NO MOVEMENT IN ANY GEAR! HELP!

[Andrew Hopwood]

So I'm fairly new when it comes to owning a truck, recently I bought a 1998 Chevy K1500 4x4 pick-up truck. It was already lifted and sitting on 33" tires. Well yesterday I was pulling a small utility trailer with random stuff that I'm moving from my old to new house, nothing major, and it seemed like it was having a harder time than the last time I pulled it, and it was much heavier the first time. So almost to my destination and just after going over a small grade the truck slips out of gear while in drive and wouldn't catch at all. Just revs up rpm’s in every gear even in 4x4 modes. Upon removing the trailer i noticed that the bed of the truck was much lower than normal and discovered that the leaf springs had been nearly flattened. Would this cause my truck to not be able to move the wheels forward or back? Nothing is leaking, grinding, knocking, smoking or smelling. The shifter seems to have the right amount of resistance when selecting gears to not suspect the cable plus I seen it move the lever underneath the truck when going through gears just like normal. It is currently stuck in a parking lot and if I leave it for a little while then start it and try again it will move about 5-6ft and then just rev rpms again after that. I checked all fluids and everything looks good. I'm at a loss here and I need my truck to finish moving.

 

[thegawd]

I'm working on an awnser but if you get this before I come back... pull the prndl fuse and see if you can get moving. this will put the transmission into limp mode and you will default to 3rd and eliminate all computer control, but you will skip 1st and 2nd and be in 3rd. you may be able to manually shift 1st to 2nd but just try it. I know I could have gotten home without a tow if I knew about this when my last transmission quit moving on me.

I will be back...

Al

 

[thegawd]

iv been using this cheat sheet for years. I know there is a version of it on this site but I always give credit to original sources. this is the 30 common 4l60e problems with solutions....

https://twincharlotte.com/30-common-4l60e-transmission-problems-repair-charlotte-nc/

dosent sound good....

21. No movement in any gear: pump failure, or total loss of fluid. Remove transmission and rebuild, or refill pan and find the leak. If out of fluid, avoid running the engine until the transmission is refilled to avoid pump damage. To check for pump failure, check fluid level with the engine off, then start the engine and recheck fluid level. If level does not go down when engine is running, the pump is broken.

 

[Andrew Hopwood]

It may be the pump, someone that helped me pull the trailer back said that. And when I checked the transmission fluid it actually, now that I think about it, seemed overfilled. But I only checked it in park while idling. I'll re check fluid levels when I get over to the truck while off then on.

Also I will definitely check out the prnd1 fuse, I had not even thought about fuses until now. Thanks for the help

 

[thegawd]

hey no problem. whenever there is anything electrically wrong codes will be set. mechanical failures wont tell you anything. I'm no expert just trying to learn as much as I can about these but depending on the failure pulling that fuse could get you home.

Al

 

[Andrew Hopwood]

Is there any way the leaf springs could've put it in a bind or something? I don't really see how but it didn't throw any codes and that's the only thing I see that's visually wrong

 

[SUBURBAN5]

Is there any way the leaf springs could've put it in a bind or something? I don't really see how but it didn't throw any codes and that's the only thing I see that's visually wrong

Not unless they came off and locked up the driveshaft. Although i could see it binding up the drive shaft if you got one tire stuck and the other one In the air lol

 

[honkon]

Does the trans fluid smell burnt? Is it pink?

 

[Andrew Hopwood]

Does the trans fluid smell burnt? Is it pink?

It didn't smell burnt when I checked the fluid level but I didn't notice the color because I only wiped it on a colored rag.

 

[honkon]

If the trans fluid, and assuming it isn't binding up somehow, you probably burned something up or maybe plugged the cooler. Maybe the pump went bad. I had this same. (recurring!)problem with a 4L. Time for R&R.
It is pretty strange what you're saying about the leaf springs though. You could disconnect the driveshaft and see if the trans output shaft spins when you put it in gear.