been our camping/cross country workhorse since.
The transmission status was unknown but the fluid was reddish, clean and no burnt smell.

Last year when it hit 103K I decided to have the fluid changed.
There were no known issues, but wanted to be proactive.
Best case, it had been changed some where between 0K-70K miles, worst case I had 20+ year fluid in there.

The shop drained it, cleaned the pan, new filter and found no issues.
It's been running great.
If you have no known issues, definitely do a fluid change oat the prescribed time, more often if heavy towing.
I probably should have done my transmission service at 70K just to be careful as I'm not likely to need another service on this van before I trade up.

I too am in NJ and the shop that did the service as well as past transmission work on another vehicle is https://www.joeshamiltontransmissionrepair.com/
Very happy with their service and results and they always seem to have a few vans/RV's/campers there when I stop by or drive by.

 

[wayne49]

Late to this party. Had to go back to post #1 to see how it got here.

Why the mechanic in the first post advised you not to change the tranny fluid, was because the fluid was burnt, and as a result loaded with metallic bits from abnormal wear. They knew the tranny would fail immediately with clean fluid. They were just getting you out of their shop without any liability.

Experienced that failure mode as a fleet mechanic servicing a mix of MOPAR, Ford, and GM vehicles on an estate in Westchester County NY.