4l80e offroad upgrade recomendations
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1
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4l80e offroad upgrade recomendations Hey everyone. Been doing a lot of reading about what people are doing to their 4l80es. So far the resources I have found include dual feeding the direct clutch, transgohd2, CKperformance, Sonnax and Clinebarger.
Everything I have looked at has been more geared to street and drag racing, I'm wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for an offroad vehicle. I'm not planning on making gobs of power on my 06 6.0 LQ4, but I'd like to have a reliable transmission that can take some abuse.
Ideally i'd like to be able to do away with torque management on the PCM and have the trans be OK with that. I'd also like to put parts in it that allow for quick shifts from reverse to forward gears and vice versa. The trans will see some highway speed, but mainly will be slower speeds.
I will be going inside the transmission, so with that in mind the parts I am considering are:
As large as I can fit trans cooler,
Sonnax sure cure kit
Dual feeding the direct clutch (Does this slow forward reverse shifts? I recall reading that somewhere)
HD intermediate snap ring (Will the th400 work? Only one I see on CKperformance.)
And the parts I'm not so sure of:
Accumulator block off plate
Upgraded intermediate clutch apply/return spring assembly
Upgraded direct clutch apply/return spring assembly -adding a clutch and steel
Pressure regulator spring
Any input is appreciated, I'm totally out of my element here and in a lot of cases I don't exactly understand what the part does, other than it is highly recommended by people on the forum. Therefore I'm not sure if it is right for my application. Hoping people with more knowledge can steer me in the correct direction.
Thanks!
Everything I have looked at has been more geared to street and drag racing, I'm wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for an offroad vehicle. I'm not planning on making gobs of power on my 06 6.0 LQ4, but I'd like to have a reliable transmission that can take some abuse.
Ideally i'd like to be able to do away with torque management on the PCM and have the trans be OK with that. I'd also like to put parts in it that allow for quick shifts from reverse to forward gears and vice versa. The trans will see some highway speed, but mainly will be slower speeds.
I will be going inside the transmission, so with that in mind the parts I am considering are:
As large as I can fit trans cooler,
Sonnax sure cure kit
Dual feeding the direct clutch (Does this slow forward reverse shifts? I recall reading that somewhere)
HD intermediate snap ring (Will the th400 work? Only one I see on CKperformance.)
And the parts I'm not so sure of:
Accumulator block off plate
Upgraded intermediate clutch apply/return spring assembly
Upgraded direct clutch apply/return spring assembly -adding a clutch and steel
Pressure regulator spring
Any input is appreciated, I'm totally out of my element here and in a lot of cases I don't exactly understand what the part does, other than it is highly recommended by people on the forum. Therefore I'm not sure if it is right for my application. Hoping people with more knowledge can steer me in the correct direction.
Thanks!
TECH Junkie
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,620
Likes: 1,331
From: Iowa
Hey everyone. Been doing a lot of reading about what people are doing to their 4l80es. So far the resources I have found include dual feeding the direct clutch, transgohd2, CKperformance, Sonnax and Clinebarger.
Everything I have looked at has been more geared to street and drag racing, I'm wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for an offroad vehicle. I'm not planning on making gobs of power on my 06 6.0 LQ4, but I'd like to have a reliable transmission that can take some abuse.
Ideally i'd like to be able to do away with torque management on the PCM and have the trans be OK with that. I'd also like to put parts in it that allow for quick shifts from reverse to forward gears and vice versa. The trans will see some highway speed, but mainly will be slower speeds.
