Anybody With A High Mileage 6 Speed?

jro909 · December 3, 2010

Out of curiosity has anybody taken their 6 speed to above 100k? i'm trying to see if 6 speed lasts longer then the 4l60e

Matt_ · December 3, 2010

There are plenty of then out there with high miles in the escalades and denalis

They've been around longer than you think and are built to take much more HP and abuse than the 4l60e.

If the 4l60e lasted longer..... GM would have the old Rep of trans failures that Dodge had

KMGZ400 · December 3, 2010

i have been wondering the same exact thing. i sure as hell am hoping that this tranny has better liife then the 4L60.

music · December 3, 2010

I spoke with the main transmission mechanic at our local dealer last year during a visit. He's been doing it for 25+ years, and I basically asked the same question. His opinion was "seemed about the same to him". Interestingly, he said his next truck would be a 4-spd... "cause I like them better". He said nothing negative about the 6-spds, but he preferred driving (and the build of) the 4Lxx, probably biased by many years of experience with them. If things are "right" in either and you don't abuse it, you're going to see long service. If something "isn't right", then either is going to fail prematurely. I read somewhere that the 6Lxx units are assembled almost entirely by robots. If so, there should be more consistency in the build spec.

KMGZ400 · December 3, 2010

i would like to try out a 6 speed on the highway. not for fuel econ but to see how it is.

Bish · December 3, 2010

I've got 70K on my 08. I would say I beat on my truck pretty good and I have had no trans issues since the original reprogramming for the delayed downshift. On the highway, I tach at about 2000rpms at 80mph.

Stevens03 · December 3, 2010

I would have argued the 4--speed at one point, but no longer. It's just better in every way. 4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years. But, in the 4-speed, that point while driving where 3rd gear isn't enough, and 2nd gear is too much.... Well, the 6-speed doesn't have that spot. Just much better all around. I've also read that the 6L60e is alot "heavier duty" than the 4L60e but thats only going off what I read.

I'm a believer

MS3DALE · December 3, 2010

4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years.

I've been saying the same thing for years,I'm glad someone else agrees with me

Matt_ · December 3, 2010

I had 80k miles on my 4spd that was pushing big tires its whole life and never had an issue.

So I didn't mean to imply that the 4spd is "bad"... its a good transfer BUT they're also not known for lasting well over 100k without a rebuild. So that's why I said if the 4spd lasts longer than the 6spd, that'd imply people would be rebuilding the 6spds at or before 100k which we would hear quite a bit about. But that's not the case.

There's also a reason the vmax trucks came with the 4L70 over the 4L60.... and the 6L80 replaced the 4L70 with the higher HP engines; so the logic flows.....

5829BMG · December 3, 2010

I'm curious how it's going to hold up tuned. So far so good

Hoe-n-it · December 3, 2010

4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years.

I've been saying the same thing for years,I'm glad someone else agrees with me

Well I for one don't agree. I had an 02 Yukon that the tranny went out at 22k miles. Broke a sun shield/gear. At the time I did some research and found this was a fairly common problem. Fixed under warranty but I never trusted it after that and would always baby it. NEVER full throttle for the next 6 years I owned it. About once a month or so it wouldn't shift to first when stopped. Would start out in second and then downshift to first. Have the six speed now. I do hope it's better.

sshoureas · December 3, 2010

4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years. But, in the 4-speed, that point while driving where 3rd gear isn't enough, and 2nd gear is too much.... Well, the 6-speed doesn't have that spot. Just much better all around. I've also read that the 6L60e is alot "heavier duty" than the 4L60e but thats only going off what I read.

I'm a believer

I've had SEVERAL in GMC 1500 series trucks and never a problem with any of them. I guess I'm not sure what more I should expect than that ? I am anxious for a six speed though for the fuel economy though.

Stevens03 · December 3, 2010

4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years.

I've been saying the same thing for years,I'm glad someone else agrees with me

Well I for one don't agree. I had an 02 Yukon that the tranny went out at 22k miles. Broke a sun shield/gear. At the time I did some research and found this was a fairly common problem. Fixed under warranty but I never trusted it after that and would always baby it. NEVER full throttle for the next 6 years I owned it. About once a month or so it wouldn't shift to first when stopped. Would start out in second and then downshift to first. Have the six speed now. I do hope it's better.

Obviously there are bad apples. Sounds like you have trust issues.

MS3DALE · December 3, 2010

4L60e is a good trans and isn't as bad as people claim. I've never had an issue with one in many years.

I've been saying the same thing for years,I'm glad someone else agrees with me

Well I for one don't agree. I had an 02 Yukon that the tranny went out at 22k miles. Broke a sun shield/gear. At the time I did some research and found this was a fairly common problem. Fixed under warranty but I never trusted it after that and would always baby it. NEVER full throttle for the next 6 years I owned it. About once a month or so it wouldn't shift to first when stopped. Would start out in second and then downshift to first. Have the six speed now. I do hope it's better.

I understand your case,and that does happen.

I don't know how many GM vehicles you've had with the 700R4/4L60E tranny,But I'm basing my opinion on the fact I've had 9 trucks with the 4-spd. and not had any issues with any of them ('83 S10,'91 S10,'93 K1500,'94 S10 ZR2,& '94-'97-'99-'04-'07 K1500's)

And since I work at a dealership I even get to see some of my trucks after I sell/trade them,so even though I didn't put a lot of miles on some of them,I know how many miles are on them now,and know if there have been any issues...

'83 S10 - Bought used with 53,000 miles,no issues,sold with 86,000 miles,no idea where its at!

'91 S10 - Bought new - 48,000 miles no issues,I have no idea what happened to it after I traded it.

'93 K1500 - Bought new - 26,000 miles no issues,after that I knew the next two owners who bought it,last I heard years ago it had almost 100k on it w/no issues.

'94 S10 ZR2 - Bought new - only 11,400 miles w/no issues,I have no idea what happened to it either!

'94 K1500 - Bought new - 34,000 miles no issues,A buddy of mine bought it from me,and still has it to this day...85,000 miles no issues.

'97 K1500 - Bought new - 37,000 miles no issues,The last time I saw it in our shop years ago after I traded it it had 82,000 miles on it with no issues.

'99 K1500 - Bought new - 83,000 miles no issues,The last time I saw it a couple years ago he had over 150,000 miles on it with no issues.

'04 K1500 - Bought new - 29,000 miles no issues,The last time my buddy said he saw it down his dealership the people just turned 100k on it with no issues.

Finally I have just over 33,000 miles on my current '07 with no issues,Knock on wood!!

Hoe-n-it · December 3, 2010