what works ?

i want a sy ty

New member
what do you guys do to beef up the trannies in your sy/ty's ? ive been looking online at several places that have a "performance" kit that will handle up to 500 HP and 500 ft/lbs of torque. if tese dont work what will ?
 

dgoodhue

BuSTeD 4.3
Re: what works ?

i want a sy ty said:
what do you guys do to beef up the trannies in your sy/ty's ? ive been looking online at several places that have a "performance" kit that will handle up to 500 HP and 500 ft/lbs of torque. if tese dont work what will ?

One problem is a our truck can make 500ft-lbs of torque with a good tune just a chip. The other issue its not so easy to just say it will handle 500ft-lbs, it may handle 500ft-lbs in a 2wd Corvette, Additional Vehicle weight, good traction and the AWD with drivetrain losses add additional stress and heat to the transmission. Honestly the typical tranny shop who has a "Corvette outback with 500-600 hp" build usually can be broken with mostly stock stock SyTy. If you dig deep enough on this forum or on the old email list you will find a few experiences of tranny shops with warranty's voiding the warranty or telling owner to get loss after their unbreakable build is broken couple times.
 

JSM

Active member
Re: what works ?

i want a sy ty said:
what do you guys do to beef up the trannies in your sy/ty's ? ive been looking online at several places that have a "performance" kit that will handle up to 500 HP and 500 ft/lbs of torque. if tese dont work what will ?

Online + Tranny = all will break.

I would go as far as to say if the tranny guy you are dealing with doesn't own a syty, he has no clue on a 700r4 for it.

All the syty tranny builders that have had success also own a truck.
 

i want a sy ty

New member
Re: what works ?

thats the hard part. where i live i dont think anyone has a clue as to what these trucks are. i have a 86 c10 thats a daily driver with a 700r4 and ive got quotes of $1500 just to rebuild it ( stock tranny ) nothing special. if you look online at tranny shops they will sell you one for that price that has been beefed up. of course im not gonna beef up a tranny for a sbc but the point im trying to make is the shops around here are in my mind way too high in price.
 

i want a sy ty

New member
Re: what works ?

i have a serious problem with getting rid of my GTO for a truck that chances are im gonna end up blowing the stock tranny. how much hast obe spent to get a tranny that will handle what i can throw at it ? has anyone done a tranny swap in these to say a turbo 400 ? assuming it will bolt up.
 

George Blake

DONATING MEMBER
Re: what works ?

You will blow the stock trans if you drive it like you stole it.
If you get one built, it will hold up longer, but you will still break it if you drive it like you stole it. The 700 was meant to be a fuel efficient, lightweight model. th400 and 4l80e were designed to be abused.
You get a TH400 or a 4L80E, you'll NEVER hurt it unless you run it without lube or try to run it through a clogged cooler.
Also, if your looking for an unbreakable build and you are also putting a $1500 price limit on it, your kidding yourself. Guys will readily dump $12K in an engine and budget nothing for drivetrain. The drivetrains are what break on these things.
The only 700 I will build for a syty has cryo, reinforcements, and specialty components. Like the guys said, a syty just has the potential to put so much torque down, a "vette" build will not cut it.
 
Re: what works ?

Yeah, a good trans build will run you in the 2500 range and as long as you treat it right ti will last a long while and he good to you. But if you want ultimate bulletproofness, just go ahead and the fisrt thing when you get a truck is do a 4L80E swap and have it beefed up alittle at the same time and you will probably never break the trans and ony need to change the fluid evey 25K miles. It will cost alittle more, but if you want ultimate reliability its the only way to go.
 

SEL777

One of 101
Re: what works ?

HotRodV6 said:
But if you want ultimate bulletproofness, just go ahead and the fisrt thing when you get a truck is do a 4L80E swap and have it beefed up alittle at the same time. It will cost alittle more, but if you want ultimate reliability its the only way to go.

What is the expected cost of this swap for those who have done this already. Also the front and rear drive shafts need to be modified to accomidate the different trans length. Correct? Trans computer controller. Other needs I'm missing?
 

2kwik4u

Resident slow guy
Re: what works ?

SEL777 said:
What is the expected cost of this swap for those who have done this already. Also the front and rear drive shafts need to be modified to accomidate the different trans length. Correct? Trans computer controller. Other needs I'm missing?

here is what I've gathered to be the total "package" of parts you'll need.....I'm sure if I'm wrong, Jeremy and Jeff will chime in...proceed to berate me....and then post the right info.

4WD 4L80E from somewhere as a core
New Output shaft
Adapter plate to mount the transfer case
New Crossmember
Shortened rear Driveshaft
Lengthened Front driveshaft
Tranny computer
DRAC module to fix speedo (some trans controller have this I think...although not 100% sure)
Modified mount point for shifter cable
New trans "dipstick"
Torque Convertor (I don't think the stock 80E convertor will stall high enough for our application)

I think thats it......Although I'm sure I've missed something.
 

George Blake

DONATING MEMBER
Re: what works ?

