Chevy Trailblazer 2017 2.8 Automatic - Slipping and white smoke

[thebook452]

I was on the way home through the highway today and something weird happened to my automatic transmission Chevy Colorado (2017) 2.8 diesel.

1. I believe I was shifting between gear 3-4 (approx 60KM/h). And the car was hesitant to shift (the RPM was fluctuating between 1500 to 2300 rpm, (i did not force the car to shift up) ,therefore I turned the hazard lights on and moved to the "slower, 3rd lane" lane. I was assuming the gear was slipping between gear between 3 - 4
2. I was looking at the side mirror and I saw "white smoke" during the incident above. Also there was a soft "grinding" noise during the incident above.
3. I got off the highway to stop in order to smell the exhaust. The smell was ordinary, soot smell.

I then decided to the service/frontage road to head home, and since this is Manila, top speed outside the highway/expressway is 40 Km/h or 25 miles/hour max (I assume the (Vehicle was shifting between gear 1 to 3).
Since the vehicle does have deep stick for ATFs, I crawled under the vehicle , removed the transmission fill cap, insert a piece of paper towel and I believe there are still ATF fluid, though its light brown in color.
The vehicle has about 105k KM / 65k Miles on the odometer. The rear axle fluid has also been changed.
The engine oil/filter is frequently changed along with the fuel , air and cabin filter.
The coolant has also been flushed and changed 2 years ago.
I have never changed the transmission fluid (since the manual states, it has "lifetime transmission fluid") but I am planning to change the ATF soon.
Will Lucas Antislip work?

 

[thebook452]

Actions Taken:

1. The 5w30 oil is looks great. I changed the oil back in June 2023. I have checked the drip stick and its around the oil is around this region and not too black yet and oil filter was also changed. Next oil change will be in Dec 2023.
2. I have checked the coolant level (it was good). Though I am planning to flush the entire coolant system in Dec 2023 (this will be my 2nd flushing)
3. I have crawled under the vehicle to inspect for leaks, other than seeing dried and thin mud under the chassis, no leaks were found.
4. Alternators and the battery is good (used a multi meter to test it, it was 12.4 V before start the car and goes up between 14.2V to 14.6V while running).
5. Used my OBDII scanner, no error code found
6. The reason I sicked a paper towel into the fuel-plug on the transmission is to eyeball the color of the fluid since I am still waiting a new set of filters and 8L of Dexron 2 to arrive.
7. Drive belts are fine.

 

[thebook452]

There are other issues I faced after troubleshooting earlier today.

1. I turned on the engine for the past 30 min without the coolant reservoir cap (this model does not have a radiator cap) to observe is there is any bubble once the engine heats up. No bubble observed, just following Scotty Kilmer's advise.
2. Regarding white smoke, I did not observe any white smoke while the engine was running and/or being pushed between 1.5 to 2.5 RPM. Please refer to this this White smoke test for more info.
3. The engine has been running in neutral for the past 30 min or so, I decided to rev it to 2 RPM. And this is what I found I could not keep the engine at 2 RPM (I was in neutral gear by the way). "I am unsure if this is related to the slipping gear I have experienced over the weekend.
4. There were strange "cluck cluck cluck" noises around the air filter housing. Here is the video (this noise only happens when the gas is being pressed). My apology for the dark video.
5. From under the car, I did not hear the "cluck cluck cluck nose". Though there was a high pitch whining noise.

Appreciate your advise.

I spoke to a local Chevrolet qualified mechanic and he was suggesting the following was checked since I could not identify where the rattling noise was coming from but it was noticeable around the air filter housing (gas was being pressed, rpm was fluctuating) , also no error code shown in my OBD2.
I was having a friend of mine , mechanic from a local Chevrolet dealership.
1. He advise to take a look and clean the throttle body, since this is close to the air filter housing, he was suspecting there's alot of carbon dirt that have accumulated for the past 105 KM.
2. Check if the are any form of leaks around the hoses.
3. Inspect and change the serpentine belt (never been changed due to covid pandamic) , check the pulleys, focusing on the tightener pulley.
4. Change the ATF/Filter and possibly add Lucas Slip oil and pray.
For the high pitch noise , he was suggesting to check the turbo chargers, since I was neutral and not changing gears when the gas was being pressed.

 

[Mooseman]

Just so you know, we're more specialized to the first generation TrailBlazer 2002-2009. And if this is one of the export models with the diesel, we don't even have those in North America so we haven't seen one in person.

 

[TollKeeper]

I think he is talking about a Chevy Colorado maybe. He mentioned trailblazer in the subject header, but in the first post he mentions Colorado.

But being from Manilla, the emissions system that it doesnt have, that we are all used to, would make this a different beast all together.

So I have no advice for you on this one.

Other than to say we would love to see pics of it!