Well, the motor will be here soon, so now I'm at the point of finding a good tranny at an affordable price. I found one here, and the seller seems to have good feedback aside from slow shipping. I don't care about that, as long as the product is worth it. Here's the link to the tranny

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=7912604655

Please take a look at the list of upgrades and tell me what you guys think about it.

For some of you guys that don't want to hit the link, here is the upgrades they list.

1-10 VANE PUMP -
you might ask why not a 12 vane well in test i have seen done the 10 rotor actually pumps more volume than the 12 the persistant thought is that the additional vanes simply take up more space in the pump but since the actual size or the area is the same theres less actual volume
2-MODIFIED LUBE CIRCUIT
as with most trannys the design is to use vented fluid from the preasure regulator to supply lube to the planetaries this is not a good idea since presure on coast can sometimes be quite low and the pr valve might not be in release mode ,thus under certain conditions such as coasting down a hill or full throttle run with let off and coast down the planets get no lube and even in a short time get very very hot so we modify the pr valve to allow bleed off to lube circuit at all times .
3-SONAX KEVLAR BAND
this band is 2.5 inches in width the stock is 2.25 this is a large increase in holding area in the intermediate drum in second and again in fourth gear .it also has a heavily reinforced band pin area to prevent pull though comon with agressive shifting performance trannys associated with the stock band .and everyone knows kevalr dosent mind getting hot !
4-RESURFACED 2-4 REVERSE INPUT DRUM
the drum the sonax band above rides on is machined for the 2.5 inch band the reason this must be done and many others dont we have learned, they try either a new drum or a pretty straight old one and in either case it wont work the reason being we have looked at new drums used a str8 edge on them and they are fine for the stock 2.25 inch band however gm never bothered to finish edges of drum properly and they raise but a few thousands at each end .THE problem the band grips the outer edges of drum first and then catches the center causing the band to be burned at the outer edges .so we machine all the drums in the super performance 4l60e transmissions and our MAX 700r4 trannys that use the wide band .
5- FINAL DESIGN 29 ELEMENT INPUT SPRAG
the is simply the strongest sprag that gm has to offer for either the 4l60e or the 700r4 if it dosent hold nothing will ,at present even the after market has nothing stronger .there used to be a product called the diode and it was stronger but was taken off the market due to durabilty problems they wouldnt break but they wore out rather quickly we used some that were wobbly in only 20000 miles
6-CORVETTE SERVO
this is the largest servo gm offers for this transmission and the one we prefer even over the after market billet servo ,the reason for this is its has the largest area while still allow proper release area for the band on the third gear shift ,you see the second gear oil is on one side slightly smaller applying the band while on the third shift the third gear oil comes in on the other side of servo and releases band ,they are at the same preasure ,the aftermarket billet servos have both sides the same size so you can see that if there are two equal forces working from each side over the same area the servo will not release or if it does there will be considerable overlap and although this dosent really affect the band much it plays havoc with the 3ird frictons since they have considerable less apply area /
7-9 FRICTION 3-4 CLUTCH SET
the stock 4l60e and the 700r4 come with either a 5-6or 7 friction third gear ,the 5 friction being most common in the 4l60e we replace this with and alto 9 friction set up accomplished using both thinner steels and frictions this increases the holding ability in third gear by up to 40 percent .also we enlarge the release oil passage in the valve body plate to get then out of the way in a suddden kick down to second for the same reason stated in the band section .
8-FORWARD CLUCTH
we use the thinest apply plate available to allow for the maximum number or frictions possible and we eliminate the waved cushion plate GM so thoughtfully included in favor of still another friction ,GM put this waved plate in to sofen the shift from neutral or park to drive making the engagement quiet pleasant this is not and issue to us we would rather have the holding power the forward clutch even though quite strong even from GM has to hold every bit of power you give in every gear except for fourth ,
9-THE BEAST SUNSHELL
the sunshell in the 4l60e as with the 700r4 was made very thin with only a tiny area of weld to hold the entire impact of both the 2nd gear and fourth gear shifts this done to conserve weight a few ounces .while it was fine for stock applications even then it failed when used for pulling ect regularly .the BEAST shell is specially redesigned its about 2x thicker and has a special bearing arangment to allow to a considerably thicker weld area and is considered to be up to three times stronger than than stock one it was made to take a beating
10-THE SONAX DUAL PISTON OVERDRIVE SERVO
the servo area with the heavy high geared load of the 4th gear is woefully inadequate for any performance use and GM knew that which is why to present date the 4l60e nor the 700r4 are capable of shifting to fourth at anything over 3\4 throttle and most half or less .
the sonax dual servo is 40 percent stroner due to the increased area of the extra servo ,and if your inclined the 4l60e with a chip mod in the ecm is capable as is the 700R4 with a different throttle plunger of full throttel shifts into fourth gear if your really wanting to go fast this tranny was built to do it
11-SHIFT KIT
our shift kit is actually a combo of superior and our own mods its built around the idea that performance is the priority and although it may not jerk your eyes out cruising you will definatly know its there and if you get on it and your like me WOW! .This is done with some springs and larger holes and increased line preasure and alot of other technical things to complicated to get into here
12-WE ALSO CROSS HATCH ALL OF OUR STEELS
this is done to improve holding and cooling by allowing some fluid to stay between frictions and steels while also increasing friction capabilities of these for greater holding .
13-ALL THE PlanNETARY GEARS WHERE THEY MEET A NEEDLE BEARING ARE SLOTED THIS BECAUSE WITH THE NEEDLE BEARING BEING A SMOOTH SURFACE AND THE PLANET THE SAME LUBE CAN AGAIN BE BLOCKED WITH THE SLOTS THIS NEVER HAPPENS AND THE LUBE IS ALWAYS THERE lack of lube kills more or these trannys than HP ever has

