KeithO

My 2004 Suburban with the 8.1 liter engine and the 4L80 is about to roll over 100,000 miles. I plan to do a major maintenance pass on this vehicle. I have been unable to find a Haynes manual or similar for this particular engine/tranny combo and I found the Owner's Manual to be incomplete.

I was wondering if anyone knew the capacities for the following for this vehicle:
Transmission fluid
Rear diff gear oil
Front diff gear oil
Transfer case oil

Also, I haven't crawled under there to look. Do the diffs have drain and fill plugs or do I have to pull the diff cover (and replace the diff gasket) to change the oil?

Thanks.

in2pro

You can try this GM sponsored site which provides the manual in PDF for free if you sigh up
GM Owners Center - GM

Or this one.. from GM and free with no sign in..
http://www.extendedgmwarranty.com/ow...t-Suburban.pdf

And when all else fails Google is always your friend...

in2pro

I didn't see the tranny listed but I didn't look very hard

Capacities and Specifications
Engine VIN Code Spark Plug Gap
VORTEC™ 4800 V8 V 0.040 inches (1.01 mm)
VORTEC™ 5300 V8 T 0.040 inches (1.01 mm)
VORTEC™ 5300 V8 Z 0.040 inches (1.01 mm)
VORTEC™ 6000 V8 U 0.040 inches (1.01 mm)
VORTEC™ 8100 V8 G 0.060 inches (1.52 mm)
Wheels and Tires
Model Description Torque
C/K 1500 6 bolts (14 mm) 140 lb ft (190Y)
C/K 2500 8 bolts (14 mm) 140 lb ft (190Y)
Tire Pressure
See the Certification/Tire label on the rear edge of the driver’s door or the
incomplete vehicle document in the cab.
After refill, the level must be rechecked. See Cooling System on page 5-31.
5-120Cooling System Capacity
Application
Capacities
English Metric
Cooling System
VORTEC™ 4800 V8 Automatic with front A/C 15.0 quarts 14.0 L
VORTEC™ 4800 V8 Automatic with front and rear A/C 17.0 quarts 16.0 L
VORTEC™ 5300 V8 Automatic with front A/C 13.0 quarts 12.0 L
VORTEC™ 5300 V8* Automatic with front and rear A/C 17.0 quarts 16.0 L
VORTEC™ 6000 V8 Automatic 13.0 quarts 12.0 L
VORTEC™ 6000 V8** Automatic with engine oil cooler 14.0 quarts 13.0 L
VORTEC™ 8100 V8 Automatic 20.0 quarts 18.0 L
*Vehicles equipped with the optional air conditioner.
**Vehicles equipped with the optional engine oil cooler.
Add one liter if equipped with rear heating for all engines.
After refill, the level must be rechecked. Add enough engine oil so that the fluid is within the proper operating range.
See Engine Oil on page 5-16.
5-121Capacities
Application
Capacities
English Metric
Engine Oil with Filter
VORTEC™ 4800 V8 VIN V 6.0 quarts† 5.7 L†
VORTEC™ 5300 V8 VIN T 6.0 quarts† 5.7 L†
VORTEC™ 5300 V8 VIN Z (E-85) 6.0 quarts† 5.7 L†
VORTEC™ 6000 V8 VIN U 6.0 quarts† 5.7 L†
VORTEC™ 8100 V8 VIN G 6.5 quarts† 6.1 L†
Fuel Tank Capacity
Tahoe 26.0 gallons 98.4 L
Suburban (1500 Series) 31.0 gallons 117.3 L
Suburban (2500 Series) 37.5 gallons 140.0 L
Air Conditioning Refrigerant Capacity
Tahoe 2.71 lbs. 1.23 kg
Suburban 3.0 lbs. 1.36 kg
†Oil filter should be changed at every oil change.

KeithO

Yes, I am signed up at the Owner's Center and have the manual electronically as well as in paper format. As the cut-n-paste shows above, the diffs, transfer case and tranny are left out of the capacities section.

