atawiz

Hello

We have a (1993 gmc suburban C1500 350 Auto RWD). It had the transmission rebuilt about 2 years ago. We recently purchased a camper that weighs 6,200 lbs. When we bought it we were told that it was within the towing capacity of our suburban. We'll after the first trip the transmission gave out. Had to have it towed and rebuilt again out of town. The guy who did the work said their shouldn't be any problem towing with it. It does have a tranny cooler.

During the second trip it did the exact same thing. (Approximately 3,000 miles after it was rebuilt) Right now it wont get out of first. Took it to a shop here and he said just to get rid of the truck and that these transmissions in them can barely handle the weight of the vehicle let alone a load behind it. Said he makes a living off of people that tow with them.

So, my question is what is the actual towing capacity of this truck? Are their options for better transmissions that work better than the factory one? Would hate to get rid of it. I know it's got age on it but it's in near mint condition and the engine runs like a champ. I just wish it had a trans that would do the same. I'm wondering if their could be something causing them to go out. When it was rebuilt on the trip he replaced the cooler on it just in case but that didn't seem to help any.

Any input would be appreciated. Trying to figure out if I should just call it quits before it becomes an even bigger money pit and get something else. I just want to be able to tow my camper. hahaha

Pickupman29

Hi, How do I create a new post?

Terminal Frost

actually they are good transmissions if they are built correctly. I have pages upon pages of info on the 700r4 or 4l60

if you do not need the overdrive you could possibly stuff a 350 or 400 or a 4l80 transmission in it's place. I've done some 700 to 350 swaps for towing purposes... oh and you shouldn't be using O/D when towing PERIOD even with multiple trans coolers.

just my 2 cents :-)

but for heavy duty towing, no, not so much. I have a 87 with a 700r4 that lost 3rd gear because previous owner was doing some extraordinary towing

do the research and find a shop that knows how to use a pressure gauge for test purposes !!!

atawiz

Thanks for the input!

What we found out on it is that the shop that did the rebuild bypassed the radiator and put the trans cooler on the inside of the engine compartment. They said where it was the cooler was soaking up all the heat from the radiator. Said it should of been placed in front of the radiator and tied into the radiator as an aux cooler instead of stand alone. Also, it is a 4L60E.

Also, said that there was some internal problem with the transmission that the first shop missed or overlooked. We'll probably end up getting it fixed but were done with rebuilt units. I've seen some remans with nice warranties I might look at later this summer. Also, I got the trailer weight wrong. I weighed it just to see how much we were pulling and it came in under 4,500lbs.

It's hard to know which shop to trust when you break down out of town. I have an old dodge with a torqueflite 727 transmission that's never given a single problem towing weights double this. I wish i can get this truck working similarly. I do love all the extra room on the suburban is why I want to use it for long distances.

I rarely go to a shop, I do it all myself. But, I never messed with a transmission before so I left it to those that "suppose" to know what they were doing. I think if I do get a reman unit I'll do it myself as long as it doesn't void the warranty.

intheburbs

I've towed a 6000-lb trailer all over the country with my 01 with the 4L60E. It has 190, 000 miles on it, original tranny, and it still functions flawlessly.

We've towed 15-20,000 miles - to Florida, Virginia, Colorado and Yellowstone.

For me, the rear end has been the weak link. I've broken the rear axle twice.