What maintenance to expect around 200k miles

[Michigan]

I bought my 2004 Tahoe z71 4wd in October 2017 with 149k miles

Currently at 176k miles

It’s in the shop now to replace a leaking water pump

When I bought it, it had a bad oil pressure sending unit-had that replaced

Shortly after had a leaking rear pinion seal fixed

At 168k miles had both front hub bearings replaced as they started the helicopter sound

Recently had a cat that went bad and had the a/c serviced

Nothing too major and I switched to Mobil-1 high mileage 5w-30 ever since I got it and have kept up on oil changes every 5k miles

What can I expect going forward with the truck creeping up on 200k miles

It’s a daily driver of 60 miles a day so mileage adds up quick

It’s had a minor oil leak ever since I’ve got it. Having that looked into while it’s in the shop. Going to have them run the dye through it. Always kept an eye on the oil level. Takes about a quart, sometimes a little more between oil changes

 

[swathdiver]

Front suspension and steering overhaul, new calipers and brake lines. Keep the fluids clean. Check the u-joints and grease the slip yokes as needed.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Shocks are probably getting there, too.

 

[Michigan]

Yeah probably will be due soon

The prior owner had the trans serviced. I think it was rebuilt. I have to look back at the paperwork, from what I remember the paperwork said to do a trans flush in maybe 50k miles I wanna say. I have not done that

Lately the truck takes longer than normal to go into second. It doesn’t jerk but it kind of takes long and the rpm needle kind of flutters or jumps then shifts. Hope that makes sense. Any ideas? Maybe I should do the trans flush? I’ve been told by others that trans flushes shouldn’t be done. Maybe different in this situation

 

[Doubeleive]

some things I experienced in addition to what you have done already, radiator, coolant reservoir, heater hose's, maf, u-joints, a/c compressor, brake calipers, fuel pump.

beyond 200k: coil packs, pinion bearing, rear axle seals, rear diff carrier, knock sensors, ignition switch.

in addition any 100k service should probably be done again at 200k like plugs & wires, fluids flushed (all of them), etc

 

[iamdub]

I agree with everything above. Clean your MAF and see if the trans shifting improves. If you have a cheap aftermarket hot air intake and especially if it's an oiled filter, trash it for a stock setup or quality aftermarket one.

 

[Michigan]

I have a k&n cold air intake but look how dirty the filter got from oil flinging up onto it from my oil leak I believe. I got a good deal on a filter so I bought a new one but I also bought the cleaning kit to clean the old dirty one. Now the new one is getting pretty gummed up with motor oil

 

[Doubeleive]

View attachment 225765 View attachment 225764 I have a k&n cold air intake but look how dirty the filter got from oil flinging up onto it from my oil leak I believe. I got a good deal on the filter so I bought one but I also bought the cleaning kit to clean the old dirty one

k&n makes a dry filter also, the oiled filters are reported to mess with the maf sensor and that could be the reason for the funky shifting, even if it wasn't from the filter oil it could be the maf taking a dump my experience is I see them going bad around 160k

 

[iamdub]

Yes- clean the MAF and check the inside of the tube for dust by swiping your finger on it. If you wipe off dust, your filter isn't working so well and that same layer of dust is on your MAF wires, skewing the air flow info to the PCM.

 

[clandr1]

Yeah probably will be due soon

The prior owner had the trans serviced. I think it was rebuilt. I have to look back at the paperwork, from what I remember the paperwork said to do a trans flush in maybe 50k miles I wanna say. I have not done that

Lately the truck takes longer than normal to go into second. It doesn’t jerk but it kind of takes long and the rpm needle kind of flutters or jumps then shifts. Hope that makes sense. Any ideas? Maybe I should do the trans flush? I’ve been told by others that trans flushes shouldn’t be done. Maybe different in this situation

Do NOT have a transmission flush performed. Instead, a gentler method of servicing is to drop the pan, replace the filter, reinstall the pan, and then fill with enough fluid to get it back to level on the dip stick.

Flushes are generally the predecessor to death on high mileage transmissions. I only did a flush on mine once, around 50k miles, and have done a simple drain/replace/refill every 50k since. I have 201,000 miles on the original motor and original transmission.

 

[SnowDrifter]

What is even a flush. That term is thrown around so much.

 

[tkdgirl]

View attachment 225747 I bought my 2004 Tahoe z71 4wd in October 2017 with 149k miles

Currently at 176k miles

It’s in the shop now to replace a leaking water pump

When I bought it, it had a bad oil pressure sending unit-had that replaced

Shortly after had a leaking rear pinion seal fixed

At 168k miles had both front hub bearings replaced as they started the helicopter sound

Recently had a cat that went bad and had the a/c serviced

Nothing too major and I switched to Mobil-1 high mileage 5w-30 ever since I got it and have kept up on oil changes every 5k miles

What can I expect going forward with the truck creeping up on 200k miles

It’s a daily driver of 60 miles a day so mileage adds up quick

It’s had a minor oil leak ever since I’ve got it. Having that looked into while it’s in the shop. Going to have them run the dye through it. Always kept an eye on the oil level. Takes about a quart, sometimes a little more between oil changes

I'm at 195k (04 LT) and here's my all of a sudden list:
- new water pump
- new front brakes and rotors
- trans flush for towing
- new tires
- inner/outer tie rods (this month)
- JUST happened this week: knock sensor bank 2
- all new shocks and rear coils (this month)

$$$$$$$$$

 

[bondservant2]

Interesting.....I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to do a flush or change on the new-to-me 2011 Suburban 2500 115k miles that I just purchased.
I was thinking I should do both....flush it first then do a change with new filter.
Lots of opinions out there.....

