Currently I'm right at 500 wheel with my 4x4 ecsb nnbs. I've been hammering on my trans pretty hard lately. It is the best that Transbuilderguy offers, somewhere around $4500. Looking back I probably should have gone 80 but I'm to far vested into this one to swap. 500 wheel and less I would still suggest a built 60.

 

Running your 60 or 65 in 4x4 or if AWD helps. Burnouts where you blow through first gear extremely fast like to centrifugal apply 3rd gear and burn the clutch's. That's not counting the physical size limitations of the smaller shafts.

 

I dont do burnouts. Anything under 40mph and im in 4x4. Oh my level 5 broke after 3K miles because the pump rotor exploded again. Its a plastic piece and known to fail with my transmission. I guess with an aftermarket stall the input speed sensor and output speed sensor read way different and the comp jacks the line pressure through the roof to compensate.

If i remember what transbuilderguy said it was something like this

input sensor sees 4500 rpm
output sensor sees 3000 rpm

so it jacks the pressure to try to bring those parameters closer which the stall is causing and it explodes the plastic rotor in the pump. Transbuilderguy sent me a new pump and billet rotor. Its been in and feels fine. Ive put hard miles on it and shes rocking.

A stock stall would not have such a huge difference in the speed sensors. which also explains why my stock stall/transmission never broke one. After I put the stall in is when i broke the first pump rotor.

 

So putting a built 60e (not a high dollar built 60e) behind a stock 5.3..or even mild camed isn't worth doing?.. seems like little more "hassle" to put a 80e in.. do they rob a noticeable amount of power?

 

I just finished my 4l80e swap today. I went with a 3200 stall converter and I'll tell you right now, that 2.46:1 first gear in the 4l80e is a killer behind a stock 5.3...1st gear in the 4l60e is 3.06:1. Shifting at 6000 rpm, the 4l60e was 48mph. The 80e is 58-59 mph. 2-3 shift at 100mph. A truck making power, the 4l80e is the way to go. But on a stock 5.3 or 4.8, I don't think you'll like the 80e unless you've got 4.11 gears or something.

As far as spending the money to build a 4l60e, I don't really know. It seems like most people say that 450+/- hp is about the stopping point for reliability in a heavy truck with a built 4l60e.

 

It takes skill to build a 60 correctly. And when you do you have to drive it smart. Anyone can throw an 80 together because it was meant to hold more power. It's the weight that kills the 4l60. You can put a ton of power to them in a lighter vehicle. My rig weighs 4500 with me in it, and I can't believe this 4l60 is holding up. I probably have $2500 in it. I build them myself. 4wd,4 drag radials, and over 1k hp crank. It's not magical. It's the right selection of parts and driving it smart. It drives and shifts like a stock vehicle when driven normally too. I hate it when everyone says put an 80 in it. They are not cheap at all. The converters are crazy expensive. For a heavy truck the 80 is the way to go. I have an 80 for my set up because it's not if,the 60 will fail, it's when. But 700 hp should be no sweat for a 60 and be reliable. If it fails get a different builder or quit driving it like an idiot.

 

Define "driving like an idiot"...

 

2 gear down shifts, repeated 3-4 shifts without any cool down. Towing without locking the converter at highervspeedd. Basically you need to keep the trans temps down. There are other things I missed probably.

 

^^^ i agree, i barely every let the truck down shift while i go WOT. I always manually down shift before hammering down then move the shifter up into 3 and let the truck shift as it should.

Im hard on my truck but I know when and how to be. Plus its built to take it. I have all the goods for a decent truck build.

 

Even RPM doesn't recommend a 4-2 downshift on their transmissions. It's just harsh.