2010 ESV tranny issues

[77mercury77]

I'm having some drivability issues and need some help on where to start.
Issues happen in the morning with the engine warming up or warm but with trans still under 160F. Fluid/filter changed 10k miles ago. Recent work range AFM disabler, evap solenoid and flushed carbon pellets out of lines, and added catch can. Unrelated work: water pump, alternator, new wheels/tires, belts/tensioners, and battery. No CEL or codes.

- when cruising at 1500 rpm engine accelerated/ jerked. Felt more like stabbing at the throttle than trans kickdown. Rolling off the throttle and coasting down hill rpm jumped 500-1000-500 several times. Shortly after the truck ran fine for several days.

- another day cruising at 1000rpm I felt several kicks from the rear as if the truck was starting to accelerate. No rpm change. Truck ran fine for the rest of the day.

Don't know much about automatics so I'm looking for help on where to start.

 

[robgreg75]

Do a search for the 6L80 reset procedure, I haven't done it in years so don't remember what the sequence was but it cured mine from hard shifts.

 

[swathdiver]

I'm having some drivability issues and need some help on where to start.
Issues happen in the morning with the engine warming up or warm but with trans still under 160F. Fluid/filter changed 10k miles ago. Recent work range AFM disabler, evap solenoid and flushed carbon pellets out of lines, and added catch can. Unrelated work: water pump, alternator, new wheels/tires, belts/tensioners, and battery. No CEL or codes.

- when cruising at 1500 rpm engine accelerated/ jerked. Felt more like stabbing at the throttle than trans kickdown. Rolling off the throttle and coasting down hill rpm jumped 500-1000-500 several times. Shortly after the truck ran fine for several days.

- another day cruising at 1000rpm I felt several kicks from the rear as if the truck was starting to accelerate. No rpm change. Truck ran fine for the rest of the day.

Don't know much about automatics so I'm looking for help on where to start.

When was the last time you change the rear differential fluid? A broken tooth on the ring gear or spiders can do that too. If it's transmission related, my first thought is torque converter. If right, if you replace it now, you won't have to overhaul the transmission.

 

[77mercury77]

Thanks all. I'll look into the reset procedure. I changed out the rear diff fluid and seal about 5k ago.

How long do torque converters last on these trucks? 105k miles no towing.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks all. I'll look into the reset procedure. I changed out the rear diff fluid and seal about 5k ago.

How long do torque converters last on these trucks? 105k miles no towing.

Most of them last the life of the vehicle or transmission. It's the following generation where they fail left and right.

The reset is called Service Learn Adapts and is done with a bi-directional scan tool.

You might think about getting the wheels off the ground and put it in drive and crawl under and have a listen around under there until you pin point the noise.

 

[petethepug]

Welcome aboard,

Those carbon pellets. If you haven’t pulled your tank and chased the pellets out after the carbon canister change, do it now. I systematically replaced the carbon fuel canister, vapor canister purge valve & vapor canister vent valve. It still stuttered like you described so I bit the bullet and paid $525 for a locally available GM OEM pump assembly. There was more pellets in the tank, the fuel sender and fuel pump screen. This finally cured the hesitation and slow fuel ups.

Yesterday I discovered VDO is (one of) the OEM suppliers of GM pumps. P# FP22052S includes the fuel sender for $229. Swap the pump and clean the rest of the pellets out if you haven’t yet before you chase potential trans issues. This pump shows on eBay but not Amazon.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/362420533790

… evap solenoid and flushed carbon pellets out of lines, …

 

[FasterBass]

Welcome aboard,

Those carbon pellets. If you haven’t pulled your tank and chased the pellets out after the carbon canister change, do it now. I systematically replaced the carbon fuel canister, vapor canister purge valve & vapor canister vent valve. It still stuttered like you described so I bit the bullet and paid $525 for a locally available GM OEM pump assembly. There was more pellets in the tank, the fuel sender and fuel pump screen. This finally cured the hesitation and slow fuel ups.

Yesterday I discovered VDO is (one of) the OEM suppliers of GM pumps. P# FP22052S includes the fuel sender for $229. Swap the pump and clean the rest of the pellets out if you haven’t yet before you chase potential trans issues. This pump shows on eBay but not Amazon.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/362420533790

View attachment 372291

How does one flush the pellets out of the line, exactly? Not that this is happening to me, but just in case...

 

[petethepug]

How does one flush the pellets out of the line, exactly? Not that this is happening to me, but just in case...

I can't speak for OP but my Indi ragged the fuel tank opening and slightly pressurized it and any other line with back pressure when the tank was out. The only barrier between the carbon pellets and the fuel system is a this piece of goldfish tank filter like sponge media. It works well until it doesn't.

 

[77mercury77]

How does one flush the pellets out of the line, exactly? Not that this is happening to me, but just in case...

Drop the tank, disconnect all the evap hoses but not the fuel line, and use compressed air to push all the pellets out. Besides dropping the tank from the ground and not a lift the only challenge is that the hoses have multiple ends so getting all the pellets out requires plugging some and going back and forth.

