chicken_buster

Hey! Another question here from a new truck driver. I have drove a standard in most of the cars I have had before this, so maybe some of this stuff is normal. First, I notice that the transmission in this truck is not the smootest shifting thing at times. When you are accelerating normally, it seems to shift fine. It gets rough though after you have slowed down, say to go around a corner, and you accelerate. It shifts down really roughly sometimes,whith a kind of shudder. Maybe this is normal, but doesnt seem to be? Secondly, what exacly is the diffrence in tow/haul mode? What does the transmission do diffrently? Lastly, should I be using cruise contorol with the box loaded up. I am gussing you shouldnt usewhen hauling a trailer but was courious about this. I recently made a trip with the cruise on, and going up one hill, it ended up shifting down to second andstaying there till I was up the hillto hold the speed. Is this ok? The RPMs were pretty high? Any feedback appreciated!

Thanks!

chicken_buster

Bump

IAfarmer

I would consider this normal for a Chevy. I have had 4 Chevy trucks and the Allison trans was the only one that could maintain smooth shifts at all times.

Sure is annoying.....

chicken_buster

anybody else?

MalibuMaxxSS

k few question for you...what kind of truck....? engines size...?? and rear gear ratio..??

the diff with tow/haul is...when it is not engaged the trans will shift normally, engaged the truck will rev higher and shift harder, giving you better pulling and bottom end torque before it upshifs to another gear, it also keeps the overdrive which ford and dodge just lock out....

if you have a 4.8 then yes the truck will shift funny cornering, the 4.8 in my opinion are useless engine, the 5.3 gets better milage on highway and only 1 mpg diff in town...almost,

they dont pull well, and usually dont come with 4.10 or even 3.73 for that matter, and with 3.42 forget about pulling, which brings me to your next questions reving high up hills, the truck if equipped with a 4.8 and 3.42 is working V hard to get up hills, dont get me wrong the engine will pull it BUT the gear ration wont, a good headwind will cause a 4.8 to downshift while pulling.....even with 3.73 ina 4.8 it will dog up hills the tow/haul will help....

ax7221

i just typed a long reply, but it didnt post for some reason, basically, a way to stop the engine from basically red lining itself while in cruise control, is when going uphill, you might wanna accelerate manually (3-4 mph) and it wont do that, also with the shuddering around cornering, i just had mine in for lunging forward after stopping, thought it was the tranny, turns out it was the driveshaft slip yolk

chicken_buster

In reply

2007 NBS 1500 Extended Cab

4.8L

3.42 gear ratio

I had no idea that the gear ratio would make such a big diffrence. Heck, I didnt even know about it period.

MalibuMaxxSS

HUGE DIFFERENCE ...most people dont realize it and they buy a truck with 3.42 cause it wil get 'better' fuel milage...well it dont...the truck works twice as hard to maintain speed and pull...the gear ratio makes basically all the difference.....steeper gears like 4.10 will give you more torque at the wheels, and better for pulling, if you only pulling say 10-20 times a year and only a little travel trailer I would still upgrade you to a 5.3 with at least 3.73....depending on where you live maybe 4.10....

In British Columbia almost alllll trucks we bring in are 4.10, minimum 3.73, and about 1- 4.8 to 5 -5.3....the terrain with the mountains and hills the 5.3 and 4.10 actually get better 'real world' milage....working less....I have in my 5 years selling yet to see a truck with a 4.8 and 3.42 hit this lot....or a 2WD for that matter...LOL

even stick 4.10 in your truck it will make a huge diff, the 4.8 is a good engine and pulls hard, but your gears are killing you now. but to swap gears your prolly looking in the neighbourhood of 1500 -2G

chicken_buster

Its just a lease, so I wont worry too much about it. I dont plan on pulling anyting major in the next 3 years, and I am in northern Alberta, so I dont have to worry too much about hills.When I trade this one in, I will definetly be thinking more about my gear ratios! Thanks for the info!

MalibuMaxxSS

lol funny you said that....being from Alberta......everytime I search for a truck, I get lots of nice trucks but they all have 3.42.....you guys and your flat *** land