Want to take my 2010 Yukon XL Denali with 180,000 miles for a family trip from Michigan To Florida

[Doubeleive]

Was starting to think through some of my next repairs and PM. Are there any other weak points I should be considering? Remember, my goal is to keep running this truck for a long, long time.

I'm thinking I want to address the broken exhaust manifold bolt. In talking with my trusted shop (owner of which also has a Yukon), he recommends just changing out all of the bolts vs using the dorman clamp. What are your thoughts? Also, are these the right ARP bolts to use:

Pardon Our Interruption

We had discussed proactively changing out the torque converter a few posts back - any thoughts on that? I'm still on my original transmission with no issues right now.i also had Blackstone take a look at my trans fluid from last month and it actually looked pretty good with no identified issues. Do I even bother with this?

I typically drive long distances - 2 hours each way, so my goal is to not get stranded somewhere unprepared.

Anything else I should think about in 2024 with 185K miles now?

the dorman clamp is a shortcut, do the bolts.
transmission I would find the highest rated cleanest shop in town and just have them refresh it with all the known fixes, it will be cheaper than fixing it later
that's just my .02 I have broken too many transmissions, a well built one is pretty much bullet proof.
a the very least do the billet TC
I also plan on keeping mine for the long run, at least that's the game plan for now

 

[petethepug]

Cool, they make aftermarket ones out of billet now.

 

[bobby2175]

Thanks for all of the responses!

Are you all familiar with anyone on the boards from the Detroit or Toledo area that may be able to recommend a good transmission shop? I'll also do some research on my side as well, but it sure would be good to have a reference. I've never had any transmission work done like this.

 

[Geotrash]

Thanks for all of the responses!

Are you all familiar with anyone on the boards from the Detroit or Toledo area that may be able to recommend a good transmission shop? I'll also do some research on my side as well, but it sure would be good to have a reference. I've never had any transmission work done like this.

I had great luck with looking at Google reviews. Found a great transmission shop run by a personable guy who knows his shit. That was 30K miles ago now.

 

[bobby2175]

Ok, I'm getting ready for my next big investments in getting a long life out of the truck.

I think I found a shop with good reviews and had a quick discussion with them today - they seemed to be very familiar with the 6L80 and immediately mentioned the billet TC, so they are somewhat familiar with things. I'm going to head there next week and kick the tires a little bit. I've also been getting some tips from @NickTransmissions!

I also have main seal, oil galley dog bone, ARP exhaust manifold bolts? Anything else I should get done while it's at the shop?

 

[bobby2175]

I'm a little late in saying thank you to all of you that joined me in refreshing the Yukon! We had a flawless trip with it to Florida and back! I really do owe you all so much. We're already talking about taking it down again at the holidays next year!

The only observation I really had was how much stuff gets into the oil catch can and just how incredible the Diode Dynamics ss3 max fog lights are. On the 1200 mile trip back (which we did in 1 day) the catch can was completely full of a mix of oil and moisture! Crazy to think where all of this could have gone without it?!?

I'm currently working on plans for the transmission. I have a local shop that is telling me to just run the transmission into the ground and then they will just give me a rebuilt one with a billet TC but if I drive an hour away to another shop, they will rebuild it before major issues. I'm leaning towards rebuilding my current one, so I'm going back and forth with the 2nd shop on making sure I understand everything they will do line by line.

Fortunately, the Yukon gets a little bit of a rest now making a drive maybe every couple of weeks or so which should give me time to sort out the transmission without having to rush into it.

@iamdub - I'm going to be in New Orleans for work next week. Where in the world are you?

 

[donjetman]

The only observation I really had was how much stuff gets into the oil catch can and just how incredible the Diode Dynamics ss3 max fog lights are. On the 1200 mile trip back (which we did in 1 day) the catch can was completely full of a mix of oil and moisture! Crazy to think where all of this could have gone without it?!?

Somethings not right with your pvc system if your catching that much oil.

I get 1-2 oz of oil in my catch can every 5,000+ miles.

 

[petethepug]

Bobby back at you Bro. 43 pages (so far) of what owners need to know if they should dive in or bail on their NNBS. Better yet, you took all that info cross country on a little vacation drive to FL.

I drove my 6L80 into the ground until 170k. Not by choice though. It aligned perfectly with getting my tax return back. I was lucky on the timing. Key word here, timing. Rebuild it when you’ve financially prep’d.

The additional $1.5k I spent sourcing my own parts and almost free labor for repairs made accessible while the trans was out saved about $4k if I had to do it with the trans reinstalled.

