How to Buy a Used Transmission: 4L60E & 700R4 

Thank you, Kevin and great tip! To piggy back on that, the 2009+ units have a blue and tan plug which can distinguish those units from previous years' black and tan plugs. Thinking I will do a follow up video on changes through the years for the 4L60e and get into more detail how to distinguish between the three main vintages and interchange rules.

You're welcome and thank you for watching, Doug!

Thanks, HMG! Appreciate you watching!

You're welcome!

Hey man, thank you for the kind words...Unfortunately the '04 unit won't work as is. Pump, input shaft and torque converter are all different and the later 300mm style 4L60Es are not retroactively compatible with Gen 1 SBC/BBC architecture. You will need to find a 1998-2000 4L60E in good shape to swap in.

Hi Harold, thank you for watching...I had to google that transmission so no, haven't worked on it and it's outside the scope of what I typically take on. But based on your description of the symptoms, sounds like it has to come out for correction/re-work. Sucks but don't beat yourself up or get discouraged as most people in general (not those that sub to/watch my channel) don't have the nerve to try and build their own transmission. If nothing else, it's a learning experience that will serve you going forward. If you want to be sure it's really the transmission, plug in a bi-directional scan tool and watch the transmission and torque converter live data streams. If the transmission control module or PCM is commanding a shift to 4th but either it doesn't shift or makes lots of noise then eventually shifts to fifth, that would indicate a mechanical failure inside the unit.

Hi SPG, thank you for watching! I do rebuilds for customers however don't ship transmissions...Please reach out to me on NastyZ28.com via private message and I may be able to assist you depending on how close you are to me (I don't give out my location on RU-vid at this time).

Hey Jay! Welcome to the channel and thank you for watching!

Thanks, man!

Sorry to hear Dixiewells; unfortunately places like that are everywhere...I don't know of anyone in particular you can do a core exchange so I'd try to find a reputable salvage yard or auto parts recycler in your area or locate a good torque converter rebuilder and have him simply go through it making it like new again.

As long as you have the correct ext housing which will bolt to your tcase, you should be able to interchange. Dimensionally they're identical and nothing is differerent command/control wise between 1996-E2006.

@@nickstransmissions Thanks! What about the torque converter? Are they interchangeable?

You're welcome, James. TCs will interchange but id buy a new TC and drop the pan on the replacement transmission, check all solenoids with a DVOM and replace the filter. Also your 97 prob has a shallow pan-put the deep pan fr the 98 on the 97 so you have a little more fluid capacity. Thanks for watching!

@@nickstransmissionsThanks. I will match the 97 Suburban tranny to my 98 tahoe. Which TC to buy to match to the 97 tranny? Do i buy the TC match for the 97 suburban or the 98 Tahoe?

James, sorry - didn't see this...The torque converter is the same for both of those years for those vehicles.

Hi d5oper, if you have a Gen 1 small block engine (i.e. 5.7L instead of 4.8, 5.3, 6.0, etc) you want to stay with the one-piece case, 298mm design as the 300mm design is not compatible with your engine. You'd need to swap the pump, 300mm input shaft in the drum and Ls bell housing over for their Gen 1 small block counter parts. Not worth the effort; if you're going to go through all that you should just rebuild your transmission. I'm going to do a follow up video in a few weeks that goes through the specific vintages, changes, compatibility, etc for all 4L60Es so will address this particular type question there as I see it a lot on internet forums, etc... Thank you for watching!

Thanks I am in northern Illinois,where is your shop located ? Also would a two piece case up to 1999 with the 298 mm shaft work? 298000 miles on my current one just looking for a core to get started on. Thanks

If it's 298mm design then all other things equal, it should work. You will have to bolt it up to determine if everything lines up and drive shaft doesn't need to be modified. If it's a 4x4 unit, your existing one-piece case uses four extension housing bolts while the newer designs use six so your T-Case adaptor won't work with a 6-bolt design. There may be other adaptors that could work but in the end, you're taking on a lot more risk then reward by trying to shoe horn an otherwise non-conforming design into your car or truck. I'll go back to what I said earlier - find a 1996 or 1997 model year case for your swap that otherwise passes the checks as outlined in my vid and you should have a decent chance of getting it back on the road.

