transmission shot?

[bluto]

I just 'inherited' a '99 silverado from my brother. He used it primarily as his work truck towing a trailEr around. The truck has 150k miles with ~half coming from towing the trailEr. For the past few months the truck gives a swift jolt when accelerating from stop <around ~15mph>. I am pretty confident it is the transmission, but my question is how long do i have left before i have to drop some serious $ and is there anything i can do to extend it? It didn't do it for the past few wks but started up again just yesterday. thanks for any help or advice.

<try not to get too technical, i have not the slightest idea about cars>

happy now *****?

 

[ryskey]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on transmissions, but....

When it jolts, is it shifting? When you say 15mph I'm thinking it's jolting on the 1-2 shift, and shifting HARD. I guess the good news is there's no slippage.

Check your transmission fluid, and do it with the engine running. The dipstick has a red top (I think) and runs down a black tube near the back of your engine. If the fluid is black and smells burned, chances are you need a new tranny.

If not, my guess is you've got some electrical/sensor/computer problem, which is cheaper but still not inexpensive.

 

[BigWill]

I don't pretend to be an expert on spelling, but;

I think it's spelled T R A I L E R

 

[BigWill]

yes, I, the aforementioned "*****", am now happy.

Are you happy now that you don't look quite as silly?

Oh wait....you do.

Never mind.

 

[accuratehorn]

It would not be surprising if it needed a new transmission at that mileage, since it was used to haul a trailer, and most people who own American vehicles do not do any maintenance on them, like changing the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles.
But go by a good shop that is honest, like Eagle Transmission on Burnet Road if you are in Austin, and get an opinion. Maybe changing the fluid would help it, or maybe it is something else like a u-joint about to go out, that would not cost too much.
Some transmission problems these days are external-i.e. in the electronic controls, and some are internal, requiring a $1500 or more rebuild.