Tried to post this yesterday, but the site wasn't working for me....so here's the update:
Well yes, as a matter of fact! Just picked up the truck today. Jasper stood by their warranty and the repair was 100% covered....well, almost. Jasper covers labor at $65/hr and the shop rate was $105/hr, so I had to pay the difference, plus the secondary tow from the CG to the shop, plus misc parts, total was $900 and change.
Shop said they never even dropped the pan...old one out, new one in, old one back to Jasper for an autopsy.
The big news was that the neutral safety switch and electrical connector had melted. Shop said that the switch is not part of the Jasper unit, and the previous shop in KY had re-used the original switch. Most of that $900 bill was not only a new switch but the harness that connects to it since the connector melted itself into the switch and was fused together as one blob of plastic. Shop stated this was not an uncommon problem, and that it probably caused the tranny to self destruct like it did. The switch sends bad data to the TCM, which ultimately results in the trans not knowing what gear it's in and causing it to self destruct.
Shop also noted that the melting of the switch was not caused by high trans temps (as noted, temp gauge has never been over 200*) but rather by high resistance in the wiring and/or connector.
Thinking back, this trans started acting quirky about a year ago. In reverse, if you started backing up and then took your foot off the gas, the trans felt like it was disengaging and coasting backwards. Then it started not engaging...hard to describe, but traffic light turns green, you accelerate, and trans doesn't engage until the revs come up a little, almost like it was in neutral. It did that for a few months and then stopped, so I never had it looked at.
The morning that it went out, we came down a steep hill from the Montage Mountain Music pavilion. I had it in L1 which should have limited my speed to 35 or so, and I got NO engine braking.
Maybe a few trans experts here can tell me if any of this is related. I can tell you the shop showed me the neutral safety switch and it was a blob of melted plastic.
Now the kicker....I asked for new warranty paperwork, and was told that the warranty just extends from the original unit. So, the 3 years doesn't reset with the new unit, the original 3 years is still in force. So when the original 3 years runs out in September, so will the warranty on the new unit. I need to call Jasper and confirm this. Given the previous unit didn't even make it 30k miles, I'm not real happy. I think I'll get through this camping season OK, but the next plan is to find a local guy that knows how to build a transmission and have it built right.
They use the 4L80E in street rods because it can be built to hold 1000HP, I need to get mine bulletproofed similar.
If anyone knows a guy in Long Island that is a 4L80E guru, please PM me.
Right now, truck runs great again, we picked up the camper from storage at Great Divide CG in western NJ and are out camping this weekend!
Don
