hey guys doin a swap into a lexus but having a issue with my ls1 4l60e. i have about half an inch before the trans sits flush against the motor. ive sat the converter in as far as it will go but still nothing. motor is bone stock 99, trans is a bone stock 99, converter is stock, flexplate is dished. i feel if i had a flat flexplate itd fit perfectly. everyone is saying there isnt a flat flexplate for a 4l60e though but im sure i used one on one of my past swaps.

i pulled off the flexplate and sat it against the converter as its seated in the trans and it ends up being flush with the front of the bellhousing.

any help is greatly appreciated.

heres some pics of what i have.











heres one my buddy has that to me looks like itll work but he doesnt remember exactly what it came off of.

 

The converter is not in all the way...

When it's in all the way, the bolt pads should be recessed appx. 1 inch from the mounting surface of the bellhousing.

 

Agree. Looks to me like it's not seated. You need 3 clicks for it to be fully seated.

 

the converter is about to hit the bellhousing if i could even push it in anymore. theres like a 1/8" gap between the converter and the bellhousing as it sits right now.

ive been sitting here for the past 20 minutes spinning and trying to push this thing in further.

 

actually i can hear the converter grinding against the bellhousing as im pushing it in and spinning.

 

thats the converter im using




and heres the trans

1999
5.7L K-Truck
9LHD
T1287AB

https://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic...-came-out.html

 

I'd take a straight edge, set it on the flat surface of the bellhousing where it bolts to the engine, and measure to where the converter bolts to the flexplate.

You want 3 distinctive clicks when seating your converter. If you don't hear 3 clicks, it's not seated.

When you do get the trans bolted to the engine you should be able to spin the converter with your fingers before bolting it to the flexplate. I had a gap that was larger than the tolerance so I had to use. 060" washers.

 

Yeah I heard the clicks when I sat it in there. But that's as far as she wants to go in. I'm about to grab another converter from my buddy to see if his goes in further.

 

That's the wrong converter for that transmission. You're trying to put a TMBX (LS engine) converter on a non-LS engine transmission.

The transmission you have is out of a Tahoe or Suburban with a 5.7 engine. I didn't catch the bellhousing configuration in the first pictures.

 

You can get the correct converter for the transmission, but the flexplate bolt holes won't line up. They do sell dual-pattern flexplates, though.

 

I knew it had to be something. Hmm was told this trans was a ls style. So I'd need a older style converter or different trans?

 

oh and thanx for the help

 

No. The LS bellhousings have a bolt hole at the very top (12 o'clock) and are deeper than the Gen 1 small block bellhousings. The torque converter, input shaft and stator support are also different between the two.

Your transmission is likely out of a '99 Tahoe or Suburban (5.7L, non-LS). Your torque converter is from an LS application.

 

yeah i had the converter from a previous swap i did for a friend. he did a bigger stall so he gave me this one. the trans i bought cause after some research they said it should work but i guess it wont.

damnit. now the fun part is deciding what to do. sell this trans and try to find the right one or buy a convertor and flexplate to fit this one.

 

If the budget and availability allow, I would recommend a '03 - '08 4L60E, 4L65E or 4L70E.
For one, it will likely have lower miles. GM also made some strength improvements in '98 for the LS1 engine and again in '03 for the LS2 engine; e.g. hardened sun shell.
And of course, they will fit exactly. Any 2WD trans from those years, from any vehicle other than a C5 Vette, will work.

 

im hopefully picking up a 4l60e from a 4th gen ls1 camaro today. guy bought a whole car but just used the motor. im goin to go take a look at it today and see what year and stuff. hopefully itll work.

he didnt speak much english and i dont speak much spanish so couldnt really ask him much about it. luckily hes only a couple blocks away from me so ill just zip over and take a look.

 

Sounds like a plan. Make sure it is from a '98 or later LS engine vehicle and not a '97 or earlier LT engine.
Post details and we will answer as quickly as we can.

 

so went to go look at it today to make sure it was correct. turns out its been rebuilt at one point. also the converter is a remanufactured one. came out of a 01 z28. going to pick it up tomorrow after work. posted mine up for sale on craigslist.

 

That is the correct transmission now. Good find.
I would suggest at least one of the lower priced converters from CircleD or FTI.

 

Yep, that will get you where you need to be.

Looks like a GM SRTA reman... Hopefully it's a decent one.