I did a search and saw that someone rebuilt the whole transmission on his own. So I take it that it can be done. I'm thinking about possibly doing this. I have a machine shop at my disposal and have someone to help. I was looking over this site and they seem to have all the parts needed to build a bulletproof transmission. http://www.transmissioncenter.net/4L60E.htm

Is this possible or am I getting in way over my head? Let it be known, at the moment, I know nothing about transmission.

I'm a little hesitant about going to a transmission shop because lets be honest most of them are shady. Who knows what they put in and what you paid for. It's just a scary thought. Maybe I’m over reacting, but I know if I do it, the parts will be installed.

Anyone have any pointers, advice. It would be A LOT cheaper to do it yourself... Tempting.

 

Where you located at? I got all my tranny parts from that place for the most part. Me personally if I was going to dig into the tranny deep i wouldnt do it check around and see what shops in your area have a good rep.

 

I did this... but in school. We got to rebuild the whole tranny. clutchpacks,gears,solenoid packs, i mean everything. But this was not going to be used in a live vehicle. We did however get to throw it on the tranny dyno and it worked fine. If I were to this on my own for my personal vehicle, I would take my time and have someone with knowledge on how auto tranny's work there with me. I believe it is do able. Maybe buy a used one, take it apart and try putting that one back together and have it tested to see how you did.

 

also very good knowledge of taking of precise measurements and the tools

 

It can be done without all the specialized tools, but it cannot be CORRECTLY done without them.

The ATSG manuals are okay but they are not specific on all the yearly design changes. I have both the ATSG 4L60-E Techtran manual and the Update Handbook. The update book goes into some of the changes but neither of them have updated exploded parts diagrams showing reassembly orders for the different years of 4L60-E's. There are "Technician's Guides" stamped with GM's seal available too. These are genuine GM materials where you can tell the diagrams are originals and not copies of copies like those appearing in the ATSG guides. One nice thing about the ATSG guides is they tell you which special tools are used for what and give you Kent-Moore part numbers for them.

Keep everything spotless. Before you even unbolt it scrub out everything you can reach on your back with a toothbrust and engine cleaner. Have lots of Brake Cleaner on hand for when you get into the inside. The CRC stuff is AWESOME for this work. I went through an entire case of it for mine. If your garage is all dirty and dusty it would be better to build the assemblies in your kitchen - seriously. Your wife will not agree obviously.

Be patient. If the book gives you a tollerance for something - check it. Skip nothing, check everything. 4L60-E tollerances have to be perfect or they eat themselves up. Tollerance is especially critical for the band and the 3-4 clutch pack because every 2-3 and 3-2 shift is a dual-event shift where the timing of those events must be perfectly syncronized mechanically.

When I disassembled my 4L80-E piece by piece I cleaned and layed out each piece on a sheet of printed graph paper and photographed them. I saved the files as their corresponding part reference numbers in the ATSG manual. You will find that each part is referenced as a unique simple numerical number in these books. If the same parts exists in different places in the transmission the reference numbers are the same. This all makes it easier to identify things. The graph paper makes identifying all the rings later on much easier because some of those parts appear similar but differ in scale.

At night when you close up shop cover everything you're working on with a clean lint-free bedsheet or something.

I think anyone mechanically inclined can do it. It gets trickier if you are taking apart a failed transmission. Identifying failed parts or parts that "don't look right" cannot be learned by reading a book. The book doesn't tell you that one part's failure can weaken a related part or suggest scenarios those could be. The books cover diagnosis equating symptoms to possible causes and that is all. It takes experience to know what to look for. That's what professionals are for. Rebuilding a trans just to refresh all the stuff that gets used up is just labor. The 4L80-E I started with was in working order but had 110,000 miles on it. It came out awesome, I'm not a magician, no reason yours can't come out nice too. Good luck.

 

I was thinking of doing this too. But I planned on getting a blown trany and gutting it, and starting from scratch. Guess this isn't the best Idea?? I know I could do it, I'm just not comfortable doing it when my truck HAS to work. Thats the reason I want another trany.

 

I did it many years ago to an ancient 3-speed Roto-Hydramatic that was in my 1963 Pontiac. It really wasn't that tough, at least for that transmission. It was just a bunch of pieces that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. No precision adjustments at all. Newer models may be different though.

 

I too gave lots of thought to doing it myself. I spent about 4 months looking into it including buying the manuals and watching a rebuild video. After all was said and done, I had to have it done by Chuck because I was leaving on a 3000 mile towing trip and we agreed it would not likely survive and I didn't have the time to do it myself. After watching Chuck work on mine, I decided I made the right choice. I'm still convinced I could do it myself given enough time but it sure looked complicated when all the pieces were laying on a bench.

If I had a spare trans or a spare daily driver, I would have tried it myself. Since I HAD to have a daily driver available, I decided to leave it to a pro.

 

I'm located in Arizona, Phoenix/Scottsdale. I know of a decent shop that built-up a 4L60E once before (V6 camaro), but it has since changed owners. Do you think it would be best to consult with them, buy all the parts, and then have them build it? This way it would ensure the right parts are put in. I really have no clue what I’m getting myself into. I own and operate a machine shop and have rebuilt CNC lathes and mills, yet still know nothing about transmissions.