Question for those with built 60Es..

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Mar 6, 2011 | 10:49 AM

#21

fastnblu

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Vince B

In most cases a guy that is not able to tackle the swap on his own will opt to go the built 60 route. I feel that an 80 swap is a very good option if you have a good amount of HP and your truck is heavy. Looking at your sig pic with the size of that truck, depending on the hp, it might be a good idea to consider it. I would need more details on your truck to give you an honest opinion on what would be best for you. However like you said a built 60 is still more than doing the 80 and the 80 will be stronger IMO. Vince

There's a lot of good advice here. I didn't really wanna fool w/. an 80E swap, sourcing a core, adapting wiring, & other hard parts I'd need. Alot, & I mean alot of guys were (& are) running fast & hard, & 60e's were their trannies. I didn't say they hadn't blown their fair share of 60e's up tho. To the OP, $2500 is a bit to save up, & it took me a lot longer to save up for my tranny than I thought. But I also bought a stall at same time. It seems I can never just put only 1 part in. I always do the, "well, while I'm in there, this would be a good time to ...". It inevitably adds cost & time to any given project.

Also, not to turn this into a who builds better thread, but I'd seen success coming from a particular builder, & their 60e's seemed to do the trick for many, so I'd give it a try. If it didn't work & blew up, well ... I really couldn't afford another trans (either a stock 80E & what it takes to make it work or another built 60E), so I was relying on the record of that builder. Otherwise, I'd be in a real bad financial situation, so only 1 trans had to fit the bill. Thankfully, I made a good choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Bear

Back when Vince built my 65E in 2006, there really weren’t many good options for adapting an 80/85E type transmission to the NVG-149 transfer-case. Had there been, I probably would have went that way myself. Never-the-less, I’ve never had a minute’s trouble out of the 65E. I go to the track every once and a while, and I run it pretty hard all the time, but I don’t go around beating on it like a redheaded step child at every stop sign either and is most likely why it’s lasted me so long. Even my factory 65E lasted over 5 years spraying the 6.0L with a 150 shot, and when I pulled it, it had just started flaring on the 1-2 shift. That said, now that there are options available, I may go ahead and make the swap, but if the economy doesn’t improve for me, I may just have it freshened up when it needs it and keep rocking on. At this point it doesn’t scare me to keep running it.

I do agree that if you’re going to be spending the money anyway, you might as well go with the strongest option available.

While I run mine hard on the street, I don't make your kinda power. I also only go to track maybe once a month. Two times a month, then I may take a month off. So, say 4-10x a yr. I take it to track. I also run street tires, no slicks. But that may change when blower goes on, but I still wanna go once a month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMCtrk

The difference in performance between the stock converter and an aftermarket one is mind boggling!

One of the things about the 80e is gas mileage, if you care about that. It just seems to kill gas mileage. I guess one of the reasons is that the stock stall is significantly looser than a stock 60 stall.

Yes, but a 6L doesn't help or 4.10s. IDK what killed my mileage the most, my stall or cam, since I did them in the same yr. And RFG or other issues (cause I know I have an issue) isn't helpin me, all on a 5.3 w/. cam. I'm getting 10MPG in winter. This summer we'll see how bad stall & cam really hurt my MPG.

As Beatdown Z said, it was already overwhelming enough. An 80E swap would have drove me insane at the time. Plus

Like Rhino79 said, a 60 takes less power to turn.

It weighs less too. And it has a nicer 1st gear & OD is better for mileage.

Mar 6, 2011 | 12:50 PM

#22

06Sierra2

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From: el paso, tx

so blu, u ordered that circle d stall at the same time as ur tranny. did u install it yourself? or can u have the stall sent to the trans company and have them install it too keep ur warranty?

Mar 6, 2011 | 01:13 PM

#23

fastnblu

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 06Sierra2

so blu, u ordered that circle d stall at the same time as ur tranny. did u install it yourself? or can u have the stall sent to the trans company and have them install it too keep ur warranty?

I installed both myself. Yes, I ordered the stall at same time as tranny, & yes u can send stall to FLT if u wish. The beauty of that is, FLT knows your stall works, cause it's on their machine. My convertor was accidentally sent to me by mistake, but Chris made it right & picked up the shipping, & it was sent to FLT. They (FLT) can use a house convertor to run your tranny thru testing tho if u don't want a stall or can't afford one. It's just better to send to FLT rather than install in your truck & it not work.