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This is my first automatic trans rebuild, I have rebuilt a manual (nv4500) with good success.
I am sure this is a subject that’s been beaten to death, and you folks are tired of answering questions. I am reading and studying the GM tech guide, and a rebuild manual I sourced online trying to understand all the parts and what exactly they do. It is alot of information to ingest at once.
This trans is from a 01 3800 Camaro, and is going in a fwd to rwd swapped car. It’s not going to be raced, just a fun street car that will be daily driven. It will be behind a supercharged 3800 with basic bolt ons like a pulley and meth injection. 300ish crank HP.
There is tons of great info on here, so much that I am overwhelmed with what I should or shouldn’t do. I have taken the trans apart to the case, and am going through the manual slowly trying to inspect and measure everything correctly. Everything inside the trans looked good to my untrained eye, it came out of a running/driving car. It did seem sluggish, but it sat for years.
I plan to replace the basic wear items, outside of that is there anything you folks can suggest I should do? Torlon *****? Beast sunshell? I want to do it correctly, but I don’t want to go all out on a moderate hp light car. I have tons of pictures, but don’t want to post them if they won’t help the subject.
theres a ton of good info and build recipes on this forum. I would look at stuff posted 2019 and newer myself. The big thing with the 4L60E is fixing the hydraulics.This includes stuff like green loctite on the input shaft, vacuum checking the valve body, separator plate mods, vette servo, etc etc. no whiz-bang or "performance" parts or frictions are needed here. Borg HE 3/4 clutch pack & band work just fine here. pay attention to 3/4 clearance and servo pin travel.
if you don't want to do the homework, then I would try to get ahold of Dana @ Probuilt and buy a rebuild kit from him. I haven't talked to him a few years but I believe he is still around.
Thanks for the reply! I do want to do the homework, I guess I need to focus on the basics of it then worry about modifications. Some of the threads I’ve dug into guys are throwing the best of the best aftermarket stuff in them. I’m sure it’s needed with big hp in a 4th gen. I will search into the modifications you suggested, I like the idea of basic mods making it work better or more reliably.
I’m at the point of re assembly and have a question about the pump. The body looks like this,
I can not feel anything on that surface, it feels perfectly smooth. I can’t feel anything with my fingernail. I hit part of it very lightly with a scotchbrite and it cleaned up, but I don’t want to do anything to cause problems.
I was dropping some metal off at a local recycler and noticed a 4l60e sitting to the side. Talked to him about it and he let me take it home to pull the pump out of it. I believe it’s a 04 or later, it does not have a o ring on the perimeter of the body. Would it possibly Interchange with my 01? I’ve only seen discussions on pre 98 pump interchange.
I’m at the point of re assembly and have a question about the pump. The body looks like this,
I can not feel anything on that surface, it feels perfectly smooth. I can’t feel anything with my fingernail. I hit part of it very lightly with a scotchbrite and it cleaned up, but I don’t want to do anything to cause problems.
I was dropping some metal off at a local recycler and noticed a 4l60e sitting to the side. Talked to him about it and he let me take it home to pull the pump out of it. I believe it’s a 04 or later, it does not have a o ring on the perimeter of the body. Would it possibly Interchange with my 01? I’ve only seen discussions on pre 98 pump interchange.
Looks to me like your pump face should be fine. As for the later pump with no place for ORING no it will not retro into a 2001.
You would have no seal around the pump. (Now assuming the later pump has an early stator style with no ISS hole then you could technically machine a place for the orring on a lathe) But looking at your original I would stay with it. These pumps are pretty forgiving really with monster capacity. I have torn down perfect running units with badly scarred pumps that were in service and working fine.
__________________ Frank formerly of Performabuilt, Now just me, What can I build for you today? Call or message me. Click sig pic for my facebook
If you cant feel anything with your nail, they are just witness marks. A quick clean up with a scotchbrite pad will clean it up easy.
When installing your new teflon bushing here, be sure to locate the ledge towards the seal side of the cover. Remove the old towards the inside and install the new inside and out being sure you stop at the ledge and not past it. You can now slide the cover over a converter hub to check if you installed the bushing square. If so, then install your seal.
I cleaned everything up and went with it. I did drive the car to my house, so I do know it worked before. I’ll just stash the spare pump for future projects.
The manual I am using explains the teflon bushing removal/install so I did that correctly. I can see how someone would try removing it the wrong way, there’s not much of a lip there.