 

[iamdub]

I'm a little late in saying thank you to all of you that joined me in refreshing the Yukon! We had a flawless trip with it to Florida and back! I really do owe you all so much. We're already talking about taking it down again at the holidays next year!

The only observation I really had was how much stuff gets into the oil catch can and just how incredible the Diode Dynamics ss3 max fog lights are. On the 1200 mile trip back (which we did in 1 day) the catch can was completely full of a mix of oil and moisture! Crazy to think where all of this could have gone without it?!?

I'm currently working on plans for the transmission. I have a local shop that is telling me to just run the transmission into the ground and then they will just give me a rebuilt one with a billet TC but if I drive an hour away to another shop, they will rebuild it before major issues. I'm leaning towards rebuilding my current one, so I'm going back and forth with the 2nd shop on making sure I understand everything they will do line by line.

Fortunately, the Yukon gets a little bit of a rest now making a drive maybe every couple of weeks or so which should give me time to sort out the transmission without having to rush into it.

@iamdub - I'm going to be in New Orleans for work next week. Where in the world are you?

I'm in West Baton Rouge, about 2 hours from there. Up until the end of last year, I spent the majority of my work week in NO and surrounding areas. Since our dispatch is now handled with a pseudo-AI program and the part that isn't AI is managed by mindless mediators, I've been kept out of NO. Who knows what the future brings?!

 

[bobby2175]

Hi guys,

Hope you've all been doing well!

Wanted to come back to one of the issues I've never completely resolved - and going back to my original post:

"When I hit the gas, the truck hesitates for a split second where it feelslike it hits gear a little hard (gear is a complete assumption). If I'm gentle on the accelerator going from stop, it's perfectly smooth - but even knowing this, sometimes I forget."

So, I can describe this a little better when it happened yesterday - probably one of the hardest ones yet. Was sitting at a red light. Traffic started to move, so I hit the gas and started forward. Had to take my foot off the gas because the car in front of me started to slow and then hit the gas again when traffic started to go (within a second or two). I get the split second hesitation, the truck hits hard and you feel it throughout the vehicle. This is all happening at under 30 mph. Once I'm moving, it doesn't really happen...it's usually when I'm starting from a stop or when I hit the gas while in motion. I feel like it's at lower speeds when I have to get the momentum of the vehicle moving vs when I'm cruising at highway speeds and have to make small speed adjustments.

I replaced the engine mounts with OEM back in November.

Any thoughts?

 

[swathdiver]

The gearing in our trucks gets us moving pretty good with little throttle input. It's not hard to run up on inexperienced drivers who push off the line rather quickly but let off the gas when their car hits second at around 10 mph and they then take forever to reach 45. When this happens to me, mine short shifts and feels sloppy. It only "bangs" when I throttle up at low speed and she downshifts from 2nd or 3rd to 1st. I reckon it'll get worse when the 3.73 gears go in! LOL

 

[donjetman]

Hi guys,

Hope you've all been doing well!

Wanted to come back to one of the issues I've never completely resolved - and going back to my original post:

"When I hit the gas, the truck hesitates for a split second where it feelslike it hits gear a little hard (gear is a complete assumption). If I'm gentle on the accelerator going from stop, it's perfectly smooth - but even knowing this, sometimes I forget."

So, I can describe this a little better when it happened yesterday - probably one of the hardest ones yet. Was sitting at a red light. Traffic started to move, so I hit the gas and started forward. Had to take my foot off the gas because the car in front of me started to slow and then hit the gas again when traffic started to go (within a second or two). I get the split second hesitation, the truck hits hard and you feel it throughout the vehicle. This is all happening at under 30 mph. Once I'm moving, it doesn't really happen...it's usually when I'm starting from a stop or when I hit the gas while in motion. I feel like it's at lower speeds when I have to get the momentum of the vehicle moving vs when I'm cruising at highway speeds and have to make small speed adjustments.

I replaced the engine mounts with OEM back in November.

Any thoughts?

Sounds like the infamous "Clunk/Klunk" caused by front differential mounts and motor mounts:
https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/front-differential-mounts.120260/

 

[intheburbs]

I'm currently working on plans for the transmission. I have a local shop that is telling me to just run the transmission into the ground and then they will just give me a rebuilt one with a billet TC but if I drive an hour away to another shop, they will rebuild it before major issues. I'm leaning towards rebuilding my current one, so I'm going back and forth with the 2nd shop on making sure I understand everything they will do line by line.

