I’m pretty sure I’m screwed.

[withac]

2000 Tahoe, 5.3, 90+k miles, purchased in December. The tranny got a little hot on me twice last winter going up the hill to a local Ma & Pa ski resort. Not enough to make the fluid brown or smell burnt, but I could smell the tranny when I got out of the truck. Since then I think it might have slipped on me once or twice, if it did it was so little and so quick I wasn’t even sure it had. A few years ago my Pontiac tranny slipped noticeably a few times and all it was was a dirty filter, had it serviced and everything was fine. Last night, my daughter is coming home from work and the damned thing just starts slowing down, not the engine, just the movement. Finally it stopped dead. I go over to where she is, and after it had sat for ten minutes or so when I started it it moved, so I headed home. I could tell I didn’t have full power but it moved. I drove three or four blocks and was dead in the water again. I shut it down, sat there for a couple of minutes, started it up and drove the last two blocks home (this is a small town, short blocks). Several years ago I had the tranny on an ’85 Camaro go out. No warning, just suddenly no O.D. I pulled it down into 3rd and was fine. They said it was the 3-4 clutch pack, I had just lost O.D. The ‘Ho has nothing in all gears. I guess I’m pretty much screwed?

[trx2stroke4life39]

Does the oil smell burnt now and what colors is the oil?

[foggy]

Make sure you have enough oil in the engine too.

[trx2stroke4life39]

Make sure you have enough oil in the engine too.

I think you mean tranny oil but that will cause the tranny not to work correctly. I would drop the pan inspect the oil, new filter, top off the oil try it again.

[withac]

Thanks guys. If it was the crankcase foggy was referring to, yes, it's fine. I checked the tranny fluid last night. It had been shut down so I wasn't checking it warm and running. It came up past the two marking holes on the bottom end. It was still red, maybe a little darker than new but not brown. As far a a burned smell, I don't know what burnt tranny fluid smells like. It didn't have what I would consider a burned smell. What it did smell like was the smell I got wafting out from the fender wells those two times it got hot last winter.

[trx2stroke4life39]

If you can check the level with it running. it might be low while it is running causing it not to work properly.

[txarkitekt]

Do you not have any warning lights in the Message Center of the dash? If your tranny temps get too hot, it will tell you on the Message Center.
And when you say "it stopped dead," do you mean that the truck would not move under its own power? Maybe your pump has burned up?

[RedHeartbeat]

sounds like a plugged filter.

[withac]

No warning lights, no codes, nothing. It just slowly lost forward momentum. When I started it there did sound like some sort of flutter under the hood. If the filter was plugged and the pump was low on fuel would it sound like that? Anyway, I put it in gear and rolled forward. I could tell not all the power was making it to the wheels but enough that I could roll towards home. After close to three blocks it started slowing down, not the engine, just the forward movement, then it just rolled to a stop. Didn’t matter what gear I put it in, 1-OD or even reverse, it just wouldn’t move. I turned it off, sat there a few minutes, fired it up, and drove the last two blocks home. I had to slow down pulling in the garage so I didn’t run over the dog and then I couldn’t get it all the way in the garage. I turned it off for a couple of minutes, fired it up, and pulled the rest of the way in.

[txarkitekt]

Yeah, sounds like either you burned up the pump or have something clogging the flow of fluid. I would not drive it any more than you need to--probably not even to a tranny shop. If you have the time, drain your pan, take it off and inspect the pan magnet, filter, and valve body of the tranny... If you don't wanna mess with it, definitely take to to a reputable tranny shop.