 

[bondservant2]

Flush is hooking up a machine to pump fluid in , vacuum fluid out and removes ALL the old fluid.
A change is pull the pan and filter - only removes about 40-percent of old fluid.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Flush is hooking up a machine to pump fluid in , vacuum fluid out and removes ALL the old fluid.
A change is pull the pan and filter - only removes about 40-percent of old fluid.

Pan capacity is only around 3 quarts for a 11.2 quart system. Puts that around 27 percent

 

[SnowDrifter]

Flush is hooking up a machine to pump fluid in , vacuum fluid out and removes ALL the old fluid.
A change is pull the pan and filter - only removes about 40-percent of old fluid.

Which machine? The one I use goes down the dipstick and drains/fills the pan a couple times

 

[John Chapman]

Flush is hooking up a machine to pump fluid in , vacuum fluid out and removes ALL the old fluid.
A change is pull the pan and filter - only removes about 40-percent of old fluid.

I don't know of any way to get all of the old oil out of a transmission, in particular, the torque converter doesn't have any way to be drained or pumped out. A flush on an automatic transmission is way oversold. Yes, you might use 13qt or whatever of new transmission fluid, but half or more of that new fluid will be thrown away and you'll still have old oil in your transmission.

 

[clandr1]

I'm at 195k (04 LT) and here's my all of a sudden list:
- new water pump
- new front brakes and rotors
- trans flush for towing
- new tires
- inner/outer tie rods (this month)
- JUST happened this week: knock sensor bank 2
- all new shocks and rear coils (this month)

$$$$$$$$$

If it makes you feel better, I've owned my truck since new and have had the following major items occur despite my constant attention to maintenance:

new tires - several sets, they've lasted about 35-40k each
new brakes 95k
inner/outer tie rods & pitman/idler arms 110k
water pump 120k
4 new shocks 150k
new oil pump pickup tube gasket (due to low oil pressure) 175k

 

[SnowDrifter]

Let me get to the point on a couple things

1. Torque converter isn't a closed system. Fluid runs though it from the oil pump in the trans. It absolutely has to, otherwise the thing would overheat and boil the fluid in very short order. Torque converter is the primary source of heat in an automatic trans

2. The whole bit about flushes vs. Changes is tiresome. Sure there are some power machines that hook up to the cooler lines, but even still, those are uncommon in my experience on account of the labor involved to use them. And even still, they pump fluid at low pressures, below 60 psi, which your transmission does anyway.

3. There's this odd double think bit on the forum where the preferred method of changing fluid is to remove the cooler line and start the car (which I disagree with) while simultaneously saying that doing the same thing with a machine which adds fluid at the same time do avoid running thr pan dry is bad

4. You don't need to get all the old fluid out. The system is not that sterile

5. If you ever find yourself at a point where you don't want to flush/change/drain/whatever nomenclature you want because of fear that sludge will be moved around, then I suggest you do some reading. Transmissions don't undergo any combustion and as such, do not form sludge. The only debris that can form in a transmission are wear metals, which will be attracted to magnets at the bottom of the pan, and clutch material, which will be suspended in the fluid. If you change your fluid and find that your trans is ******* up after, it's no fault of the fluid change/method, you'd just discovered that your trans was EOL and was set to blow up within the next couple thousand miles anyway. If your reason for changing fluid is because of poor shifting/slipping/etc, there's a good chance fluid won't help it on account of damage to the hard parts already being done

 

[08HoeCD]

Let me get to the point on a couple things

1. Torque converter isn't a closed system. Fluid runs though it from the oil pump in the trans. It absolutely has to, otherwise the thing would overheat and boil the fluid in very short order. Torque converter is the primary source of heat in an automatic trans

2. The whole bit about flushes vs. Changes is tiresome. Sure there are some power machines that hook up to the cooler lines, but even still, those are uncommon in my experience on account of the labor involved to use them. And even still, they pump fluid at low pressures, below 60 psi, which your transmission does anyway.

3. There's this odd double think bit on the forum where the preferred method of changing fluid is to remove the cooler line and start the car (which I disagree with) while simultaneously saying that doing the same thing with a machine which adds fluid at the same time do avoid running thr pan dry is bad

4. You don't need to get all the old fluid out. The system is not that sterile

5. If you ever find yourself at a point where you don't want to flush/change/drain/whatever nomenclature you want because of fear that sludge will be moved around, then I suggest you do some reading. Transmissions don't undergo any combustion and as such, do not form sludge. The only debris that can form in a transmission are wear metals, which will be attracted to magnets at the bottom of the pan, and clutch material, which will be suspended in the fluid. If you change your fluid and find that your trans is ******* up after, it's no fault of the fluid change/method, you'd just discovered that your trans was EOL and was set to blow up within the next couple thousand miles anyway. If your reason for changing fluid is because of poor shifting/slipping/etc, there's a good chance fluid won't help it on account of damage to the hard parts already being done

Love it. Let the facts dispel the myths.