Home built 4L60E beast

[DeepEmissions]

This thread makes me want to tackle a transmission job more and more, I better stay away! lol
Great thread though with tons of knowledge and insight!

 

[Stonefort]

This thread makes me want to tackle a transmission job more and more, I better stay away! lol
Great thread though with tons of knowledge and insight!

Me too! Never thought I would be into automatic transmissions when I was younger, but now I really like them. I'm getting pretty close to buying one on FB marketplace for cheap and digging into it. All that is in my way is a garage sale I promised my girlfriend.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I was introduced to this guy on LS1tech.com forum. He builds kits with everything setup to build right away. Clutches measured, grouped, etc and a build DVD. He said a lot of the big guys order their kits from him too. He spent several HOURS explaining EVERY detail to me and answering every single question I had. Really excited for it to show up. Best thing is his kits are geared for the first time transmission builder. That a lot of his customers are still running transmissions, the first ones they build, decades later.

This is the kit I ordered HERE w/ options as follows:
- Sonnax smart shell
- Transgo separator plate
- and added a Circle D 278mm toque converter HERE
- lastly, on a separate order per his instruction I ordered a TruCool 40,000 transmission cooler.

Build will cost around $2000 total, but should have a SOLID transmission to rival about anything out there up to 600/700 HP. For more power you can add a 4L79 drum HERE (less expensive than Sonnax and stronger). This allows larger and more clutches to be added to the 3/4 clutch pack.

He said he's been selling these rebuild kits for decades and people have great success with them. Also a really firm believer in the 4L60E transmission.

On bit of a separate note, he explained the five pinion planetary is not as strong as the 4 pinions. I heard this from several transmission builders now. GM went to powdered metal process to make them. This weakened the gears and so they had to add a 5th gear. Additionally, they don't oil as well as the oil windows are much smaller. Although the Sonnax gearset he said was really well built, just probably not with the money. All the big builders are keeping the 4 pinions and have zero issues with them.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

For those whom are interested. HERE are videos of me inspecting the parts. Pretty sure I found some burnt up clutches haha. Input drum had some and the band was toast. Hopefully most if not all the hard parts are reusable.

 

[BentleyArnage]

I found 4L60E that needs rebuilt. Snagged it for $200. Guy was putting it in a show truck and burned 3/4 gave out. My plan is to build a indestructible 4L60E to swap out with a 6.0L or 6.2L in front of it. I'm watching as much Youtube as possible to try and get a parts list.

I'd love to hear from anybody who has done this, what parts they used, tools, books, etc. I'm going to link a parts list below. I'll update it as I refine the parts for my build. I'm still researching what I need to ordre. I think would be pretty straight forward if I wasn't upgrading. Basically just watching people rebuilt 4L60E transmissions to put in racecars on youtube.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SUGFvxRPz-Dfoh6pwUMjj4KXdFu6whmNzj342g7-pf4/edit?usp=sharing

View attachment 257505

Been building these professionally for 40 years now. There's a great parts list to make one bulletproof. Start with a triple disc billet converter that's guestimated at 2500 stall. Get a Transgo HD-2 shift kit. Get the wide band in red or kevlar. New reverse input drum. 4L79 input drum with no more than .030 clearance in the 3-4 clutch pack. Replace all bushings. Beast sunshell, new sprags with maximum number of elements. 5 pinion planets (both). Anything billet you can get your hands on. The pump is special. Teflon bushing, hard pump rings, 13 vane pump. Eliminate the PWM lockup and go to the on/off type. All new electronics, harness, etc. EPC cranked 1/4 turn. Get an SFI flex plate. You'll be surprised how it smooths out the idle. It's thicker and more rigid. Good luck