hey guys;I have a collecters ed. T.A and I am in the process of doing some modes, and one of them is installing a set of 373,s and want to know if installing a shift kit will be ok or does take its toll on the tranny.also does it hurt the tranny when you manuelly shift it at high rpms. thanx! yellowbird.

 

I would not manually shift a 4L60E any more. I learned my lesson on that one. It really took it's toll on my stock trans which has now been replaced.

Let the PCM do the shifting.

 

how about when I put in my stall I get the tranny clutches replaced with hi. po. ones?

 

I still would/will not manually shift it. What would be the reason anyway? It will shift slower manually than when you let the PCM do it, and it will heat the trans MUCH faster. It is an abusive habit that will take it's toll on any 4L60E, built or not.

IMO, manual shifting of autos should only be done with manual valve bodies. Otherwise, let the PCM do it.

If you are not happy with your WOT shift points, and that is the reason you are shifting manually, have them raised with custom tuning....

 

how about installing it anyways.does it help with the firmness of the shifts and does that hurt anything.

 

Oh, as for the shift kit I would certainly recommend that, espeically after putting in a higher stall TC.

But I would still avoid manually shifting your 4L60E.

 

****, thank God I read this thread!

 

you are gonna want to go with the tranny cooler as well (especially with a stall converter in that *****...)

 

so what your saying is, If I go with a hypertech and up my shift points dont bother going threw the gears, just leave it in gear and hammer it!!!

 

Exactly!

 

one more quick one,will a shift kit like a b&m firm it up to a point where just excellerating chearp the tires?.

 

you don't NEED a shift kit....manually shifting ur 4L60 will KILL IT...KILL IT FAST DON'T EVER do that....you can put it in 3rd and cruise to "Sound cool" but don't manually shift the 4L60...it's their Number 1 Killer.

I've had my 4000 Vig in my 4l60 for 40,000 miles and no shift kit or cooler...never seen temps above 190-200 degree's....and my tranny has 110,000 miles on it and I've got (See sig for upgrades)....it still shifts hard and nice...starting to slip in 3rd, but hell...they can't last forever right? LOL...

The Stock tranny cooler is actually pretty good, cause it's thermally controlled by the fans on the radiator......if ur going full race then go w/a big tranny cooler and fan, but remember....just like a motor, your tranny needs to be at a certain temp to work effeciently.

 

"TANS-GO" thats the only thing you need to know about brands of shift kits for 4l60e's. and yes it will deffinatley "chirp"the tires easier and if you are putting a stall in.................... HANG ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and prepair to buy stock in the rubber industry

 

When merging onto the highway, I'd put the car in 3rd gear, get up to 40 or 50, and then shift to 4th. I take it it's not very smart to do?

 

You probably don't need to beat your brains out at this point, Mike ... but you can do that shifting with your right foot instead of the shifter. Your owner's manual will tell you that it's fine to cruise either in 3rd or D, meaning it's ok to manually upshift to D when you get up to higher speeds if you want to do that. Because of my 2.73s, I normally drive around in 3rd and manually upshift to 4th above 65mph. The problems are caused by manually upshifting at WOT, or manually going up and down through the gears around town.

 

Whew, thanks for clearing that up bro! I can breathe a little easier now. I've never shifted from 3rd to D at WOT, and never go manually up and down the gears. Still tho, I think I'll let the tranny do the shifting on it's own, just to keep my own sanity.

 

I would tend to agree that going between 3rd and OD at low cruising rpms is really nothing to worry about.

It's the manual up and downshifting during WOT manuvers that I would avoid...

Personally though, I just leave it in OD and let the PCM do it's thing...

 

Not a lot really goes on with the 3/4 and 4/3 shift, just the band applying/releasing. It's the 2/3 and 3/2 shifts that have a lot going on. Manually dropping the car to "D" from "OD" isn't bad, but you're much better off letting the computer handle the 2/3 shift and 3/2 or 4/2 kickdown since there is a timing issue there.

 

Don't forget the 4-1 downshift. I used to do that a lot with my stock trans. BIG no-no. That trans is no longer with me though.

 

Pretty much exactly what I meant. 3rd to 4th @ part throttle won't kill it..it's the 1-2-3-4 shifting then back from 4-2 shifting to 3-1 then 1-2-3 shifting that'll kill it. It's not a manual and manually shifting will kill it.