2013 Escalade ESV Annual Maintenance Update: the good, the bad, and the incompetent

[skpyle]

Good Evening, All!

I have just completed annual maintenance on my 2103 Escalade ESV:
-140,000 mile oil and filter change, Mobil 1 5W-30 oil and WIX 57045 filter
-replace the remote spin-on transmission filter, NAPA Gold 1269 hydraulic filter
-replace the engine air filter, NAPA Gold 2488 filter
-change the transfer case fluid, ACDelco Dexron IV full synthetic
-check front and rear axle fluids, Mobil 1 75W-90 LS if needed
-bleed the brake calipers, DOT 4 brake fluid
-drain and refill the radiator, 50/50 mix of DexCool and distilled water
-rotate the tires, perform TPMS relearn procedure
-drain the catch can
-change the P/S fluid, Lubegard synthetic power steering fluid
-lubricate the power running board hinges with Fluid Film
-lubricate door and liftgate hinges with engine oil
-lubricate door, liftgate, and hood latches with aerosol white lithium grease


This is all pretty much run-of-the-mill for me. I try to take care of my stuff. My wife just looks out the door and shakes her head.

Now, I will go out of order for the title:

The incompetent: this was the 4th oil change I have done on the 6.2L Gen IV LS engine in this Escalade. And I have yet to NOT make a mess doing it. This time, I screwed up bad enough to get a stream of oil in the face. Took quite awhile to clean all the oil from my beard. It seems I can never catch the stream of oil from the oil pan drain plug properly with my drain pan. This time, I was holding the drain pan up near the oil pan, and missed when I lowered the drain pan back down to the cardboard. Dumb moves like this make me wonder why I am a gearhead some days...

The good: I am ever living in fear of when the TCC starts to come apart in the torque converter of the 6L80 in my Escalade. Last year, I put the Sonnax ZIP kit in the trans, flushed the fluid myself, and had TCC lock up restricted to 5th and 6th gears only via the Black Bear tune. As well, I installed a remote spin-on filter in the transmission lines. I have been running the NAPA Gold 1269 hydraulic filter. (Thanks for the suggestion gooffeyguy!) As well, I have a magnet on the end of the filter. Just because.
When I removed the old filter, the ATF that drained out was quite red and clean. That is a good sign. I let the filter drain upside down overnight. Then, I cut it open. I found no metal debris inside. Nothing was stuck on the inside of the bottom of the can. I cut the filter media off the center support and spread it out. I found NO metal whatsoever in the pleats. That is a very good thing!

I have opened the window for draining the catch can out to a full 5000 mile oil change. This time, I got approximately 1oz of oil from the catch can. Not bad.



Spin-on remote transmission filter has been cut apart for inspection.




No metal debris in the bottom of the can, opposite of where the magnet was attached.




Absolutely NO metal debris in the filter pleats. I can breathe a sigh of relief. For this year...



OK...the bad: The front axle is coming unglued.
When I checked the oil level in the front axle, the oil that dribbled out was dark, and had a little metallic glint to it. Rats. I had changed the front axle oil 16,*** miles ago, October of 2021. I had refilled it with Mobil 1 75W-90 LS gear oil. The old oil I drained out did not look bad. It was not dark, and did not have any metallic glint.
I drained the front axle again. After letting it drain for a few seconds, I filled a bowl to get a sample. Luckily(maybe) no chunks came out of the drain. As well, the magnetic drain plug was not very fuzzy. There WAS some material on it, but not a tree's worth.
The oil in the bowl was dark, but not gray. Though it did have a metallic glint to it. I drew 150mL into a large syringe. I don't have any sample bottles right now.
I sprayed a full can of brake cleaner into the front axle fill hole, then let the housing drain overnight. I then refilled it with Mobil 1 75W-90 LS gear oil. It will work for now. I am going to put a plan in motion to get this taken care of.

 

[skpyle]

Gear oil drained from the front axle. Not good looking for being only 14 months and 16,*** miles old.




Sample of the old gear oil in a 150mL syringe.




Some fuzz on the end of the magnetic drain plug.




Fuzz wiped on a rag. Soft, not chunky. I suspect a bearing is failing.



Sooo...here is where I get to find out if the powertrain warranty I was forced to buy is worth a darn. According to the wording of the warranty agreement, all components of a drive housing are covered. However, it does say there must be a failure, and not a gradual degradation. I think dark oil with metallic glint is a failure, but...
Since I am cynical, I honestly don't expect much out of the warranty. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but...

If this doesn't pan out, I have two options:

1) have this front axle rebuilt. Spendy, but it will be done right.
2) look for a low mile used front axle. LQK in my area lists front axles for just under $300. I am good with that.



