So my 4l60e would act like it was in neutral in 3rd and 4th. The guys here (thanks!) diagnosed it as 3-4 gear pack going out. So I guess it's time for a rebuild. My question is which kit would you recommend? I've looked through the forums and the street/strip kit from Pro-Built seems popular. What do you guys think?

I've never put it on a dyno but the guy says it was pushing 450-475 hp ( you know how that goes though). He said he bought the tranny from Monster. These are the parts I know are in it.

Thunder Racing Cam kit (T224/224 duration 560/560 lift 114 lobe separation)
Speed PRC stage 2.5-5.3
TCI 10in 3500 stall
LS6 intake
Hooker Headers
3" y pipe
racetronix fuel pump


I run on the street more than the track. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks guys!

 

See http://www.jakesperformance.com/ in Tx for tranny problems he is pretty smart. I was in the business many years ago but it sounds like you clutches are toast.

 

I never understand these kind of questions. First, who is going to be building this transmission? In my opinion, when you hire a transmission builder you are buying his experience and expertise as much as his labor, if not more so in some cases. Parts are parts, but the combination of parts and/or other variations (take valve body changes for example) may mean the difference on how the transmission functions and how long it lasts when pushed hard. I did not bring my transmission builder a box of parts and tell him to rebuild my trans. I brought him my trans, told him about my goals and intents, and asked him how much it was going to cost. I got a parts list on my receipt when I picked the trans up, so I know what's in it, but that doesn't matter because I didn't buy parts from him, I bought a reliable transmission as a whole. If your builder doesn't have a recommended parts lits for your level build, and have experience with those parts, maybe you should find another builder.

Directly related to your question though, I know I'm running the Z-pack from raybestos for the 3/4 clutch. I even asked specifically about it because we have discussed them often around over the years. Z-pack is NOT the great favorite here but its what he wanted and I wasn't going to question him.....his reputation among drag racers was outstanding.

 

It's simply sharing of information. I should hope that I do get a quality transmission guy but I'd like to be able to use the knowledge and experience from a large sampling of people that these forums provide. Who has used what? What did they think? Etc, etc. That gives me a better real-world working knowledge of what's out there for when I do talk to the mechanic, gauge if he's knowledgable in his field/someone I want to use and hopefully work out a plan. Thanks for the Z-pack suggestion.

 

I get what you're saying, and I knew you're intention. However, if you've spent enough time here you'll find a few things to be true. 1. We, as a group, never agree.....so it tends to confuse sometimes as much as it clarifies. 2. The knowledge you're asking for isn't known by a ton of people, so qualified answers are going to be few and far between. I've been around a while, and tinkered with these cars A LOT, and you see what little technical data I had to offer. 3. The smartest guys in the business aren't going to give their best secrets away, because it's their livelihood. So, now that those 3 truths are out in the open, again while these suggestions from some members may help, I have to go back two steps and look at the line of thinking. Why would you, the end user, the no experience, be suggesting parts to the builder? Unless you put a transmission in the same category as a washing machine, an appliance that either works or it doesn't. But I don't look at them that way. I consider a transmission like a valvetrain, the cam and springs much match, PTV has to be checked, pushrod length checked, lifter preload to run based off experience, lobe design picked for application. For a run of the mill stock trans...fine a washing machine. But when you push the envelope, much more technical and I want a builder that's done it a few times and knows what parts work!

 

If I were you, I'd start calling around to places that sell performance transmission parts. When you finally get a guy on the phone that is willing to take the time to bore you with the details of how everything goes together, problems you might encounter, and what the tricks are, buy the parts from him. He's the guy that will give you some support after the fact. He's also really into what he does, which means he probably cares about whether or not your build succeeds. Do NOT buy the parts from the guy that just wants to hurry up and sell you parts and/or get you off the phone, regardless of what his reputation is.

I did this with my 4L80E and it worked out great. I had my driveshaft setup wrong and it messed up an output shaft bearing and a thrust bearing. I called around and nobody gave a sh$t. Finally, one place had a guy that listened to my symptoms and explained exactly what was wrong. It took about 20 mins for that and to answer all my questions. I bought $250 worth of parts. When I had trouble, I called and he sent me an additional part that I needed. Truth is I called him a couple times with questions. My trans is back together and it works great!!

Also, I had a buddy help me. He used to work at a dealership and did a few transmissions. He had a couple "special" tools that we needed. (One was a ground down socket, the other a series of hose clamps!) He did most of the internals, I did the valve body. FWIW, I could not have done it without him.

That's my approach. I did the same thing when I bought my shortblock. The engine builder that talked my ear off for 45 mins got the sale right there on the phone. Never had a problem with it.

 

Thanks guys!