I will be going inside the transmission, so with that in mind the parts I am considering are:
As large as I can fit trans cooler, Yes, very good idea
Sonnax sure cure kit Don't bother. You will need reamers and other specialty tools for the AFL and the tcc valve isn't anything to write home about UNLESS you vacuum test and it shows it's leaking
Dual feeding the direct clutch (Does this slow forward reverse shifts? I recall reading that somewhere) you can remove reverse check ball if you want more solid reverse engagement. But dual feeding will likely not cause anything noticable
HD intermediate snap ring (Will the th400 work? Only one I see on CKperformance.) torqueflite 727 snap ring is best. either .088 or .106 to set your int. clutch clearance
And the parts I'm not so sure of:
Accumulator block off plate jakes performance sells one. You can if you want...but you don't have to. Drilling the separator plate feed holes will likely be enough to satisfy your shift desire
Upgraded intermediate clutch apply/return spring assembly not needed for you
Upgraded direct clutch apply/return spring assembly -adding a clutch and steel the return springs aren't really necessary for you. To add a 6th clutch, run a molded piston, 6 "thin" steels...the same steels in the FWD drum (.077 thick) with 6 clutches. clearance should be around .050-.070
Pressure regulator spring use the sonnax LB1 kit with the STOCK spring. Do not use the sonnax boost valve with their spring unless you're making 1000+ hp. the stock spring with sonnax boost valve will be plenty for you
Any input is appreciated, I'm totally out of my element here and in a lot of cases I don't exactly understand what the part does, other than it is highly recommended by people on the forum. Therefore I'm not sure if it is right for my application. Hoping people with more knowledge can steer me in the correct direction.
Thanks!
Everything I have looked at has been more geared to street and drag racing, I'm wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for an offroad vehicle. I'm not planning on making gobs of power on my 06 6.0 LQ4, but I'd like to have a reliable transmission that can take some abuse.
Ideally i'd like to be able to do away with torque management on the PCM and have the trans be OK with that. I'd also like to put parts in it that allow for quick shifts from reverse to forward gears and vice versa. The trans will see some highway speed, but mainly will be slower speeds.
I will be going inside the transmission, so with that in mind the parts I am considering are:
As large as I can fit trans cooler, Yes, very good idea
Sonnax sure cure kit Don't bother. You will need reamers and other specialty tools for the AFL and the tcc valve isn't anything to write home about UNLESS you vacuum test and it shows it's leaking
Dual feeding the direct clutch (Does this slow forward reverse shifts? I recall reading that somewhere) you can remove reverse check ball if you want more solid reverse engagement. But dual feeding will likely not cause anything noticable
HD intermediate snap ring (Will the th400 work? Only one I see on CKperformance.) torqueflite 727 snap ring is best. either .088 or .106 to set your int. clutch clearance
And the parts I'm not so sure of:
Accumulator block off plate jakes performance sells one. You can if you want...but you don't have to. Drilling the separator plate feed holes will likely be enough to satisfy your shift desire
Upgraded intermediate clutch apply/return spring assembly not needed for you
Upgraded direct clutch apply/return spring assembly -adding a clutch and steel the return springs aren't really necessary for you. To add a 6th clutch, run a molded piston, 6 "thin" steels...the same steels in the FWD drum (.077 thick) with 6 clutches. clearance should be around .050-.070
Pressure regulator spring use the sonnax LB1 kit with the STOCK spring. Do not use the sonnax boost valve with their spring unless you're making 1000+ hp. the stock spring with sonnax boost valve will be plenty for you
Any input is appreciated, I'm totally out of my element here and in a lot of cases I don't exactly understand what the part does, other than it is highly recommended by people on the forum. Therefore I'm not sure if it is right for my application. Hoping people with more knowledge can steer me in the correct direction.
Thanks!
sonnax boost valve
dual feed
torqueflite 727 snap ring (this is for the intermediate. .088 or .106 to set your clearance)
drill separator plate. .093 for 2nd, .110 for 3rd, .110 for 4th
5 or 6 directs...it won't matter for you
4 intermediates
5 forwards
Drill the pump for line to lube (or use the sonnax valve if you don't want to drill pump). this helps cooler flow and helps keep the TCC from dragging
use a good cooler
make sure it has a 34 element sprag
done
Don't do a transgo HD2 kit, its a waste of money if you'll be inside the trans
I recommend vacuum testing the valve body and pump (there is a writeup on how to make a DIY vacuum tester for about $100). there is probably a 6/10 chance you need to ream the AFL bore and use a larger valve.
If you want, you can easily rollerize the output thrust. Instead of the case bushing, use a pump bushing and drive it forward (into the case) so it stands proud about .070"
use a th350 (late) pump bearing with the th350 shims to set endplay. Black face of the bearing UP (towards the bellhousing) This helps with thrust load for heavy vehicles or towing heavy loads.