 

It sure seems like a deal to me...but the one you linked to looks like it is for cars???(not sure of the difference) but he has one for trucks for a bit cheaper!


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=7912492962

 

If you look at the info on the bottom of the write up, he says he does not have the tranny for a LS1 engine. Otherwise it looks rather tempting.

 

In his Ebay "store", it says that the truck trans is "available". Either way, it seems like a deal to me, although I wouldn't rank it with an FLP or Hughes, but both are much more money.

 

I've been keeping that place in mind since I've found them a few months ago. No core, warranty, free shipping, even though I could drive there without too much of a headache is a bonus. I gave them a call once and they seem to know their stuff. They know the 60e's aren't good for truck performance and suggested the 80. They said they had no problem honoring the warranty for a performance application. Maybe it's just salesman talk, but they'll be at the top of my list when I get off my butt and buy an 80e.

 

I wouldn't buy a 4L60E for a 6.0 setup.I'd start shopping for a 4L80E or at least a 4L65E.Even if the guy makes good on his warranty your installation costs really mount up.

 

The reason I'm opting for a built 4l60e is because i have the stall for the 4l60, they are considerably cheaper, easier to find, and its basically a direct swap. I really can't afford the 4l80 and a stall to go with it. As far as the tranny in the listing, I emailed him about the truck tranny, and he told me this one was for an ls style engine. I guess my question is, will the tranny for an ls1 not work on a truck application? That tranny was listed as an ls1 tranny. Thanks for all the input guys, and I do agree, the guy seems to know his stuff and the tranny price/free shipping with a year warranty is a pretty sweet deal! I also figured a built 4l60e would work for me, since I'm not going blown and will only be spraying "when necessary". But keep it coming guys. Tell me if I'm way off on my thinking.

 

Please note, this is only my opinion and was not meant to persuade or discourage you from buying this transmission. I'm only pitching in a different point of view.

OK, here goes:

12 vane pump? Never seen one. 13 is the standard updrage, but they are wise to stick with the 10, if came with one. '97 and later transmissions are the only ones I build with the 13 vane, because thats what it came with STOCK.

Kevlar Band? Kevlar has been tested against paper friction and carbon frictions in Torque converters and shown to have the LOWEST coeficient of friction. Kevlars "claim to fame" was great heat resistance. But what happens to the drum in these "high heat" scenarios where the Kevlar outperforms? IT WARPS. Your "wide band" is worthless w/ a dished drum. Stick with a band with a higher coeficient of friction and heat isn't an issue.


Resurfaced drum! When I do use a wide band (Alto Red), its never been wider then the stock machined surface. Removing material from the side of the drum reduces structural integrity and can lead to premature warping.

They are on the right track with the sprag, but there is more involved to prevent things like a 4-3 cutloose then just slap a new sprag in.


"the forward clutch even though quite strong even from GM has to hold every bit of power you give in every gear except for fourth" I have never seen a foward clutch burn up from "power". The ONLY time I have ever seen a foward clutch burn up is from a cracked piston. More clutches will not prevent burnup from a cracked piston. And the Foward clutches are still used in Fourth gear.

3-4 clutches. Alto clutches are GREAT, but for a clutch pack that constantly cycles (2-3 upshift, 3-2 downshifts) I feel there are better frictions out there. (Raybestos X-32, Borg Warner Hi-Energy) I only use the Alto 9's on cars that see mostly dragstip use.

 

Bernard at Team Tripp knows his trannies. He built and installed mine and it made a huge difference. Anyone with questions should direct them to Team Tripp. He will definately send you in the right direction.

 

i think the trucks use a different input shaft than the f bodies. don't quote me on that