still dealing with my drivetrain problems.....

[YukonRidin23]

alright everyone, you guys know i bought a nice 2dr yukon a couple months back. i didnt really have time to start working on it till this month. i dropped the transfer case, split it open and didnt see much wrong except 2 broking circle clips.... didnt think that these were causing the grinding noise. so i pulled the oil pan off the transmission and found a couple chunks of metal(not sure if there teeth or what). anyways, there was all new oil in the tc and the transmission, so im only left guessing what it looked like before they replaced it. so now im thinking of getting a new transmission as well as a new transfer case to go with it. figured nothing else can really go wrong if i put both in(knock on wood).

anyways, i was wondering about a 4l80e swap into my truck and if it was possible. i dont want to just throw a stock 4l60e back in with its aluminum gears just to have to go through this whole process again. i have long-tube headers, whipple supercharger running 6 psi, so its more stress on the tranny than there normally is. is this an easy swap, the reason i ask is because the 4l80e's need less upgrades to make them bulletproof because of the steel gears they come stock with. is this just a bolt on swap because im pretty sure the diesel tahoes come with the 4l80e. thanks for your patience please help me out asap, would like to get this done by the 29th.

 

[NYrr496]

Sorry, I'm not well versed in why or why not a 4L80E will or will not simply replace a 4L60E. I think it's an electronics issue because the trans bolts up. I asked about it for my truck and was told I could not... Anyway, look into a 4L65E. It's what all the new trucks have now anyway. It's the upgrade the 60 and it's supposed to be light years better. My 4L60E is upgraded with many 65 parts.

 

[wtowner81]

Trans-case replacement

Hey i just finished repairing my trans-case and thought I was in for a world of hurt before splitting it. I had the infamous grinding noise when in 4wheel from stop all the way up to 45 mph sounded like a socket was stuck inside the case. Long story short everything inside looked good except the final output bearing. It didnt look bad just a little worn, but replacing that 40 dollar bearing stopped the noise and actually helped as far as 4 wheel take off performance. Amazing what a simple bearing will cause. Check that out. As far as the tranny swap goes my father in law is a GM master tech and claims that the 4l60E with minor upgrades can also be bullet proof and about 2000 dollars cheaper haha. Anyway good luck to ya and ill find out what type of upgrades he talking about.

 

[NYrr496]

I'll bet anything he means the 4L65E parts. The only one that comes to mind is a 5 pinion planetary in place of the original 4.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

if you want info on the 4l80e swap send 95twintt a PM about it.

i had my 4l60E built up when it was redone about a year ago with a Racing high torque package and GM 5 gear planetaries, vette servos, better sprags, all sorts of crap. Had a guy me and my father know redo it on his free time. paid less than $2K to have it pulled, built and put back in. most of it was the new upgraded parts. (need to get ahold of him and see if he still has all the brands and list of whats actually in it)

theres a kit that was advertised from GM to upgrade the 4L60E to the new and improved 4L65E but after tons of searching online, through the trans shops, and dealers, it seems the kit doesn't actually exist anywhere.

if i would have known about it before my reverse was showing signs of going i would have done the 4L80E swap along with the 14 bolt rear end.

 

[YukonRidin23]

hmmm..... so the 4l65e just doesnt bolt in? i was reading about the swap and it said you just had to run 2 wires from the pcm to the tranny, and had the wiring diagram but it also seemed like there was alot of smaller things to do as well(programmer, brackets, etc..) i was looking at the 4l65e's before i posted this and was curious if they would bolt in. im prolly just going to end up rebuilding my transfer case, or taking it up to my buddies dealership to get them done(he works as a mechanic at the largest chevy dealership around baltimore area) and had the tech tell me he'll throw my trans in and my trans-case in for 50 bucks one day when there done everything else:so i might have to get my truck towed up there.

so is the 4l65e a direct bolt in or whats needed for it?

 

[YukonRidin23]

alright, what do you guys think about this one, i saw this and was also looking at a site called monster transmissions? my only question is, where can i get an overhaul kit and parts to beef up my transfer case?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200298388448&_trksid=p2759.l1259

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

no im not saying you can't buy a whole new 4L65E trans from GM, just saying the conversion to upgrade the 4L60E to the 65 doesn't exist.

if you want to take a chance on an ebay trans, go for it. when mine breaks, i have it towed 20 minutes down the road and it gets taken care of. where are you having it towed to for the ebay trans? just food for thought. (especially when the parts alone for my trans rebuild were more than that WITH the shop discount)

if you plan on driving your ride to its full potential i'd do the 4L80 swap out of a 3/4 ton truck/burb. you should be able to pull one out of a salvage yard and have it rebuilt for around the same price as a well built 4L60/ or a new 4L65

 

[YukonRidin23]

i would do the 4l80 swap, but i need this done quick, the second semester starts in 2 weeks and as of now this is my one and only ride left. im getting the truck towed up to jba cheverolet, the largest chevy dealership in maryland, and its owned by my best friends family, so im getting all my work done for free. he works as a tech, but hes getting the lead tech to do it one day after work, he said putting in the tranny and trans case should only take about an hour. also, if i do go through ebay, the tech is going to tear down the whole new tranny and check to make sure all the parts are in their. im working with a budget or else id go through pro-built. also, i think im just going to redo the transfer case myself, up at jba as well, just buy the master kit and rebuild it. anyone know where i can get my hands on tc kits?

 

[wtowner81]

Trans-Case

So what exactly is your trans-case doing? What problems are you feeling/hearing/seeing? Most of the time, shy of snapping a gear, you really dont need to do a complete rebuild on a trans-case. I know you said you need to do it quick, but in the same sense why spend gobs of money on something that didnt have a problem with it in the first place. Anyway, again just food for thought. I agree with above said statement about the EBAY tranny... Go with a reputable shop with a reputable warranty package. Being out 2500-3000 for a new tranny is alot better than 2000 with no backup plan and having to send the tranny back to make sure that it was a manufacturer defect and not driver/installer caused. Good Luck!!!!

 

[YukonRidin23]

Yea. I realize that and today I talked to the trans tech and he said it was most likely the trans case circle clips holding a bearing in. There known to break and give play he said. So tommarow he's going to go threw it and rebuild it all for $160. So that'll be fixed.

The only thing I'm still hesitant about is the trans oil pan had a chunk of metal in it that appeared to be a tooth or somethi g similar.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

when you get it all put back together you should look into the Mag-Hytec High Capacity Trans pan. Keep that new or rebuilt trans running nice and cool.

 

[YukonRidin23]

Well today I took my trans caseup to jba. The trans tech showedme what was wrong. The snap ring broke cause the shaft to have play and let 2 gears contact each other. Within 1 hour he had slapped in all the new rings, seals, and bushings on the fork and was ready to get picks up. Tommarw I'm going to slap it all back in and hope alls good. The only thing I'm curious about is this piece of metal I found in the trans pan. But for 150 dollars I got a great deal on the rebuild for only 150 under the table

 

[YukonRidin23]

alright, well these past three days i really got into finishing this truck and what do you know, its almost done. i have it off the jack stands now, the transfer case is back in, all new fluid in the front/rear diffs, trans case, transmission, new sway bar links. new black lug nuts, now i need to change the oil in my charger and it should be almost set. theres a couple small things to get, but besides that its great. she sounds very mean when coming towards you, you can hear it winding up, but hopefully tommarow ill get it registered and tagged and drive it up to get its new exhaust or atleast get the old one repaired.