OK, New to the site, searching for advice. I'm not a mechanical guru, I can do lots of stuff, but I'm betting this issue is out of my league.
Lets start with the basics - 2004 Trailblazer LT, 231500 miles. I've been doing most of the usual preventative stuff myself. The last tranny work was at about 212000 miles - dropped the pan, replaced the filter and gasket, drained out as much fluid as I could and replaced with Dexron IV - it was about 6 quarts. Fluid looked good (not new, but red and clear) and smelled good after a 30 mile test run. Lately, its been slow shifting when in drive at highway speeds. This morning, it lost all push - hi revs, speed dropped off. upper gears slipping. Tried it in 3, no better. Shifted to 2 and it bit and I can move down the road - at higher RPM and slower speeds suitable for 2. Checked the fluid - it definitely needs to be changed dark, burned smell, not red.
Here is my question - to the experts out there, does this sound like a fluid issue or is this probably going to go deeper? If deeper, can you give me a ballpark estimate on how much it will impact my wallet? Should I do this at a dealership, or is a place like AAMCO ok?
Lets start with the basics - 2004 Trailblazer LT, 231500 miles. I've been doing most of the usual preventative stuff myself. The last tranny work was at about 212000 miles - dropped the pan, replaced the filter and gasket, drained out as much fluid as I could and replaced with Dexron IV - it was about 6 quarts. Fluid looked good (not new, but red and clear) and smelled good after a 30 mile test run. Lately, its been slow shifting when in drive at highway speeds. This morning, it lost all push - hi revs, speed dropped off. upper gears slipping. Tried it in 3, no better. Shifted to 2 and it bit and I can move down the road - at higher RPM and slower speeds suitable for 2. Checked the fluid - it definitely needs to be changed dark, burned smell, not red.
Here is my question - to the experts out there, does this sound like a fluid issue or is this probably going to go deeper? If deeper, can you give me a ballpark estimate on how much it will impact my wallet? Should I do this at a dealership, or is a place like AAMCO ok?