4l60e Rebuild Question - I Know, Another

nubuilder · February 24, 2010

I'm looking for a donor 4L60E.

Here are the questions:

1) Can I buy a 2WD and just unbolt the extra tail section or is there more to it than that?

2) Can I buy an older (95-97) or newer (99-02) 4L60E and rebuild it with a 1998 kit?

3) Would older/new work in a 1998 truck?

4) What should I look for in a donor 4L60E (physically or whatever matters; almost everything would be replaced I think)?

When ever I do rebuild one, I'm looking at a Monster Transmission kit. Click here for details.

Any thoughts on this kit would be appreciated.

There are only 2 differences between the 93-97 and 98-02 kits that I can see:

93-97 has 10 vane Rotor Gear, Rotor Guide, and High Rev Kit; and 1 molded piston.

98-02 has 13 vane Rotor Gear, Rotor Guide, and High Rev Kit; and 3 molded pistons.

Thanks

uh6tdrvr · February 24, 2010

You cant just remove the tail section, the shaft is solid all the way thru. The shop i used was going to charge me 500 if i remember to change the stuff out from the 2-4wd and than didnt include any parts that would have needed to be swaped out.

As far as the the differences between the years, When i redid mine on my 94, i had a 96 2wd tranny and there were different inside stuff between the 2 of them. I bought my parts from Oregon performance Trans. http://www.oregonperformancetransmission.com/

He answered alot of my questions that i had even though I didnt buy many parts from him.

The link you sent looks like it has the good stuff from what i can remember. What is the difference between shops for installing the stuff. You might ask them that then see how much it would cost for them to get all of them parts.

nubuilder · February 24, 2010

OK, guess I'll stay away from 2WD trannys.

I'm mostly concerned with the interchangeability between years.

Can I use a 96-97 or 99+ 4L60E and use a rebuild kit for a 98?

This will be going into a 4WD 1998 truck.

Looking at the link in the original post, is there a part included in it to replace the reverse gear?

What else would I have to get to replace it (if I'm rebuilding it, I don't want to loose R in a few months)?

I wasn't planning on having a shop do it. I was going to do it myself.

I might have to have a shop replace a few things because of not having the tools.

nubuilder · February 25, 2010

Does anyone have a list of what the years and changes the 4L60E underwent?

I understand 1995 is a special year. A '95 can only be replaced with a '95 (was a transition year).

I think there is a difference in tailhousing bolt patterns too. The early ones were 4-bolt and the new ones are 6-bolt?

The main reason behind this thread is running across a '97 that needs rebuilding for cheap.

Can a 1997 be rebuilt with a 1998 designed kit and fit a 1998?

EDIT

93,94 then 95 by itself, 96-2007 (source)

The 1998 up 4L60E transmissions used a Graphite lock-up converter and the lock-upp mechanism NEVER fully locks it is controlled slippage usually about 60 to 100rpm's min.

The 1996-1997 used a carbon lock-up that is designed to slip then lock.

Stay away from 1996, they are junk. (source)

"Pertaining to the TCC Clutch material: starting in 1996, GM implemented a new TCC apply strategy. The 1996-97 trannys (exc 3T40), used a soft-apply (PWM) TCC strategy which was designed to soften the TCC apply so the "customer" would not feel it come on. This means that the PCM is actually making the TCC slip during apply. Only Carbon clutch torque converters should be used in 1996-97 trannys. You can use the carbon clutch TC's in earlier trannys that did not have PWM technology, however the lockup feel will not be the same. However, I have heard that these carbon clutches rarely burn-up or go bad. I have personally used the carbon filled clutch TC's on earlier trannys and the only experience I have witnessed with them is they apply firmer."

Then in 1998 up they use Graphite clutch material:

"Starting in 1998, GM revised the lock-up strategy once again only this time the TCC may never completely lock up and may always slip about 20-60 rpm, depending on the vehicle. This means that even the carbon clutch units would not work well for these applications thus GM started using woven-graphite TC clutch material. I have heard that the woven graphite TC's should not be used in any earlier transmissions because the lockup will not work correctly."

nubuilder · February 26, 2010

OK, I've been researching this some more on other forums and searches.

I'm now aware that 1997 was a case-change year. Some '97 are a 1-piece case and some are a 2-piece case.

I also read that a '98 is a 3-piece case. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

As of now, '95 and earlier WILL NOT WORK in a '98 for sure.

The unknowns are '96-'97 and '99+.

Does anyone have a list of what the years and changes the 4L60E underwent? Or know the interchangeability of them?

The reasoning behind all this chaos is wanting to be able to rebuild a tranny while still being able to drive my truck.

(I know, "just rebuild the one you've got now")

jblakeney · February 26, 2010

I'm looking for a donor 4L60E.

Here are the questions:

1) Can I buy a 2WD and just unbolt the extra tail section or is there more to it than that?

2) Can I buy an older (95-97) or newer (99-02) 4L60E and rebuild it with a 1998 kit?

3) Would older/new work in a 1998 truck?

4) What should I look for in a donor 4L60E (physically or whatever matters; almost everything would be replaced I think)?

When ever I do rebuild one, I'm looking at a Monster Transmission kit. Click here for details.

Any thoughts on this kit would be appreciated.

There are only 2 differences between the 93-97 and 98-02 kits that I can see:

93-97 has 10 vane Rotor Gear, Rotor Guide, and High Rev Kit; and 1 molded piston.

98-02 has 13 vane Rotor Gear, Rotor Guide, and High Rev Kit; and 3 molded pistons.

Thanks

Alto clutches and bands are good stuff....... Every transmission I have built has got them (very limited # of them I might add all of which have been ford's). I have never purchased from monster trannie thou, I have seen them on the power block on spike on a show.

Couple things that come to mind. You need a pre-LS1 case. The bell housing should not unbolt from the transmission case and should not have the center top bolt. Anybody feel free to chime in on the cases. That came from the way BACK cells in my brain. I had a run in with a 4L60e and 4L65e replacement once before dealing with a customer but it was around the time that the new case with the removable bell housing came out.......

I've heard the sprag and sun shell are 2 BIG PROBLEMS... Always put a new harness in.... Especially if the thing is older than a year or 2.

Jbo

nubuilder · February 26, 2010

From what I've read so far, 1997 was a mix of 1 and 2 piece cases. So by '98 they were 2 piece. I'm still trying to find out if '98 went to a 3 piece. I think they may have called it a 3 piece because of the main section, bell housing, and lower bell housing cover. Unless there is some other way OR the 2-piece design had this 2 piece bell housing, this must be the "3" piece setup.

Basically I can't find '98-s used around me. There are a lot of '97 and some '95 (which is weird in itself for the year) and I ran across 1 2000 or newer one.

Any help on '98 compatible 4L60E's ('96-'97, '99+) would be much appreciated.