Have a 4l60e that's starting to slip. Truck seems to eat them as I've had 2 rebuilts put in and this last one was a reman. I have no clue to the quality of the rebuilds as they were cheap at the time but got me rolling. The reman has lasted about 60k miles. I rebuilt a 4l60e for my blazer a year or so ago and all has worked well. My question is, would I achieve better results if I rebuilt this myself or just buy another reman? It's an 02 Silverado work truck that I tow a trailer occasionally, but really give it hell when driving it every day. Would appreciate any thoughts or advice.

 

It depends what you're willing to spend on a built transmission from somebody vs the parts you'd install yourself on a rebuild plus your own skills to rebuild it.

If you do a really good rebuild, you'll save the labor cost of buying a built transmission from somebody. Of course, with your own rebuild there's no warranty.

For instance, a level 3 build from FLT is $1,700. You could buy the same parts and do the labor yourself for a lot less, but you spend your time doing it and you work with your own skill level vs the builders at FLT who use their experience to maximize the potential of the same parts.

Buying a more generic rebuild, would you be happy with it potentially only lasting 60k miles like your previous rebuilt 4l60e?

Have you rebuilt a transmission before? There are lots of resources for doing it yourself.

 

I'm in favor of using a sponsor trans or a well known good rebuilder in your area.
I'm intimidated by all the parts in these things.
I trusted my trans guy as this is what he knows an does day in/out.
Plus if I have any issues he's only a few miles away from me.
This is also something to consider.
Removal and Replace is no fun either or cheap if your going to pay someone to do it.
Just as I trust him, he trust me to do his electrical work as this is what I know, licensed and been doing it for 30+ years.

 

I've gotten pretty good at removing and replacing it over the years. I rebuilt the 4l60e in my 05 trailblazer about a year ago. I used a kit from Dana and I believe it was the towing version of one of his kits. That vehicle doesn't get drove no where close to as hard. Everything went pretty smooth. I installed all the bushings and stator shaft myself. I'm not worried or concerned at all about doing the work for a rebuild. Just not sure if doing so for my truck will last me any longer than a reman similar to what I last put in it. It was from Advanced I think. Same now would run about $1500-$1600 with a new converter. Don't mind spending that or less in a rebuild if it would last me longer. That's the dilemma I'm facing now. It's slipping in 4th when the throttle is maintaining speed, if I mash the gas to speed up it doesn't slip until the speed levels out for a bit. Had similar issue with last Trans which was a rebuilt by a guy my uncle new, after a little while of that it started slipping regardless.

 

I always suggest hooking up a trans pressure gauge (ATD-5550 on Amazon for $32) after installing a new/rebuilt trans to be sure the line pressure reaches 200+ psi under heavy throttle.
I suspect many trans die and then the rebuild doesn't last long because the PCM is commanding low line pressure due to a sensor (e.g. MAF or TPS) or other problem.