If I go with option 2, I will need this information to ensure I get the correct front axle.



For now, I am going to start the process of submitting a warranty claim. And will go from there...

 

[Geotrash]

Nice work on the preventative maintenance.

I’ve had a bearing go in the front differential on my 2002 suburban. Trust me, you will know it because you will hear it and it will keep getting louder.

That said, I agree with your analysis, but just don’t think it’s at the point of being close to failure yet if it’s still inaudible.

 

[swathdiver]

I was towing 4,000 pounds the other day at 70 mph with my 179K transmission and original filter still inside. Trans temp was 162. Rest easy.

 

[skpyle]

Nice work on the preventative maintenance.

I’ve had a bearing go in the front differential on my 2002 suburban. Trust me, you will know it because you will hear it and it will keep getting louder.

That said, I agree with your analysis, but just don’t think it’s at the point of being close to failure yet if it’s still inaudible.

Thanks. Now that I have slept on it, I think I might be doing a bit of 'chicken little'..
Growing up, skanky gear oil + metallic glint always = differential dying. Looking at this again, the oil is dark, but not absolutely horrible. And the metallic glint is not very prominent.
The front axle doesn't make any noise or vibration. I have read other posts about front and rear differentials, and horrible oil.
For now, I think I will drain the gear oil and refill with conventional 80W-90 every few hundred miles and see if the oil clears up. Then refill it with Mobil 1 75W-90 LS and go from there.
Again reading the warranty, it states 'failure.' Which I don't have yet. I will drive it until it quits...

I was towing 4,000 pounds the other day at 70 mph with my 179K transmission and original filter still inside. Trans temp was 162. Rest easy.

Thanks. Its getting easier. Seeing red fluid and no metal certainly helped.

 

[Geotrash]

Again reading the warranty, it states 'failure.' Which I don't have yet. I will drive it until it quits...

I think that's a viable strategy. It's highly unlikely to strand you suddenly. You will have enough warning to take action and remedy it before it becomes serious enough to interrupt a trip.

 

[donjetman]

Good Evening, All!

I have just completed annual maintenance on my 2103 Escalade ESV:
-140,000 mile oil and filter change, Mobil 1 5W-30 oil and WIX 57045 filter
-replace the remote spin-on transmission filter, NAPA Gold 1269 hydraulic filter
-replace the engine air filter, NAPA Gold 2488 filter
-change the transfer case fluid, ACDelco Dexron IV full synthetic
-check front and rear axle fluids, Mobil 1 75W-90 LS if needed
-bleed the brake calipers, DOT 4 brake fluid
-drain and refill the radiator, 50/50 mix of DexCool and distilled water
-rotate the tires, perform TPMS relearn procedure
-drain the catch can
-change the P/S fluid, Lubegard synthetic power steering fluid
-lubricate the power running board hinges with Fluid Film
-lubricate door and liftgate hinges with engine oil
-lubricate door, liftgate, and hood latches with aerosol white lithium grease


This is all pretty much run-of-the-mill for me. I try to take care of my stuff. My wife just looks out the door and shakes her head.

Now, I will go out of order for the title:

The incompetent: this was the 4th oil change I have done on the 6.2L Gen IV LS engine in this Escalade. And I have yet to NOT make a mess doing it. This time, I screwed up bad enough to get a stream of oil in the face. Took quite awhile to clean all the oil from my beard. It seems I can never catch the stream of oil from the oil pan drain plug properly with my drain pan. This time, I was holding the drain pan up near the oil pan, and missed when I lowered the drain pan back down to the cardboard. Dumb moves like this make me wonder why I am a gearhead some days...

The good: I am ever living in fear of when the TCC starts to come apart in the torque converter of the 6L80 in my Escalade. Last year, I put the Sonnax ZIP kit in the trans, flushed the fluid myself, and had TCC lock up restricted to 5th and 6th gears only via the Black Bear tune. As well, I installed a remote spin-on filter in the transmission lines. I have been running the NAPA Gold 1269 hydraulic filter. (Thanks for the suggestion gooffeyguy!) As well, I have a magnet on the end of the filter. Just because.
When I removed the old filter, the ATF that drained out was quite red and clean. That is a good sign. I let the filter drain upside down overnight. Then, I cut it open. I found no metal debris inside. Nothing was stuck on the inside of the bottom of the can. I cut the filter media off the center support and spread it out. I found NO metal whatsoever in the pleats. That is a very good thing!

I have opened the window for draining the catch can out to a full 5000 mile oil change. This time, I got approximately 1oz of oil from the catch can. Not bad.


View attachment 386648
Spin-on remote transmission filter has been cut apart for inspection.