Thanks for watching, Best Western. Grab the output shaft and then spin the input shaft...If you can spin the input shaft without the output shaft trying to force it's way out of your grip, it's fine. It may want to turn a little bit and that's due to the frictions/steels in the forward and 3/4 clutch pack being laden with fluid so it's normal. But if it feels like it is 'locked' to or with the input shaft, that would indicate either a massive gear train failure or perhaps insufficient clearance in the forward clutch pack (or a welded forward clutch). Hope that helps...

Hi, thank you for watching Geo. Check your rooster comb/detent roller relationship to confirm you're actually engaging the parking rod onto the pawl. Perhaps the selector-to-rooster comb nut inadvertently came loose...

You're welcome, James...What was your front end play measurement?

@@nickstransmissions Nick, almost nothing. I can turn the shaft by hand but can barely get the shaft to budge up or down.

What was the end play measurement? When you assembled the case, upright on the stand, you put a dial indicator on it to measure the end play - what was that measurement?

@@nickstransmissions About .005". I have to tug to get that.

Ok, remove the pump and two drums then remove the forward drum's front thrust bearing and the selective spacer underneath it. Look at the number on it and measure it's thickness. Whatever that measurement is, find another washer that is .012-.015 thinner and install that thinner washer. Reassemble and recheck. The higher the number stamped on the spacer, the thicker the spacer. Look for a spacer that's two numbers less. For example, if you have a spacer with a "71" on it, look for a "69".

Hard to say as I build a variety of transmissions for a variety of applications but in 10 years of doing it, I have yet to have one come back because it wore out. Thank you for watching, Harold.

You're welcome, man - thank you for watching...The answer to your question is 'No', not without a lot of adaptation and only certain years can be adapted to 1995 spec. 1995 is a stand-alone year from a command and control perspective so the pump, valve body, harness (factory harness, anyways), separator plate and 3-2 control solenoid are all different from the 96-E06 units. I'll be doing a follow up video that walks the viewer through all of the vintages of 4L60E and go into detail about what years interchange as is as well as what must be done to adapt certain year transmissions to work with otherwise incompatible year vehicles... It is worth noting, for the benefit of anyone else reading this comment, that all 2009 model year vehicles must use 4L60Es from 2009+; nothing older will work...Likewise, all 2008 and back cannot work with a 2009+ 4L60E. There is no amount of adaptation possible to make either vintage transmission work with the other vintage of vehicle.

@@nickstransmissionsthank you for the quick response.

You're welcome, Hot Rod.

Hi @aviabramovich8359 - Thank you for watching.. Sure, go ahead and ask; I'll respond when I see it.

Did you install the SK700R4 Jr or SK700 (i.e the 'Senior' kit)? If the latter or their reprogramming kit, they include a lot of instructions for full manual control and/or gear command in the Senior and Reprogramming kit so I'm wondering if you may have inadvertently made an error, if in fact that is the type of kit you installed. If you installed the SK700JR kit, then the cause is elsewhere, possibly with misplaced check balls for manual low or perhaps some of the valve body bolts are loose.... Please reply here vs starting a new comment so we can keep everything in one place...Thanks Avi!

@@nickstransmissions I used the SK 700- JR -B .it works well for some time and then it start doing it. in D1 it is shifting good 1,2,3,4 no problem.

Did you do a pressure test after installing the shift kit? If so, what were your pressure test readings in manual low and 2?

@@nickstransmissions no i didn't do it yet , I'm still trying to find where the problem is.

Id start with a pressure test - it's possible you're not getting enough line pressure to the manual low and 2 positions for whatever reasons, usually cable geometry or adjustment...When it comes to 'TV-based' transmissions, you always want to start with a pressure test upon reinstallation into the vehicle or whenever you drop the valve body for any reason.

Depends on how they are built but I'd say a max practical limit would be 650-700 HP and that's assuming your budget went balls to the walls with billet parts and other required mods to support that horsepower level. GM builds a 'Supermatic' 4L75E that they sell as an OTC alternative to the 4L80E for high performance applications with a focus on resto-mod vehicles that won't physically accommodate a 4L80E without enlarging the tunnel. Thank you for watching, Michael.