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5.3 on 4.3 4l60e

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Old Jun 21, 2013 | 06:47 PM
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Default 5.3 on 4.3 4l60e

will the 5.3 mate up to the 4l60e without any adapters between the flywheel and torque converter. my 4l60e has the removable bell housing so it would probably be wise to get this from the doner vehicle....
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Old Jun 21, 2013 | 08:32 PM
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I have a 4.3 4L60E bolted to a 5.3....need the right flywheel & a Hughes TC spacer.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HUP-HP3795/
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Old Jun 21, 2013 | 09:16 PM
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The 4.3 has 3 bolts at the bottom of the bell housing. Doesn't the 5.3 have two. Thanks for the link
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Old Jun 22, 2013 | 03:52 PM
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I think there are 3 bolts on the 4.3 trans that dont line up with the 5.3 block.
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Old Jun 22, 2013 | 06:42 PM
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That's why I think I need the bell housing off the donor Vehicle
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Old Jun 22, 2013 | 08:24 PM
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I wouldnt expect it to live very long behind a V8, the inpit shaft is smaller and they're generally less durable.
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Old Jun 22, 2013 | 09:47 PM
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I have had mine in for over a year now & drive approx 500 miles a week,so far so good.
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Old Jun 22, 2013 | 10:51 PM
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Default 4l60

Better to get the 4L60 out of a late model 4.8L or 5.3L truck or van, but the adaptor and flexplate works too.

Durability??? 4L60 trannys have run behind millions of Chev/GMC truck 5.3L V8engines for years and are still available on 2013 Chevy models.

IMHO, unless you are going big HP or dragging you will be fine.
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Old Jun 23, 2013 | 06:01 AM
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Originally Posted by ls1nova71
I wouldnt expect it to live very long behind a V8, the inpit shaft is smaller and they're generally less durable.
It was rebuilt 5000 miles ago to corvette specs and holds up to 10LB boost launches behind the 4.3
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Old Jun 23, 2013 | 07:09 AM
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Originally Posted by ls1nova71
I wouldnt expect it to live very long behind a V8, the inpit shaft is smaller and they're generally less durable.
I took one straight from the yard (GM rebuilt sticker on it) to the Thunderbird with only a fluid and filter change. Coming up to four years of continuous abuse. Did I mention I broke a transmission line while rolling twice because I wasn't paying attention and a fitting once which ran it out of oil each time? Honestly the way I treat that car I'm surprised myself. Hahahaha
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Old Jun 23, 2013 | 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by gofastwclass
I took one straight from the yard (GM rebuilt sticker on it) to the Thunderbird with only a fluid and filter change. Coming up to four years of continuous abuse. Did I mention I broke a transmission line while rolling twice because I wasn't paying attention and a fitting once which ran it out of oil each time? Honestly the way I treat that car I'm surprised myself. Hahahaha
I also blew a line off and drove it until it wouldn't move. Fixed the line, filled it back up and still going to this day
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Old Jul 4, 2013 | 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by ls1nova71
the input shaft is smaller
False, both are 30-spline input shaft.
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Old Jul 5, 2013 | 12:26 PM
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This thread brought some transmission questions to light I've seen debated for far too long. Since I have one of each in my work shop right now I thought I would take some photos and share what I learned in the hope of helping someone else.

FYI - We're talking 1997+ six bolt tail housing 4L60E's which is the only version of that transmission I work with. Earlier years may be different.

The V6 / Gen I/II transmission has a different bell housing, input shaft, input shaft depth and converter compared to the Gen III (LSx) V8 variant.

The two easiest ways I use spot a V6 / Gen I/II vs. Gen III (LSx) V8 transmission are the bell housing and the input shaft.

The V6 transmission does NOT have a top bolt and the bottom bolts are different:


Our V8 counterpart DOES have the top bolt:


I haven't counted splines, so I'm not sure about the count (looks the same). I did measure them and the input shaft diameter is the same size (slightly off due to trying to measure inside the bell housing while taking pictures at the proper angle to read the LCD), however the design differs between the two. I would assume this means torque converters are not interchangeable and looking inside them I believe this is accurate.

V6 input shaft has the small nipple on it:


Our V8 friend is splined all the way down:


What this means is the V6 transmission will work with a Gen III engine WITH a spacer and a dished flexplate. It also means it will work with a flat flexplate AND a spacer. Either way you need the spacer or a special (usually SFI approved and expensive) flexplate.

Dished flexplate: Crank, flexplate, SPACER.
Flat (6.0) flexplate: Crank, SPACER, flexplate.

The V6 transmission will need to have the torque converter holes elongated to work with either flexplate.

Obviously the Gen III transmission doesn't require this drama because it's designed for the engine it backs.

Hope this helps.
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Old Apr 11, 2017 | 11:58 PM
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sorry to bring up a dead thread but will the harness plug right in? and I would just use the adapter I already have for my th250 and the flywheel that came with the 5.3? will I need the cross member from the rig with the 4l? will the drive lines fit (spline and length)? are the adapter motor mounts still needed?
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