The manual suggests modifying the pressure regulator, but I’ve searched on here with little to no mention of it. This was written in 2003, so maybe it’s dated? It really doesn’t directly say “this modification fixes this problem”, it does mention fixing a drain back problem earlier in the manual. Should I skip this?
I’m kind of stuck on measuring the low-reverse clutch pack following these instructions. Is there a final measurement with the new steels and frictions that you normally shoot for? Also, is it ok to mix and match old steels with new ones to make the correct thickness? It suggests using the waved plate during measurements, but will
it be accurate being the waved plate doesn’t sit flat?
I’ll attach a picture from the page in the manual I’m using. I’ve searched and have came up with more questions than answers.
I’m kind of stuck on measuring the low-reverse clutch pack following these instructions. Is there a final measurement with the new steels and frictions that you normally shoot for? Also, is it ok to mix and match old steels with new ones to make the correct thickness? It suggests using the waved plate during measurements, but will
it be accurate being the waved plate doesn’t sit flat?
I’ll attach a picture from the page in the manual I’m using. I’ve searched and have came up with more questions than answers.
To be honest this is not a critical clutch set clearance wise, It only comes on in manual low and reverse. Unless wrong steels are used like early 700r4 which are thicker I have not seen an instance where I really needed to do anything here. My general rule is no more than the thickness of a steel for clearance and make sure they move freely. But yes the wave is part of the clearance and must be considered.
__________________ Frank formerly of Performabuilt, Now just me, What can I build for you today? Call or message me. Click sig pic for my facebook
I cleaned everything up and went with it. I did drive the car to my house, so I do know it worked before. I’ll just stash the spare pump for future projects.
The manual I am using explains the teflon bushing removal/install so I did that correctly. I can see how someone would try removing it the wrong way, there’s not much of a lip there.
The manual suggests modifying the pressure regulator, but I’ve searched on here with little to no mention of it. This was written in 2003, so maybe it’s dated? It really doesn’t directly say “this modification fixes this problem”, it does mention fixing a drain back problem earlier in the manual. Should I skip this?
I have tried drilling that hole just to see and observed on the dyno , I didn't really see any difference either way , I guess if your valve or bore was leaky it could help a little to compensate.
__________________ Frank formerly of Performabuilt, Now just me, What can I build for you today? Call or message me. Click sig pic for my facebook
A guy I follow on YouTube, Precision Transmission talked about getting rid of the waved plated and stacking 2 standard steels in its place. Is that something you have tried before Frank? I’m going to ask a dumb question, is the clearance measured between the roller clutch assembly and the clip?
A guy I follow on YouTube, Precision Transmission talked about getting rid of the waved plated and stacking 2 standard steels in its place. Is that something you have tried before Frank? I’m going to ask a dumb question, is the clearance measured between the roller clutch assembly and the clip?
Thanks for the replies!
You have absolutely no reason to do this. Get your stack up height in the middle of the measurement as best as you can and move on from there.
A guy I follow on YouTube, Precision Transmission talked about getting rid of the waved plated and stacking 2 standard steels in its place. Is that something you have tried before Frank? I’m going to ask a dumb question, is the clearance measured between the roller clutch assembly and the clip?
Thanks for the replies!
You can check clearance though bottom of case as you can see the piston and steel's through a hole there. But again this is not a critical issue area.
As for removing the wave plate absolutely no advantage to this IMO and will generally only result in a harsh REV or M1 engagement and make for more stress on the case lugs. The only time I do anything with this is when installing a trans brake such as rossler because they include steels to replace the wave, They do this to speed release as the wave/cushion is a part of the pack compression and doing so speeds release.
The only other time I might consider leaving it out and installing the two steels or better yet early 700r4 thick steel in place is in the rare instance decide turning the low set on automatically in first is warranted with some extreme high power launch and some extreme off road applications to protect the low roller. (also snow plow vehicles)
In your case I would say just stack it as it was stock with the wave and make sure you do not have more than the thickness of a steel plate for clearance and that you have enough to not have drag and not worry about it otherwise.
Hope this helps and not over explained.
__________________ Frank formerly of Performabuilt, Now just me, What can I build for you today? Call or message me. Click sig pic for my facebook
You have absolutely no reason to do this. Get your stack up height in the middle of the measurement as best as you can and move on from there.
Ok I will do that. I have the mindset that if it worked for 100k miles from the factory on millions of vehicles then it will probably work fine for what I’m doing. I’m overwhelmed with all the “tips and tricks” suggested when building these.