If you don't mind, I'm in west metro Detroit. What transmission shops are you talking to? My two trucks are getting up there in mileage, both with their original transmissions, so I'd like to have a few shops in my back pocket for when (if?) the time comes. Thanks.

 

[bobby2175]

If you don't mind, I'm in west metro Detroit. What transmission shops are you talking to? My two trucks are getting up there in mileage, both with their original transmissions, so I'd like to have a few shops in my back pocket for when (if?) the time comes. Thanks.

For sure! Would love to share what I know so far. I've been slow walking things this year because I've been traveling a lot for work in January and the Yukon has been in the garage for a month. But I'm having issues with my daily driver - looks like it may be a bad oil filter??? Luckily I caught it just in time! Still investigating this one.

I'm actually originally from Metro Detroit as well - Rochester. Reluctantly moved to Ohio a little while back (and still hate it), but am still up in Rochester at least 2 weeks out of every month. It's still home to me.

Would love to collaborate on the transmission shop. I've spoken to about 7 shops - all but one of them has said to just wait until the transmission breaks down and then bring it in. Not sure this is the right recommendation, but that's what they all have said.

The best conversation I've had so far was with Transmission Clinic in Madison Heights. They seemed to know the transmission well and knew of some upgrades @NickTransmissions talks about here. I still have to confirm all of it. I mentioned that I wanted to go in to see the shop and they were very open to talk through whatever I wanted. They also had a 6L80 in the shop that they were rebuilding when I called. With travel, I'm still a couple weeks out until I'll get there but glad to keep you posted on what I find out.

I've also been keeping a list of the other non-transmission things to do when you have it pulled and can share that as well. That's been gathered from folks in this thread and hundreds of other threads I've read here.

I keep telling myself that just maybe I got that 1 in a million transmission that will go to 300K since I have no issues and my Blackstone report was overly positive, but reading everything here, I know it's only a matter of time. I can see doing something with the transmission later this year.

The only thing in my mind is whether I'm better off doing a GM reman so I can have the nationwide warranty. With all of the traveling I do, it may just be the right decision.

 

[intheburbs]

*snip*

Would love to collaborate on the transmission shop. I've spoken to about 7 shops - all but one of them has said to just wait until the transmission breaks down and then bring it in. Not sure this is the right recommendation, but that's what they all have said.

The best conversation I've had so far was with Transmission Clinic in Madison Heights. They seemed to know the transmission well and knew of some upgrades @NickTransmissions talks about here. I still have to confirm all of it. I mentioned that I wanted to go in to see the shop and they were very open to talk through whatever I wanted. They also had a 6L80 in the shop that they were rebuilding when I called. With travel, I'm still a couple weeks out until I'll get there but glad to keep you posted on what I find out.

I'm in Warren and Ferndale almost every week, so I could easily drop in just about any time. I've probably driven past it a bunch of times. Hit me up via PM if you want to discuss further.

 

[alpha_omega]

I keep telling myself that just maybe I got that 1 in a million transmission that will go to 300K since I have no issues and my Blackstone report was overly positive, but reading everything here, I know it's only a matter of time.

The only thing in my mind is whether I'm better off doing a GM reman so I can have the nationwide warranty. With all of the traveling I do, it may just be the right decision.

Wishful thinking. Not that I’m disagreeing with your hopefulness, if your trans doesn’t break down, your TCase or Torque Converter will.

If you’ve read any of the stuff @NickTransmissions and other mechanics on here have explained, the only problem with going stock GM for everything is the fact that you have a much higher probability for future failed to occur that much sooner - for a multitude of reasons.

 

[bobby2175]

Hey all! Just wanted to check in and see how you all have been. The truck now has over 192K miles on it and cruising right along with no issues. It's been getting a lot more miles lately as my DD has been having some problems and I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Thanks again for all the help. Would not be here if it wasn't for all of you!

 

[Geotrash]

Hey all! Just wanted to check in and see how you all have been. The truck now has over 192K miles on it and cruising right along with no issues. It's been getting a lot more miles lately as my DD has been having some problems and I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Thanks again for almost the help. Would not be here if it wasn't for all of you!

Glad to hear it's still running well for you! Thanks for checking back in.

 

[swathdiver]

Hey all! Just wanted to check in and see how you all have been. The truck now has over 192K miles on it and cruising right along with no issues. It's been getting a lot more miles lately as my DD has been having some problems and I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Thanks again for almost the help. Would not be here if it wasn't for all of you!

Good to hear from you. How did your trip to the Sunshine State go?

 

[adventurenali92]

Glad to hear the Denali is still treating you well!