Looking for advice from those of you who have built your own 4L60E's at home.

I'm planning on purchasing the rebuild kit from Dana @ ProBuilt, their "pro street" which basically consists of Borg Warner clutches, Kolene Steels, Borg Warner High Energy bands, Beast sunshell, and a modified TransGo kit. Rated to 675 hp. There's quite a bit more to the rebuild kit, but I'm not sure if they're a sponsor here so you get the idea. Not sure if I want to go with the vacuum modulator or not. My 3200 Vigilante will be getting a restall to 3800.

Looking for a tranny that can hold low 11 second passes, 10's on spray in the future would be nice, but we'll see. Right now my transmission is OK for the most part, except at high RPM at 2-3 it slips a while before shifting. If I keep my shift point low, say at 6k rpm, it shifts fine. I don't think it's so much "broken" as much as its at its limit.

I'm very well stocked with tools, but I know I need some additional ones for this.. any input would be nice.

I know I have to:

Keep it CLEAN
Buy the ATSG manual
Purchase some additional tools

Thoughts? Thanks in advance. I'd rather do this than spend $1500-2000 getting it rebuild and having to send it out, etc.

 

Take your time and realize that if you F it up, you can take it to a shop and maybe watch them put it together.

 

Follow every instruction and if your not sure ask someone who knows

 

transmission building is more about the clearances and building custom parts that fit the 4L60e but are not your ordinary rebuild kit. the guys that throw the standard 4L60e rebuild kits always have issues and are burning up the 3-4 clutch packs. a few tranny builders build their internals custom in house. you pay for that custom combo. otherwise you will go through what the rest of the cheaper 4L60e racers do. hell.

 

Agreed

 

ever notice your generic local transmission shops who have no specialty with the 4L60e sell the built trannys.....and then they all take a dump?

its not a coincidence that the shops that have proven to build a 4L60e last behind 10 second cars are ones that charge more.

 

WOW! I could not of said it better myself. I do exactly this on every unit I build. Alot of guy's try to build units by copying advertised build sheets. When you purchase a unit, the non-advertised secrets come with it. Vince

 

Good point. On my bench right now is a unit that was sold as a racing unit that did not last more than 700 miles in a 440 rwhp 98 model F body. We were asked to take a look at it.

As far as building a 4L60E as a "do-it-yourselfer"... it takes patience, skill and know how. The books are good, but there is no substitute for experience building transmissions. Most performance shops have many thousands of dollars in research and development (broken parts)...in their racing units and countless hours of bench time.

Not trying to discourage you, but the 4L60E is not a tough unit to build stock, but can be unforgiving when trying to make into a race unit.

Good luck and do not hesitate to ask questions.
g

 

The vendors could offer a little more insight other than "don't try it"... after all, this is a tech forum. No offense.

Pro-built seems to have taken the time to build non generic one off kits. I guess I'll just talk to Dana there.

 

Actually I said if you dont know or are not sure about anything ask , I think the general concensus is that there is alot more to building than parts and many people who try fail , No bad luck intended , we all started somewhere , But again if you need anything just ask .

 

Much appreciated, once I dig into it, I'll make sure to post

Sorry, I just hate to see it treated like such a black magic. If people were willing to share what they know maybe more of us would try it.

 

Well there may be some truth to that however there would be two underlying reasons why people dont suggest it ,
1- because we have all heard so many horror stories from people who have spent a fortune literally trying and ended up buying one anyway , And dont get me wrong if its not a daily driver and you have the time and money to spend learning go for it, Hell i would if i was in that position , But many who try are doing it to save money and on there needed daily driver which generally ends up being more costly than just buying one.
2-while no one minds helping obviously no vendor is going to post all there secrets and there are some and thats for obvious reasons those are the things that make one guys better than the others,

But for the average guy it is a major undertaking and most people dont have the time or the right reasons for trying it themselves , That reason being to learn and that only,
And if thats he reason anyone undertakes it then I applaud them.

 

My reason is two fold, to learn, and to save some money.

Not my daily driver, so I have the time to put into it.

I don't expect vendors to share all their secrets.. or any for that matter.

Somehow my stock transmission as it sits can almost hold (it's got 90k miles on it, 300+ track passes, most in the low 12's) what it's got, just that 2-3 slip is getting it with the additional power. I figure if I can build it up enough to hold that I'd be happy. Even if I were to get two seasons out of it as a low 11 second tranny, I'd be ecstatic, and the mission, in my eyes, accomplished.

 

Cool as i said if its not DD and you have the time and money to learn I think its a super idea ,Truth be known I imagine the majority of the builders and vendors on here started just that way

 

Gotta start somewhere!

 

yes lol we all do lol

 

Well it is definately not black magic, I certainly do not want to come across as being the end all authority on high performance racing transmissions.... cause I am not. But I have built my share of transmissions that have lived and not lived behind high horsepower engines. I have a good idea what it takes to keep one together and they don't teach that in books. And I can't tell you what to do on the internet. It is a learned skillset.

I think that if you have the aptitude and the initiative then you should go for it. It is just not easy to do, and your time and money may well be spent in another area of your vehicle. But that is my opinion.

As far as people willing to share.... I see countless people doing it here every day. More people do not try it because of the extremely high degree of difficulty, let alone the specialized tool set required. Heck a full set of the correct tools to replace every bushing and teflon seal, every lip seal and every snap ring, check the end play, check the clutch clearances, check the solenoids and harnesses and so on can cost more than the unit itself! Ask Vince how much that dyno in his sig. cost... more than allot of the cars here on this forum I bet. They learn new information from that tool all the time, I am sure of it.

The difference between the techies and the sponsors is that the techies are in it cause it is a hobby. The sponsors are in it for their livelihood and will not give away hard earned trade secrets.

Just my .02. Peace.

Here's a tip!.... Do not pry against the case when removing the pump, the case can easily be damaged in that area if abused. Pry between the reverse input drum and the pump. And don't force the pump out. Be gentle.

g

 

Thanks.. yah the tools aspect has me a little worried, only as far as specialized tools go of course.

I'll ask Dana before I order about tools, etc.