hey guys, looking for some input. bought a truck 6 months ago,truck has had 2 moderately built 4l60s put in it after the last owner pulled a lightly upgraded one out for the same reason. So that's 3 upgraded transmissions.
Its a 2009 sierra extended cab 4x4 with a supercharged 5.3 putting 525 hp to the wheels. Truck weighs 5700 lbs. 3/4 clutches are burning up. takes about 1,000- 1,500 miles to finish them off after the reinstall of the trans. Been monitoring the temps via the cluster and nothing over 160 deg F.
Its a daily driver, basically to and from work. of course i use the power... but im not just out the beating the snot out of it. remote start and warm up before driving it with any throttle.
Trans builder says his research says its the drums fault, needs upgraded. he uses this build for race cars with more power than my truck and has no issues with them. they however arent daily driven 5700lb vehicles. that's basically where i am at with this problem. i have been doing some looking to get a grasp on it myself but any shared experience would be appreciated.

... I am assuming the trans tune is stock but I don't currently know the answer. i will see if i can get a parts list of whats in the trans already also.

 

Heat can kill the piston that drives the 3-4 clutches in the 4l60e. Piston rubber fails, 3-4 clutches burn up because of lack of apply.

You have a trans cooler?

That's a ton of HP in a heavy truck for a 4l60. Perhaps a 4l80e might be better for you?

 

No built 60E is going to live in that setup. The hydraulics and clutch surfaces just aren't up to it. Particularly since it's supercharged, you need to look at an 80E swap.

 

+1 on the 80e swap. 4l60e trannies were never designed (and never will) to hold that power for an very extended amount of time, no matter what kind of hard parts they have in them. Like said above, the hydraulics simply are not there to make it happen in a high power situation.

 

or even a 6l80e swap since you have a nnbs. My friend and I have both done 4l80e swaps on our trucks using this forum as a guide.

 

i dont currently have an additional trans cooler, but like i said i have been monitoring the temps and they didnt get very high.

one of the reasons for the drum upgrade was to switch to a 5 piston setup as opposed to the stock 3 piston setup. any thoughts on that for the hydraulics?

 

this something i have wondered about since i got the truck. " why wasnt the trans already swapped?" i assumed it was because people (includiong the trans guy) though it was sufficient to dump a load of money into the 60e to get the job done. i was told it had some of the best clutches you can get in there, so i assume either way that it was not necessarily a fail on those.

 

... just thought of something i had questions on also. to my knowledge the truck has been supercharged its whole life. and currently has 110k on it. how the heck did it go long with a 60e in there. and i dont even know what kind of build it may have had on the trans. at the same rate i dont know if it had been making that power its whole life either but i had assumed that to be the case.

 

My 500 wheel 09 ecsb 4x4 has a built unit from transbuilderguy and i am very happy with it. His customer service is top notch and he is nationally known for his transmission intelligence and skills.

Before jumping to an 80 swap, give him a call.

 

Regardless of how many miles the 1st 60e lived the simple fact is with the weight and the amount of rwhp you have is going to require the very best rebuild. addressing all the known weaknesses and leak points of the 3-4 hydraulics.
It will also be dependant on driving style.
Contact a few known pro trans builders tell them what you have and how you use it and see what they suggest.