View attachment 386649
No metal debris in the bottom of the can, opposite of where the magnet was attached.



View attachment 386650
Absolutely NO metal debris in the filter pleats. I can breathe a sigh of relief. For this year...



OK...the bad: The front axle is coming unglued.
When I checked the oil level in the front axle, the oil that dribbled out was dark, and had a little metallic glint to it. Rats. I had changed the front axle oil 16,*** miles ago, October of 2021. I had refilled it with Mobil 1 75W-90 LS gear oil. The old oil I drained out did not look bad. It was not dark, and did not have any metallic glint.
I drained the front axle again. After letting it drain for a few seconds, I filled a bowl to get a sample. Luckily(maybe) no chunks came out of the drain. As well, the magnetic drain plug was not very fuzzy. There WAS some material on it, but not a tree's worth.
The oil in the bowl was dark, but not gray. Though it did have a metallic glint to it. I drew 150mL into a large syringe. I don't have any sample bottles right now.
I sprayed a full can of brake cleaner into the front axle fill hole, then let the housing drain overnight. I then refilled it with Mobil 1 75W-90 LS gear oil. It will work for now. I am going to put a plan in motion to get this taken care of.

That's good stuff you've done.


Why didn't drop your tranny pan and change the filter in there? and clean/check out the magnet in the pan?


At 130k and 4 yrs ago when I purchased our 07 Denali, I removed the tranny, dropped the pan, changed the torque converter, filter, and replenished the atf with 11-12 qts of AcDelco Dexron VI as a preventative measure. Today it has 183k and I've done 2 used ATF analysis since then. I drive conservatively and > 50% hwy. I use https://jglubricantservices.com/ for atf analysis. An owner, Tom Johnson, was a fluids engineer for GM/Allison for 20+ yrs and will talk to you on the phone if you have any questions/concerns.

So, every 25k miles I drop the pan and change the 6 qts that comes out with AcDelco Dexron VI and change the filter every other time. The vehicle has the little factory (rpo code KNP) tranny cooler.

If I towed, I would install a large aftermarket cooler w/thermostat.

If my front diff ever needs rebuilding, I will pull it completely out of the vehicle to do it. I've pulled it twice, once in 2018 to pull the oil pan to change the oil pump pickup O-ring, and again in 2022 to change the frt carrier mounts with bushings.

I recently sent a gear oil sample for analysis for our motorhome. I use https://www.blackstone-labs.com/ for differentials.

I have a lift at home

 

[skpyle]

I think that's a viable strategy. It's highly unlikely to strand you suddenly. You will have enough warning to take action and remedy it before it becomes serious enough to interrupt a trip.

Thanks. That makes sense. Worse comes to worst, I have AAA.

That's good stuff you've done.


Why didn't drop your tranny pan and change the filter in there? and clean/check out the magnet in the pan?


At 130k and 4 yrs ago when I purchased our 07 Denali, I removed the tranny, dropped the pan, changed the torque converter, filter, and replenished the atf with 11-12 qts of AcDelco Dexron VI as a preventative measure. Today it has 183k and I've done 2 used ATF analysis since then. I drive conservatively and > 50% hwy. I use https://jglubricantservices.com/ for atf analysis. An owner, Tom Johnson, was a fluids engineer for GM/Allison for 20+ yrs and will talk to you on the phone if you have any questions/concerns.

So, every 25k miles I drop the pan and change the 6 qts that comes out with AcDelco Dexron VI and change the filter every other time. The vehicle has the little factory (rpo code KNP) tranny cooler.

If I towed, I would install a large aftermarket cooler w/thermostat.

If my front diff ever needs rebuilding, I will pull it completely out of the vehicle to do it. I've pulled it twice, once in 2018 to pull the oil pan to change the oil pump pickup O-ring, and again in 2022 to change the frt carrier mounts with bushings.

I recently sent a gear oil sample for analysis for our motorhome. I use https://www.blackstone-labs.com/ for differentials.

I have a lift at home

Hi donjetman! I didn't drop the pan to change the filter and check the magnet, because...
In October of 2021, 16,*** miles ago, I:
-dropped the pan, replaced the filter, cleaned the magnet, installed the Sonnax ZIP kit in the valve body
-installed a remote spin-on transmission filter
-flushed 16qts of Dexron VI synthetic ATF through the tranmission.

It is still good.

 

[gooffeyguy]

I don't think the front differential needs the LS oil, just the standard 75w-90

 

[skpyle]

I don't think the front differential needs the LS oil, just the standard 75w-90

I agree. However, that is what I had onhand. I live out in the boonies, so going to a parts store is a bit of a haul.