 

[77mercury77]

I'm starting to think it's not a tranny issue.
This morning after a few weeks of no problems the issue came up again and killed the engine.

The problem happens with 3-5 min of start up after the truck has been sitting for 12+ hours
Engine is not warmed up yet, driving at about 20-25 mph and low rpm.
Engine died (1st time this has happened) could not restart immediately but could after a few min and drove it to a spot. Didn't lose electrical power.
Waited 30 min and then decided to drive 15 miles w/o issue.
No CEL, no visual issues with newer battery, new alt, and existing cables.
Idel rpm seems low, wanders around 500 rpm at tach. Relearned throttle and now around 600 rpm.

Not sure where to start, any help?

 

[Geotrash]

I'm starting to think it's not a tranny issue.
This morning after a few weeks of no problems the issue came up again and killed the engine.

The problem happens with 3-5 min of start up after the truck has been sitting for 12+ hours
Engine is not warmed up yet, driving at about 20-25 mph and low rpm.
Engine died (1st time this has happened) could not restart immediately but could after a few min and drove it to a spot. Didn't lose electrical power.
Waited 30 min and then decided to drive 15 miles w/o issue.
No CEL, no visual issues with newer battery, new alt, and existing cables.
Idel rpm seems low, wanders around 500 rpm at tach. Relearned throttle and now around 600 rpm.

Not sure where to start, any help?

A poor battery connection can still manifest this way. After I had the airbag recall done on my 2012, they forgot to tighten down one of the battery terminals. The engine died while I was pulling out into traffic. I was able to drift backward into the road I was pulling out of, and first thing I did was check the battery because I knew the techs would've needed to disconnect it to perform the recall. Sure enough, loose terminal. Regardless of the actual source, I suspect your issue is electrical as well.

You need a Tech2 to be able to scan all of the modules and look for codes. Chances are it's leaving a digital signature when it happens.

 

[77mercury77]

Thanks for the response. I was driving around at 5am and didn't precieve any light or electrical loss. My first feeling that something was wrong was I noticed something with rpm and then power steering went out. Lights stayed on the whole time.

 

[Doubeleive]

I would invest #25-30 in a fuel pressure tester and monitor the fuel pressure, you should have 50-65 psi key-on, and minimum 43-44 running and it should stay pretty steady.
this is just to rule it in or out and in my opinion is where you should start for this kind of issue.

 

[77mercury77]

Around 58 psi start up. Idle 42.6 to 43.9 low/high but usually bouncing around 43.1 and 43.5 psi. First gear run the same results, a high around 44 and change at 3k rpms.

 

[Fless]

It might be a good idea to monitor the fuel pressure (as @Doubeleive noted) to see what happens to it when the issue occurs. Long hose and tape it to the outside of the windshield.

First pressure test is key on, engine off (KOEO), not starting. What's the first pressure that it gets to, and does it bleed off quickly or stay solid?

 

[77mercury77]

Before I ran it I saw around 77 during my first measurements which was after about 10 hours sitting. After running and turning truck off getting 81.8 steady

 

[Doubeleive]

Before I ran it I saw around 77 during my first measurements which was after about 10 hours sitting. After running and turning truck off getting 81.8 steady

that's not what it should be, check it running and pull a couple spark plugs to see if they are wet.
What can cause high fuel pressure?


Possible causes of high fuel pressure readings are the following: Faulty fuel pressure regulator. Restrictions in return line. Faulty fuel line couplings at fuel tank.

 

[77mercury77]

I am still having issues with the truck.
I left the truck at a local shop for a week shortly after my last post due to another episode. They were unable to recreate the issue or find any problems in the engine or trans.

I took the truck home, replaced the TPS, cleaned and regreased the battery terminals and cables, cleaned the MAF, and changed the oil.

The issue went away for several months until recently. I am still experienceing a drop or jump in RPM about 5-10 min after start up in the morning. It doesnt always happen and I have been trying to capture this on a data logger. The issue with data logging is that i have to remove a Range AFM module so after days of recording with out issue I go back to normal driving. Some times the issue is subtle and sometimes it is severe enough to stall the engine or cuase the truck lunge forward uncontrollably. It has occured while stopped at a light, while coasting, and under light throttle. Once the issue occurs the truck drives fine for the rest of the day. No Engine or Trans codes and no CEL or DIC messages. I dont see a correlation with weather; so hot or cold days, humid, dry or rainy.

The files below show an event that occured today was rather subtle. While pulling away from a red light and under light throttle the RPMs dropped a few times and then stabilized.

Looking at RPMs v Engine Load around sample 160 shows two drops in RPM and spike in load. This also comes up in the RPM v throttle position at the same time. It could be a sensor giving bad info or just my body moving forward due to the severity of the event.

I have also plotted RPM v Fuel pressure showing about 290-310 Kpa ( 45-42 psi) and bank 1 fuel trim which bottoms out after the event.

Really need some help figureing this one out.

 

[77mercury77]

bump

 

[Geotrash]

We need one of the members here who has a lot of experience with tuning these things to have a look. I'm out of my depth. Maybe @Foggy might be able to help.