Finishing the Job Out
So I am trying to finish collecting all the parts I will need to complete the job and ran into a snag. I was going to swap in a 4L80E while I was at it, but have a hard time justifying it on a cost/benefit analysis.
There is nothing wrong with my tranny know, I just do not think it will last long behind the LS3, and thought there might be time/$ savings to replace them all together. However a built 4L80E is pricey, and comes with its own problems.
I know the 4L80E is much stronger than the stock 700R4, but I have read from vendors that the 700R4 can be built to be stronger than a stock 4L80E. If I go with the 4L80E I will have to (this is where the advice comes in) dick with the shifter, shorten the drive shaft, find a ECM for it, & get a 32 spline input gear.
Preliminary #'s
$2449 - 4L80E from MonsterTrans.com (no core return, however core charge is greater than what I can buy a used one for, so maybe some wiggle room there).
$150 - 32 spline input gear
$ 360 - SYE kit, cause why not if you are going in the Tcase
$90 - shorten drive shaft (this # is straight out of my ass)
some money for shifter adjustment, gasket, bolts that I may end up needing bringing me to somewhere around $3,100 to preemptively replace something. Meanwhile I could run my current 700R4 till it dies (may be longer than I think) and replace it with a 700R4 from monstertrans.com (I have heard good things in the past, speak up if they are junk) for $1435 (rated up to 650 hp), keep my lower first gear, not modify anything, and save $1,665 (enough for plasma cutter and pipe bender).
While my swap is "spendy" as some have coined it, I am not made of $ & as soon as the baby comes I'll be back to have limited funds for the k5. So you see my dilemma, I do not want to have to spend extra $ later or have broken down k5, but also do not want to fall into the mentality that I spent this much, might as well spend some more.
Any advice would be appreciated. This post has not been proof read.