I crawled under the burb yesterday to have a look. Here is what I found:

1) The rear diff has a fill plug but not a drain plug. This means the diff cover has to come off to change the fluid. I then counted the diff cover bolts so that I knew what to look for with the gasket at the auto parts store. 14-bolts. Hmmmm, never seen a 14-bolt before and that thing is huge.

2) The transfer case has both drain and fill plugs.

3) I couldn't see anything on the front diff since it is mounted behind a bunch of stuff. By this point, I was ready to go back in the house and watch more racing/football so I did. I'll worry about that once I finish other stuff.

Given the size of the rear end, I plan to buy 6qts of gear oil to make sure I have enough for the front and rear. I use alot of gear oil on one of my other cars so any extra won't go to waste.

You are correct - for the tranny, I just need to Google a 4L80e and see what I get. Then I just need to be conservative as I fill and top up as necessary.

I'll report back with the capacity for the tranny and rear when I do the work. It just might help someone else out later on.

73shark

You can get a Factory Service Manual from Helm Inc.

Instead of removing the diff. cover, you can use a suction gun. Looks like a grease gun w/o the lever and has a short hose on it. Less messy than removing cover and no gasket req'd.

KeithO

Is the Helm the same as the GM Manual? Also, the description over at the Helm site didn't explicitly state if this manual covered the 8.1/4L80e. Is this covered? It looks a bit expensive but if it's like the Helm manual I had for another car, it is a step up from a Haynes in terms of accuracy and detail. If it is the GM manual, then I might take a pass. I have never had any luck with GM manuals - different sections reference parts with different names and I find them to be more confusing than helpful.

I have a drill-based pump that I could use to drain the diffs. For the rear, I suppose it isn't a terrible idea to pull the rear diff cover and check the oil and magnet to see if there is any excessive wear, or whatever. For the front, I might just to a drain with the pump. Good idea.

in2pro

Yes, Helm is the publisher of GM's official factory service manuals and are far superior in accuracy and detail to any other manuals available...(Check Ebay for service manuals on DVD)

From what I have seen of service manuals they tell you to fill to "recommended level" so start with about 4 quarts and start checking the dipstick and add as needed....

KeithO

I'll check around on eBay. Maybe a DVD manual would be a good idea.

Good advice on the "put some in and check". I just finished a full PM on my new-to-me 2001 Z28, including the tranny fluid and filter. The Haynes manual said it would take 5 quarts. So, I installed the new filter, reinstalled the pan and put in 4.5 quarts then checked the level. Guess what? I overfilled it by 1.5 quarts. After I realized I made a problem, I measured what I drained and it was only 3 quarts. I won't do that again.

in2pro

The partial fill and check is how I do it on my mower, generator and pressure washer....I have to siphon the oil out of those so I just measure what I take out and go from there.... I am sure there are official capacity's listed somewhere but those are probably based on a completely empty case and I suspect that is why the use the " fill to recommended level" as every fill or re-fill is based on how much came out....

KeithO

Just to report back -

Having a rare drivetrain has it's drawbacks.

Yesterday, I planned to change the air filter, plugs, plug wires, fluids in both diffs, and transmission fluild/filter. Didn't happen.

I did the air filter (K&N) and then moved to the plugs. The fancey/expensive 10mm plug set was not correct. 7 of the wires were 3ft long and the 8th was 4ft long. Way to long to be usable - this engine has coil packs on top of the valve covers and the plugs just underneath. So, I punted on the plugs and wires and have to return the wires.

I then moved on to the rear diff. I pulled the cover and drained. Cleaned the old gasket material and the cover. I then tried to figure out the required orientation of the cover gasket. There was no way that gasket was for that rear. Just to make sure I wasn't being a dumba**, I tried both sides at all 14 positions. Nope.

So, I made my own gasket and refilled. I drained 2 qts and refilled with just-under 3 qts. I haven't gone out to see if it is leaking. It appeared to have a minor leak after my wife drove it yesterday.

I then crawled over to the transmission, got annoyed and quit for the day.

So the only data point was that it takes about 3 qts to fill this 14-bolt rear.