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Okay before you all get your rage game on, I know this has already been asked however that guy had 2 trannys and was swapping parts from one to another.
G'day guys,
As the title states.
I've been offered a 6L80e at a reasonable price however it's out of a HSV(Holden Special Vehicle) which is a 2wd the buggy I'm building will be a 4wd. From what I've read the bell housings are different and the output shaft is bigger? My question is does, anyone either have the parts and are willing to sell(and ship to Australia(I can organise freight)), know someone that has the parts or most preferable option know somewhere that sells the parts.
(Buying a 4wd box instead of this 2wd box is not an option as I live in Australia which apparently means we don't have any of the 4wd boxes here, trust me, I've tried, for the past year and a bit.)
All replies greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Last edited by Living-instinkt; Aug 2, 2016 at 06:18 AM.
I went 6L80 4WD to 2WD.
I don't think the bellhousing is any different - very confident of this. You'd have to swap output shafts. The 4WD is shorter and just bolts to the transfer case. You will have to remove the tail shaft housing.
The output shaft is the first thing that goes in to the trans when you assemble. The clutch pack parts swap over but it is good time to upgrade or renew.
Make sure to use the the updated (post 2012) front pump. It is only about $120 on Amazon and resolves a shift flare issue and leaking pressure seals.
Must have been the tailshaft housing I was thinking about that needed to be replaced.
The box needs a rebuild anyway(hopefully just pistons) as it's flaring in 2nd and 3rd. Box is most likely going to have a bit of a hard time being in constant offroad use and I want this thing to be able to stand up and go and have 4wd with diff locks(obviously not at the same time...) and in sandy and muddy environments so don't think the OE friction packs will hold up so definitely think I'll have to go with a heavier duty friction packs also.
So really the only thing I'll have to buy is just the output shaft (and front pump)?
As mentioned, all you need to swap to 4WD is the tailshaft and adapter housing.
I don't know what flaring means but I've got a 6L80 in an ultra4 type buggy that I race with. I got it from a junkyard with unknown mileage. It is bone stock and it has held up well to around 400 crank HP. there are guys with way more HP than me racing with these trans', that only have O.E. rebuild packs and higher stall converters, and are not having any issues.
The trans is just beefy all around. it's almost as big as the Allison in my 3500 truck. I'm not worried about it at all.
You should be able to gets the parts cheap enough. Most people are swapping the parts so that they are going from the 4wd version to the 2wd version. I would suspect there are plenty of 4wd parts available.
I'd buy the seal kit, of course, and plan to replace 2nd and 3rd gear clutches and maybe some steels if they show signs of heat. I might speculate that they will show signs of heat, but am no expert.
The clutch baskets are on the output shaft, so you'll be a snap ring away from inspecting the sets of clutches and steels stacks.
Shawn who was putting a 5.3 into his Grand Wagoneer and has posted on this forum modified a 2WD 6L80 to 4WD by cutting off the tailshaft and adding the seal to prevent fluid from leaking into the adapter. Seemed simple enough and it didn't require taking the trans apart. I will try to dig up the thread.
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6L80e 2wd to 4wd. 
