2 weeks ago the 4L60E in my dads suburban died. It had 150,000 on it, after talking to a bunch of rebuilders they all said one thing in common, the average life expectancy is 80,000. I checked around and the best deal I found was on a rebuilt 4l60e from GM, it has a 3yr/100,000 warranty which is a lot better than any trans shop I found, and the price is similar.

So is there anything I can do to help extend the life of the next trans besides getting a trans cooler and making sure the trans stays cool?
I don`t really want to pull the trans apart and put a shift kit in since that would probably void the warranty and is more work than I want to do.
I was looking at the B&M electronic shift improver, but then I found out all that does is increase line pressure which sounds like a bad idea.
It is a L31 old style 5.7L vortec suburban and it does not have a tow/haul mode.

 

It is not possible. The total amount of friction surface contact area in these transmissions is insufficient to give you more than 100,000 miles average driving. To get 150k out of one in a Suburban is nothing short of miraculous. He must drive very conservatively.

As it stands right now the friction material are probably used up. Those are expendable pieces. A shift kit will shorten shifts and make the friction materials last longer, but it takes a toll on the hard parts. For that reason, shift kits in a 4L60-E should be set up very mild. You don't want banging jolting shifts. A little quicker and more firm than stock is the target. Any more and the driveline will get so sloppy it will roll a foot and a half AFTER you put it into park.

 

I can`t say he drives it conservatively, it is the tow car and we use it to tow everything from small utility trailers to flat towing cars, plus last year we bought a 24` enclosed car trailer.

The trans that was in there now broke hard parts. It started slipping in first and within 10 miles he california rolled through a stop sign and as he stepped onto the gas there was 1 loud bang and we lost all forward gears. I think it probably cracked a planetary gear set.

I was hoping to find a way to make the next trans a little more durable since he will now be towing the big car trailer with it.

 

In a 94 Sierra I had 200,000 miles on the original untouched tranny. My dad drove it pretty conservatively for the first 140,000 then I pounded it for 60,000 miles. I do have that electronic shift controller, and thats it. Don't change the fluid. Ever.

 

get an FLT level 3... built stronger than stock and it will give you WAY more life...

 

You could park it and not drive it?
it would last long with time but no more miles.

Sorry i had to..

Get it built with some good parts and a nice tranny cooler..
Ive got 150k on my stock tranny and it just started to slip so i put a Superior Super Servo in and removed 100% TM

 

Granted its not a 4L60, but i guess its time to rebuild my 4T60e on my Pontiac, its got 155,000mi. And i know its never been done. (family has owned the car since day 1) I bet thats going to be a riot dropping a transverse mounted tranny out...


Oh and to keep on topic, my family still has a OBS 2000 Yukon Denali with 127,000mi's on it. And its 4L60 started acting up around 60,000 miles and its driven hard. So 80,000 i guess is a good number to go by.

 

I had looked into FLT stuff before, but I couldn`t find the prices. I found them and I might consider them if my trans ever goes bad, but I am picking up a GM rebuilt trans tomorrow. I was able to get it for less cash than the FLT level 3 and it has a 3yr/100,000 mile warranty. I would like a trans with stronger parts, but I can`t find anyone who has a warranty as good as GM.

 

I would say a cooler and a shift kit set up for firm, but not hard shifts is your best bet.

 

HAHA, Mine pooped on me @ 81K. I got a new not rebuild from the dealer for a 3yr/50K warranty. Tryin to blow this one now.