BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Looking to get away from the T-56.

Long story short I will be searching for a local sourced 4L80e core for a rebuild. The main question is and as it may sound dumb, please forgive me.

I have gone through the stickies and I got tons of info and basically I can either find a early 4L80e and or a newer one. Basically the plan is to go with a Manual Valve Body or even a Reverse MVB. In these cases since its becoming a situation where I am not concerned about having the PCM control the transmission.

At that point, does it really matter what Year Car/Truck/Van the 4L80e comes from?

Also the MVB set up is expected to have a T-Brake but some have mentioned 2 steps and on a M6 car was what i was going to do when it came time. BUT from the exp users of the 2-step, doesn't the transmission need to be electronic or can it be non electronic as well.

I have seen some older used 80e's going for 200-600, seemingly good price, any special tips or things I should be looking out for. Any special casting numbers if it be a junk yard sourced unit?

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Bump.

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

97-2003 is your best bet, 2004 made some minor changes to some of the parts, but hard to find out what, lol
but pre 97 is ok, maybe 94 up
this is just my opinion, from building my own 2004 unit, lol-like all new stuff, they were in constant evolution
there is a tag on the side that tells the year-i havent paid over $150 for a core

Mighty Whitey

It's been said, that you should try and source a later model case, that has one tranny cooler towards the rear, and one in the usual th350/400/4l60e location. I've heard people say these are better suited for heavy abuse as opposed to the earlier cases that have both tranny cooler lines up near the dipstick.

Jake's Performance

iTrader: (2)

The year model of the core is irrelevant to a knowledgable builder.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for all the responses. I do hear you on how the Year core should not matter but someone also mentioned that if the sourced unit came from a 2wd vs 4wd the the lengths were different. Will I need to change anything over from a 2 or 4wd unit, regardless of year.

Any other things to look out for.

Thank you for all the help.

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

true a knowledgable trans builder who does a lot of 4L80E's like jakeshoe can buzz thru them, but just my personal exp. for a sometime self builder like myself was that there seemed to be some changes bet 2003-2004, and i have not found any printed mat. to tell me what-there's tons of parts avail. for pre 2004 trans, but if you need hard parts for a 2004, will they work?
i show a diff in the pump, v/b(at least the force motor plug), and i remember a diff tailshaft bushing was called for, which was not avail-the 2003 down was not a real tight fit, so i "peened" the inside and used loctight, worked ok
somehow i always ended up with 2004 models, i still have 3 cores, lol
i was lucky the 2004 i built had good hard parts, held up to a bunch of 9 sec passes
all my books were printed in 2003
the 2-4 whl drive cases are the same, just tailshaft housing and output shaft,
plus a sensor ring is the diff-most of those parts are on ebay
anyway, thats why i suggested 2003 below

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

So it sounds like to me, for a guy who wants to source a core and hand it to a knowledgeble builder, that we want a 2WD, but any year 4L80e. I raced autos for years but the 4LjunkiE got the best of me and I swore them off for about 5 years but now I want to race and at least these have come around to being a viable option.

1badWS6

iTrader: (32)

Don't mean to jack your thread OP, but how would an 80e out of a 92 3500 work out. Good idea or not so much?

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

No Worries, but basically from what I understand a good/rebuildable trans out of a early 90's truck/van will work, at least everything should xfer over with out issue. No major issues with the swap and for me since its going to be a Manual Trans most of the tuning issues do not matter.

I just dont want a core where I need to buy additional parts.

1badWS6

iTrader: (32)

Alright good deal. I hear ya on that. Reason I ask is because I found someone with that specific trans from that truck who is selling it for a killer deal. The trans has 70k on it and needs nothing off the bat. He said for around 200 bucks.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Yea, that sounds killer.

1badWS6

iTrader: (32)

Awesome. Now would it matter if the truck was 2wd or 4wd? If it was from a 4wd truck would it still be a problem? Just trying to line up my ducks here so I'm not buying **** I do not need.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Well that is the question I have and it seems like I would have to buy some misc parts if the trans came from a 4wd setup vs a 2wd.

I guess the thing is to be clear on what the 4L80e will be going in and like said a competent builder should know what you need.

1badWS6

iTrader: (32)

Good deal man thanks for the help. I think I'm gonna just go ahead and pick it up since it'll be a lot better for me in the long run.

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

if its an orig 92 unit, they changed the plug on them in 93, so it would be needed to upgrade the case plug and int wiring-also the force motor used a diff signal, and was also changed, so depending on what your going to power the trans with (controller) there could be a problem- i try and stay away from the real early stuff, newer trans, newer upgrades-sometimes what looks like a good deal turns out not to be

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

In my case since it would be RMVB then all that plugging and wiring does not matter, correct??

1badWS6

iTrader: (32)

I'm talking to a reputable 80e builder so well see what he has to say about my application. Thanks for the input!