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Made A Choice Of Of Transmission By Going With A 4L80E For A 1983 Chevy Suburban C20 454 Dually

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blackandgold51

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I've been wondering which transmission to go with in place of the turbo 400 thats in the 1983 Chevy Suburban Dually converted that's got a 454 Carburated motor with duall exhaust and longtube headers.

Fuel mileage is a concern some which i want either a 700r4(by taking a risk) or the heavy duty 4L80e. Which the TH400 Transmission will come out soon and due to me not wanting a few fuel mileage on the highway/interstate but also being under the speed limit of 60 to 70mph, which 55 mph with the TH400 is dangerous even on the slow lane......

Do you think i made the right decision? Besides, i might tow heavy soon or later which after im finished with the tow i would want and overdrive to get back home., and to me 700r4 no matter how its built wont last behind the 454.







 
4l80-e is th400 basically with o.d and lockup .this will drop you in the 800rpm range at 70 mph over the th400 .

www.usshift.com for the controller setup and harness .

few of us have it and like it . easy to hook up and use . the quick 4 unit gives you 4 shift programs to use on the fly .

and nice lookin burb :waytogo:
 
sweetk30 said:
4l80-e is th400 basically with o.d and lockup .this will drop you in the 800rpm range at 70 mph over the th400 .

www.usshift.com for the controller setup and harness .

few of us have it and like it . easy to hook up and use . the quick 4 unit gives you 4 shift programs to use on the fly .

and nice lookin burb :waytogo:
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Thanx. It gets me where I got to go, I got a guy who I know that rags on me about my vehicle sonetimes about the mpg due to the 454V8, he got a 2006 Ford F350 Dually with a Powrrstroke6.0 Turbo Diesel Rear Wheel Drive . Claiming his can get more mpg and tow my vehicle if it was chained up with his Ina tug of war.

I told him if he got me , with my vehicle having a good set of grip tires his vehicle would struggle.

Keep in mind he's been trying since months back to sell his vehicle due to his wife having him sell it for her to get a truck.

Speaking of mpg, if I left on 10 dollars on a tank from the New Orleans East Area and got to Slidell Louisiana of West of Slidell and got back to the East Of New Orleans I would make it by going 50 to 55 mph max with the 3 speed Turbo 400. Just that my vehicle would make it to the east with the needle fuel gauge right on top or CLOSE to "E". Which is not bad and would be better with the 4L80E
 
Ned Kelly said:
Sweet are you going to be carbed? If yes, are you using the Throttle Position Sensor Kit for Edelbrock Carburetors from USshift?
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Vehicle is already carbureted. I got the vehicle like that.

I don't know exactly but I'm sure there is no edlebrock carburetor.

I'll take a picture soon and show it to you of the whole engine
 
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sweetk30 said:
4l80-e is th400 basically with o.d and lockup .this will drop you in the 800rpm range at 70 mph over the th400 .

www.usshift.com for the controller setup and harness .

few of us have it and like it . easy to hook up and use . the quick 4 unit gives you 4 shift programs to use on the fly .

and nice lookin burb :waytogo:
Click to expand...
800 rpms is like engine idle and help the motor last longer
 
I think the 4L80E is a nice transmission, but it's also not a direct replacement for what you have. The "E" in the name stands for electronic which means you need a controller for it and the necessary sensor inputs.
 
imiceman44 said:
He said 800 rpm lower
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Ok. However that's still better than the high noise the motor makes rpm wise and can get the vehicle up to 70 mph in the 70 mph speed limit without blowing the motor up.

Going 55 in a 60 to 70mph interstate is dangerous despite being on the slow lane
 
That's a badarse and unique burb and completely worth putting the $ and time it would take to switch. I wouldn't put up with that punk talkin smack about it much longer. Truck that old don't have to prove nothing to nobody. She's a cruizer
 
tenderfoot said:
That's a badarse and unique burb and completely worth putting the $ and time it would take to switch. I wouldn't put up with that punk talkin smack about it much longer. Truck that old don't have to prove nothing to nobody. She's a cruizer
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Thanx , it gets me where I got to go
 
4L80E wise. I put one in my V2500 6.5 turbo suburban. I love it.

Controller wise. I went with the Compushift. Yes it cost more. However, I think it breaks just about even since I have an rpm, mph, transmission temp, throttle position percentage read outs and a few other things always on display.

I used my Suburban to drive 200 miles with a trailer a few weekends ago, pick up a car and return. I used one transmission program going down empty and another returning loaded. I of course want to fine tune when the down shifts an lock up speeds happen just a hair. But compared to a TH400 or even NV4500 both of which I have in others 6.2 powered vehicle. This was better and easier.
 
blackandgold51 said:
Can't tell but I no it's high when I get to 55 mph where the "55" is highlighted in orange
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Well we can figure it out.
What gears do you have and what size tires.
I am running 37" with 4.88 and a th350 so when I hit the highway at 75mph I was turning 3600 rpm, I knew it would not be good since the shroud on my radiator was cut when they did the body lift, sure enough after 20 minutes temperature started to rise, it got pretty close to 250 I eased off and it didn't get back down till I got to 65mph.
I need to put the 700r4 in mine.
 
GM highlighted the "55" mph on the dash cluster in red or orange due to that being the national speed limit when the truck was new --every older GM truck I have owned was the same way..

I need to pull the diff cover off my K2500 and see just what ratio gears it has--its weird,around town it seems very high geared,its rather sluggish taking off,especially if you stop on a steep grade ,and it stays in second up to 45+ mph before it sounds like its starting to wind out--but at 65 mph on the highway,it sounds like its spinning much closer to the 3600 rpm redline,and I don't like driving it at that speed or any faster for fear it'll fly apart..I "guessed" it has 3:23 or 3:42 gears,but it might surprise me and end up being 3:73's or 4:10's..
I have never had the diff cover off in the 15 years I've owned it,and I wont be surprised if it has never had new gear oil put in it,or if anyone else ever had it off..:eek:
 
Is that 1 of the 2 Suburbans from Sherman?
If so, I talked to the seller and remember him thinking it had 4.10 gears. It was quite some time ago & my memory isn't what it used to be.

454/4L80E with 4.10's is a good combo.
Just got back from a 2,800 mile trip hauling a car & averaged 9.5 or so mpg.
The truck is a little newer and fuel injected (L29) and I have a 34" tire (4.56's would be perfect for this set up)
 
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