You can check clearance though bottom of case as you can see the piston and steel's through a hole there. But again this is not a critical issue area.
As for removing the wave plate absolutely no advantage to this IMO and will generally only result in a harsh REV or M1 engagement and make for more stress on the case lugs. The only time I do anything with this is when installing a trans brake such as rossler because they include steels to replace the wave, They do this to speed release as the wave/cushion is a part of the pack compression and doing so speeds release.
The only other time I might consider leaving it out and installing the two steels or better yet early 700r4 thick steel in place is in the rare instance decide turning the low set on automatically in first is warranted with some extreme high power launch and some extreme off road applications to protect the low roller. (also snow plow vehicles)
In your case I would say just stack it as it was stock with the wave and make sure you do not have more than the thickness of a steel plate for clearance and that you have enough to not have drag and not worry about it otherwise.
Hope this helps and not over explained.
Not over explained at all, you explained it very well! For my situation there would be no benefit.
For a plow truck, would removing that “cushion” do more harm than good? I’m just thinking of the driver going from D or M1 to reverse constantly would be tough on everything.
Ok I will do that. I have the mindset that if it worked for 100k miles from the factory on millions of vehicles then it will probably work fine for what I’m doing. I’m overwhelmed with all the “tips and tricks” suggested when building these.
Tips and tricks are great , But if this is just a stock build or close to stock car or truck , Just do a good solid stock build, address the leaks IE DRUM TO SHAFT, RELEASE CHECK IN DRUM, FWD AND REV ABUSE BORE PLUGS, 3-4 SIGNAL AND CONVERTER REGULATOR END PLUGS , USE GLOBALS GENTLY OVERSIZED AFL VALVE, MAKE SURE ENCAPSULATED ACCUM CHECK BALL IN CASE SEALS and one of the available PWM/ CONVERTER REGULATOR valve solutions and go with it.
Dont overthink the build particularly if it's your first as many create more problems than they solve overthinking on a first build.
Many MODS IMPROVEMENTS require additional mods with them to work well.
A good stock build with new sprag / vette servo/ .093 feeds for 2nd - 3rd -servo feed will do just fine in that situation .
__________________ Frank formerly of Performabuilt, Now just me, What can I build for you today? Call or message me. Click sig pic for my facebook
Ok I will do that. I have the mindset that if it worked for 100k miles from the factory on millions of vehicles then it will probably work fine for what I’m doing. I’m overwhelmed with all the “tips and tricks” suggested when building these.
It can be overwhelming at first but if you take the time to understand the "why" and not just do it just because someone says to, you will have a more clear understanding of what it takes to properly build one of these. And, the information is out there you just have to find it. But it is def there
Tips and tricks are great , But if this is just a stock build or close to stock car or truck , Just do a good solid stock build, address the leaks IE DRUM TO SHAFT, RELEASE CHECK IN DRUM, FWD AND REV ABUSE BORE PLUGS, 3-4 SIGNAL AND CONVERTER REGULATOR END PLUGS , USE GLOBALS GENTLY OVERSIZED AFL VALVE, MAKE SURE ENCAPSULATED ACCUM CHECK BALL IN CASE SEALS and one of the available PWM/ CONVERTER REGULATOR valve solutions and go with it.
Dont overthink the build particularly if it's your first as many create more problems than they solve overthinking on a first build.
Many MODS IMPROVEMENTS require additional mods with them to work well.
A good stock build with new sprag / vette servo/ .093 feeds for 2nd - 3rd -servo feed will do just fine in that situation .
Drum to shaft leak, I will have to research that issue. I’m currently working on getting the case buttoned up before I get into the valve body. I have gathered up everything I need to make a valve body vacuum tester. I will be going through your guys suggestions on this and correcting them.
I have hit a problem Installing the pump. When assembling the pump I used a long hose clamp or breeze band to line the half’s of the pump up. I checked 4 points with a straight edge and it appears to be fastened evenly. I assembled everything normally to check the end play and once the pump starts into the reverse input drum the shaft gets very tight. After bolting it down I could not spin the shaft without using a tool to do so, and I also had no end play on the shaft. I removed the reverse input drum and the pump. With the pump in the reverse input drum on the bench, they do not want to spin separately without effort. So I believe I have a problem here. I purchased an install kit for the Teflon seals, so they went on and have been sized. I lubricated everything before assembly.
Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for all the help!
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4l60e rebuild questions 
