A couple weeks ago, heading home from Sunday lunch with the family, I had an woopsy. It was after a warm snap and we had tons of snow melt. My 3yr old likes when I "go 6" (go fast). The temp was cold that day and there was some ice, so I was in auto 4wd, which I had forgotten about. So it get the request to GO 6 DADDY! I give it the onion, and hey a lot of spin from slick road. I let out just as it kicked the 4wd in and hadn't noticed. This was in a rail road tunnel btw. As we come out of the tunnel, AGAIN DADDY! going just fast enough, I get a 2-1 down shift and go WOT to the shift. WOT, SHIFT, BANG, no more go fast. In fact no more anything. Engine is running fine, but rear is locked up.

In the end- broken output shaft, seized sun shell planetary, scored input from with a seized input shaft, and a shattered pump.

2001 Tahoe, cammed 408 lq4, circle d 3200 converter. Lesson learned, no WOT 1-2 shifts in 4wd.

Edit- I will add this was a originally a built trans with a shift kit updated servos, and upgraded rear planetary set. It was supposed to have a beast sun shell, but didn't which made me a bit more than frustrated. Trans now has the sonnex bullet sun shell. Remnant of output shaft
Pump
Rear of sun shell
Nose of output shaft seized in planetary, in the shell.

 

As Batman would caption:

KAPOW!

 

Thus is the lifestyle of a 4l60e

 

Looks like any ol' 4L60E to me.

On the serious side, how does that Sonnax shell ("Smart Shell"?) compare to the Beast? I was disappointed to read many years ago that the Beast shell is now imported (Chinese) but have no proof of that.

Richard

 

on the sonnax, the spline section is a billet piece that is machined to the shell, then welded in some fashion I believe.

 

 

The 408 has about 15k in it, and yes has some consumption. I do have a catch can, but it's on a shelf in the garage ☹

 

 

I hope so

 

I wouldn’t label that trans as “built” beings it has 4x pinion planetary’s and a shift kit in it. Nice destruction tho..........somewhere in the background Queen is playing