$6200. Gets built trans including the core. Built meaning, 300M input, 300M mainshaft, alto reds and blues, forged hub, transgo HD 2 kit, 34 element sprag, + other little upgrades, cryo'd machined output shaft, sun gear shaft, input and main shafts, valvebody modifications, new separator plate, new electronics, dyno'd. Custom 10.5" torque converter(built for WOT lockup), special Gilbert front prop, JS manufacturing retrofit kit, and TCI computer. The converter gets dyno'd with the trans to make sure everything works. Only thing you have to do is have your driveshaft shortened locally(it costs anywhere from $50 to $100 to have it done and isn't worth the extra cost of packaging and shipping to do.)
Remember, this is for the guy that just dumped $10k-$15k in an engine that's putting down consistent 500+foot pounds of torque and driven like it does that.
I wish guys would do this part first BEFORE dumping a bunch of money into their engine and then leaving the truck sit for 3 or 4 years(I've seen it) because their owners get pissed at the truck. Or better yet, get the guy(they are reading this too) that has put money into 4 or more rebuilds at $1500 to $2500 a pop. That gets really old really quick.
If a guy calls me and asks for a 700, I'll tell him prices and what's in it.
What usually happens, is during converter selection, they tell me, it puts down 650 foot pounds and they plan on running 30 pounds of boost and plan on running low tens. That's when I explain to them that they need to go ahead and budget for the drivetrain and just baby the stocker until they are ready to do what should be done instead of just getting by while they wait on it to break. A 700 can be built up. I've done it, John's done it, Mike Lee has had them done, it can be done. You have to compare investment in building a 700 that you will break again and investing in a 80e conversion.

You want a 2wd 4L80E as a core. Some early and ALL late model 4wd 4L80E's will have NO reluctor wheel for the TOSS sensor. You can use one if that's all you can get but you have to use a sonnax reluctor wheel that presses onto the rear planetary.
 
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SEL777

One of 101
Re: what works ?

George, thanks for your input. At first I reacted like most DAMN a lot of $. But if I was like some here who want to invest a lot of money to get 2 tons into the tens then, I'll spend the money and build the L80E. But, for now as a DD I can't afford to spend 6G's on a trans. We did the trans for the wife's 99 Acura Intergra a few months back and it was around 4K (T/Y 75K mile extended warrenty) so the 6K bill may fly.
 

SEL777

One of 101
Re: what works ?

dgoodhue said:
One problem is a our truck can make 500ft-lbs of torque with a good tune just a chip.

I did not realize that either. That's awsome!! I need to get that chip and the 3 BAR ASAP.
 
Re: what works ?

George Blake said:
$6200. Gets built trans including the core. Built meaning, 300M input, 300M mainshaft, alto reds and blues, forged hub, transgo HD 2 kit, 34 element sprag, + other little upgrades, cryo'd machined output shaft, sun gear shaft, input and main shafts, valvebody modifications, new separator plate, new electronics, dyno'd. Custom 10.5" torque converter(built for WOT lockup), special Gilbert front prop, JS manufacturing retrofit kit, and TCI computer. The converter gets dyno'd with the trans to make sure everything works. Only thing you have to do is have your driveshaft shortened locally(it costs anywhere from $50 to $100 to have it done and isn't worth the extra cost of packaging and shipping to do.)
Remember, this is for the guy that just dumped $10k-$15k in an engine that's putting down consistent 500+foot pounds of torque and driven like it does that.
I wish guys would do this part first BEFORE dumping a bunch of money into their engine and then leaving the truck sit for 3 or 4 years(I've seen it) because their owners get pissed at the truck. Or better yet, get the guy(they are reading this too) that has put money into 4 or more rebuilds at $1500 to $2500 a pop. That gets really old really quick.
If a guy calls me and asks for a 700, I'll tell him prices and what's in it.
What usually happens, is during converter selection, they tell me, it puts down 650 foot pounds and they plan on running 30 pounds of boost and plan on running low tens. That's when I explain to them that they need to go ahead and budget for the drivetrain and just baby the stocker until they are ready to do what should be done instead of just getting by while they wait on it to break. A 700 can be built up. I've done it, John's done it, Mike Lee has had them done, it can be done. You have to compare investment in building a 700 that you will break again and investing in a 80e conversion.

You want a 2wd 4L80E as a core. Some early and ALL late model 4wd 4L80E's will have NO reluctor wheel for the TOSS sensor. You can use one if that's all you can get but you have to use a sonnax reluctor wheel that presses onto the rear planetary.


Ok, at first glance you see 6200 and think Holy Sh*t thats alot fo cash for a tranny. But its also the complete kit, all you have to do i get the stock rear shaft shortened and you have a virtually bulletproof setup that you can drive like you stole it and not worry about breaking things, especially if you upgrade the rear axle to an 8.5 unit.

If i had the money, this would be one of the first things i did to my truck, anmd once it the GT's back on the road and the Ty goes down for its own frame off this will definatly be one of the upgrades it will get.

You know what they say, Do it Once and do it right. And then you can also set all your shift points alot esier than adjusting the governor on the 700.
 

George Blake

DONATING MEMBER
Re: what works ?

Yeah, it's not just a tranny. The 4L80E itself is actually cheaper to build and has more 300M parts available for it than the 700. You can do everything to a 700 and still have the aluminum input drum to break and the little 29 element sprag to flip. That weak link doesn't exist on an 80.
That includes machining for the output shaft, cryo, computer, upgraded gilbert, computer with a base tune depending on what you tell me when I set up the converter which is also custom based on customer needs (cam shaft, boost, max rpm, etc). It isn't an "off the shelf" converter. This is everything. You open up the boxes and put it in. This isn't for everyone. For example, the front propshaft you open up and it has the upgraded hardened bolts, and a new front pinion seal. Myself and others came up with this after hearing guys complain for years...I mean years. Myclone was the guy that finally said "just do it". So we did. Also, if you source out the parts individually(you can do that)it will be much more expensive. I pass all savings along to make it more practical to do it. That's not a sales pitch. Call up everyone to get everything individually and see what they tell you.
 

nightdiver

Active member
Re: what works ?

what will be the total cost of two 700r4 repairs ? aprox 5K$ including a few upgrades and installation.
the 4l80 thing is that you forget about the tranny whatever hp youre getting out of the engine.
I bought the adapter kit and waited for my super 700r4 to fail. Well the tranny didnt fail but that was a 4K$ job. Still got the weak link and i never raced on slicks
 
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