Tranny guy pulled it apart, said the rear planetary exploded. He said it looks like the park mechanism cracked or something, said it almost looks to him like someone bumped my truck while it was parked and broke whatever it was that holds the truck from rolling, then one thing led to another and the planetary, sun gear, and whatever else is associated with it broke. Apparently the parts that normally fail in these trannies were fine, except for metal shavings scratching them up. So.....here I am with a decision to make. I have said before that he doesn't think the 80E is necessary for 600 hp. He wants to rebuild my 60 using 5 pinion planetaries front and rear, new 3-4 clutch something or other, wide bands, metal accumulator pistons, some big (bigger than Vette, which is what I had) servo, new converter, some other stuff (I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was a lot of stuff). Basically I am looking at somewhere around $3200-3300 to have this thing built up as much as he can get it. I asked him if I decided to go this route what kind of warranty I could expect since he is specifically recommending that I not go to the 80E. He asked me what I thought was fair, so I told him I would go away and think about everything this weekend and get back to him on Monday. I have emphasized to him several times that I don't want to mess with the tranny ever again, and he seems to think this will do the trick. He did some research on the 4L70E and I think that basically what I will end up with for my $3200 is a built 4L70E. I think the most power the trans will ever see is about 600 hp, prolly a little lower like 550-575.

I know most of you have recommended that I swap up to the 80E. I am guessing that an FLT Level 4 with the Speed Engineering conversion kit will run me anywhere between 3700-4200 depending on what I can get for my trans (if anything), or I could go with a fairly stock 80E and the conversion kit for less. I know it takes more power to turn the 80E, but I have heard that the tighter gear ratios essentially make up for the hp loss. He also brought up another interesting point, that things are already tight under there with headers and all that crap, and since the 80E is bigger it would be tighter. Has anyone who has done the 80E swap had any issues with fitment or things being crammed in there really tight?

I don't know what to do, I like the idea of keeping my trans but I don't want to have any issues. He is confident enough that he is willing to negotiate the warranty, whatever we agree on I will get it writing prior to doing any work, and has told me several times that I don't need to swap to the 80. The majority of you who have responded to my prior threads have told me that I should swap up. So again, I am looking for advice. I apologize again for asking the same question so many times.

 

I still like the 80e for you

 

I wan't to see a break down of parts for this tranny.

For that price it better last for ******* ever. I've priced out parts to build a bad-*** 60e a million times. It come out around 1500 depending on where you get the parts. So he's charging you 1800 in labor? Pa-lease!

BTW, wide bands have a bad rep. If you go the 60e route, avoid the wide band/drum.

If you NEVER want to worry about this again, there should be NO "what if" or doubt in your mind! What the hell did ASU teach you in engineering.....geez. JK

I want to see the parts list....seriously!

 

I know I'm new around here, so run up the BS flag yet. First I think everyone needs to remember that our cars and trucks were not designed with drag racing in mind. I'm sure most of you have people that you trust to quiz in different areas of performance. Being new to forum I don't want to come off like a know-it-all, which is far from who I am, but I try to do my homework.

I have yet to do any upgrades to the tranny in my truck, but I have asked a lot of questions of some people that have helped me with my turbo cars. People who I have a great deal of respect for, and feel to be some of the top tranny builders in the country. They have helped me, well I don't want to get into HP numbers through a tranny that most consider a peice of crap 200r4.

thunder550
One thing I'm sure everyone will agree on is that, if you race it, your gonna break it. I wouldn't feel pressured to commit before you have all the information you need to make you feel good about your purchase. Check out these venders, please don't be offended if they are not supporting venders, maybe they will be soon.

http://www.centurytransmission.com/ Mike Kurtz

http://www.ckperformance.com/ Chris Kokkonis ****

http://www.dynotechperformance.com/ Eric Schertz

http://www.ptsxtreme.com/ Bruce Toelle

One more thing, I tend to agree, the price your looking at from your builder seems to be on the high side.

 

I see that you are in Phoenix. If you can, go by Hughes Performance on 22nd avenue & Mcdowell (they specialize in transmissions) and talk to Mark Beckberger. Mark can give real world information to help you make the best decision and feel comfortable about it.
They also build the 4L60E with 5 gear planetaries plus all the other durability
components.

 

That brings up an interesting point: Did you tell your tranny builder that you ocassionally flog it on the dragstrip? Better yet, did you tell him what you run and what you plan on running?

 

im no tranny expert but ive checked around for a built tranny for my z 71 also and i think 3000-3300 is f n rape!! you can buy a built raptor tranny good for 600 h p for 1995.00! i also saw rock on level 4 trannys for 2000$ they have to be the same thing this guy is building for you but 1000$ less, i think you should ask this guy for some vaseline! good luck, keep us posted cuase im ready to buy one too.

 

3 Grand Sounds Like A Lot, But 4l60e Are Expensive To Rebuild In General. Ive Done Somr Research, And Several Places Have Quoted $3000 To $3500 To Build A Virtually Bulletproof Transmission. Exner Transmission, Here In Pasadena Texas Built My Buddies 4l60e For $3000 About 3 Years Ago, And He Is Running About 400hp And Run The **** Out Of It, And Has Yet To Break, Slip, Or Anything. So $3000 From A Well Reputable Shop, In My Opinion, Is Money Well Spent.

 

80E will "probably" keep you from ever having to mess with it again. But the price is pretty big. A built 4L65E will "Probably" last a really long time. Check out the prices/parts list at http://www.finishlinetrans.com/trans...65E-Level5.htm

$3125 if you go for the billet 4X4 output shaft otherwise $2650 (this is $200 cheaper than before) and hes offering 15% off in Jan 06 so you're looking at $2250+shipping to get a bad *** 65E. Install it yourself. Still a tough chioce....

EDIT: Check out the 4L80e as well. $3450-15%=$2932 and you can get the 1st gear changed for $575 so with the 15% off that's like getting 1st gear hooked up for free Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is the tranny Parish8 runs in the 1000hp/tq monster. For $700 more I would prob go with the 80e and suck up the conversion kit....ok, no I wouldn't. If your tranny guy is gonna give you a 3 year warranty parts and labor then maybe I would go with him. Did you have any idea what he was willing to offer warranty wise?

 

Keep in mind that the price he quoted me includes a new converter...all of the aftermarket ones I looked at online were 600+. I don't know for sure which one he was talking about putting in there, but even being conservative and subtracting 500 from the price puts me closer to 2700 for the trans alone, which is not much higher than the level 5 4l65e from FLT. Also, the price my guy quoted me includes R&R. So when you compare everything on an equal level I don't think he is any more expensive than buying one from any one of the sites listed above. I need to go back and propose a warranty to Ken, I'm thinking that because of how confident he is that he shouldn't have a problem giving me 75-100K miles, I will tell him I think that is fair and see what he says.

That being said, swapping to an 80E will probably be just as much, if not more. Going up to the FLT level 4 and conversion kit is going to be around 4000, and going with a stocker with a shift kit and servos will probably put me just over 3000 after labor and conversion kit. There won't be a warranty, but I probably won't need one with that setup. That means the only concern is the extra weight, extra power loss, and shitty first gear.

And yes, I did tell him I tow with it and take it out to the strip several times a year.