Well this 65E lasted 155k behind an LQ9, my 60E has 150k on it and shifts fine. Im not gonna ditch a trans that I can build in favor of another one id have to build too. The 65E cant be THAT BAD....
From what I remember the 4L65 was built pretty much to the limit that the LQ9 outputs, 380lb/ft if I remember correctly for the trans spec, 4L60 is 360lb/ft I think. Lots of Escalades and Tahoes have problems with their transmissions it seems, mine included an a couple of other people I personally know that had their 4L60s rebuilt.
I bought my 05 with 83K miles on it and it already had a replacement trans in it that I feel is going again with only 92K miles on it. Probably less than 20K miles total on the rebuild.
If I can find a 4L65 core I'm contemplating trying a rebuild myself to see if I can do it. Been reading a bit on the web about rebuilding these transmissions 60/65 series and I see a lot of references to rebuilding the valve body to avoid burning up the newly rebuilt transmission. Supposedly one of the bores wears and doesn't hold pressure, leading to heat build up I believe it was in the torque converter (TCC apply maybe?) anyway, there are rebuild kits available to ream out the bore and replacement parts to make the VB like new.
Since mine is a rebuilt Jasper transmission I wonder how old the VB is in that vehicle, and sometimes wonder if it was a rebuilt 4L60 instead of a 65. It isn't quite right and I had a shudder under light throttle in 4th with the converter locked. No codes related to it but seems to be consistent with what I've read about the VB wear.
I've also contemplated buying a new VB (about $50 used on eBay) and trying to rebuild that myself and replacing the one in the rebuilt trans to see if it improves things. Not much to lose at this point and a learning experience (good or bad) IMO. Luckily it's not a daily driver so I can live with some downtime if I do need to rebuild the transmission at a later time.
