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4L60e Upgrade ?

H

HSBlazer

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Hello Fellow Blazer Enthusiasts,
Relatively new to the forum here. I'm running a nice 91 K5 (140k miles) in cherry condition as a daily driver and part time tow rig (for boat and ATV). I have the stock 350 TBI / stock 4L60e / 10 bolt front and rear / 4.56 gears and Eaton posi in rear / 4 inch lift running 35 inch BFG's. This truck does not see off road duty.

Last week, I blew the tranny in the hills of Tennessee about 1000 miles from home. It now sits in my driveway and I figure the stock 4L60e owes me nothing now with the miles on it.

I have yet to completely diagnose the problem (I lost OD, drove another 200 miles and lost all fwd gears, still have reverse). But I am figuring regardless, it's time for an upgrade considering in the next year or two, I am going to upgrade the engine to a Ram Jet 350 from GM.

My question: What upgrades have folks done and been satisfied (or not) with ? When I say upgrade, I mean a swap for a Perfomabuilt or a Monster tranny. I have spent some time searching on here, but i didnt really see much regarding the 4L60e swap out.

I know I am new here...so I have my flame retardant suit on...be gentle !

Thanks much.
 
My 4L70E in my Trailblazer SS did exactly this (lost all forward gears, but still had reverse) and the cause ended up being a sheered off output shaft...That being said, there are a few things inside the trans that could potentially cause that condition.

I would say that with your lift/gears/tire size, I would honestly have a local builder build the trans with Alto Red clutches, Kolene steels, Alto wide 2-4 band, go up to 8 cluthces/steels in the 3/4 pack, at a minimum, a 300M output shaft, Corvette servos, Trans-go HD-2 shift kit, and just beef up whatever you can in the hard parts, 5-pinion planetaries in the input & reaction carriers, heavier sprag unit, etc.

You can go with Performabuilt or Monster, but the builder with the biggest power 4L60E/4L65E/4L70E that is actually holding up is Finishline Transmission out of Chicago, IL...

I have this very trans in my 900+ crank hp Trailblazer and I don't treat it like a princess! It holds up nicely!

http://finishlinetrans.com/transmissions/maximumPerformance4L65.htm

You can get away with a Level 4 or even 5...no need to go nasty like I did...
 
www.bowtieoverdrives.com is toosed around here a lot.

and if i recall 93 was first year for 4l60-e e=electric valvebody.

best to do is def flush the cooler on the rig when new/reman tranny is installed. add a extra cooler for extra cooling. and install tranny temp gauge to keep a eye on it so the heat dont kill ya.

b&m style stacked plate coolers tend to work best. and thay also offer a cooler/fan combo kit that works real good.
 
sweetk30 said:
www.bowtieoverdrives.com is toosed around here a lot.

and if i recall 93 was first year for 4l60-e e=electric valvebody.

best to do is def flush the cooler on the rig when new/reman tranny is installed. add a extra cooler for extra cooling. and install tranny temp gauge to keep a eye on it so the heat dont kill ya.

b&m style stacked plate coolers tend to work best. and thay also offer a cooler/fan combo kit that works real good.
Click to expand...

I have this one in the Trailblazer and never see temps more than 80-85 above ambient...cold days are funny because the trans gauge won't even register...

Don't forget a deep pan as well! Cooling & Fluid Capacity to key to making the 60 cores last!

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70298/
 
guy on www.plowsite.com just installed 1 in his k30 with plow on it.

he has only drivin it few times yet. but will post back up the end results.

my major selling point is its all auto matic.

i am also going to use this with my stock cooler in rad with big b&m unit. as i run snow up here in the north. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-13011/
 
Sweetk30,
Interesting about the 93 being first year for the "e" designation. I will need to look into that. I do know the 91 I have definately has TBI, which means it has a OBD1 computer... so I assumed the tranny was electronically controlled as well. In addition, the previous owner told me it was the "e" designation. Still, that doesn't mean it is actually the "e". Does anyone know how to identify the difference between the 4L60 and 4L60e while it is still on the truck ?

Which leads to my next question... there is a local 4L60e available with 30,000 miles (rebuilt by GM) and $300 from a 1994. I know this would not be any better than the original stock, but I am considering it because I can do the swap and this would buy me a little time to upgrade the tranny in about a year when I also throw in the Ram Jet 350 from GM. Any difference between the 1991 and 1994 I should be aware of ? Thx.
 
First, your truck has a 4L60, not a 4L60E...the "E" was not introduced until 1992. You have a 4L60 (renamed 700-R4). You do not have electronic controls on the trans...just because you are TBi does not have anything to do with the transmission...

Converting to the 4L60E would entail updating your wiring harness and PCM to a late 1994 or 1995 system that had the transmission controls built into the PCM.
 
What he said. You have a TH700R4. One of the better ones actually. The E's came in during the '93 model year. My '92 had a 4L60/TH700R4 just like my '89's.
 
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