TH400 or 4L80e. TH400 is as cheap as a TH350 and way more robust. 4L80e is as durable and has OD.
Which transmission??
- Thread starter Bullett801
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My preference is the 200 4R. It has a very large after market of parts available, a great gear spread, WOT up shifts to 4th and moderate weight.
The 4L80E is a VERY heavy transmission and either requires stand alone electronics or a manual valve body.
The 700R4 would be the last on my list. It has a poor gear spread for performance applications and it's survival at higher power levels is iffy. Weak points such as the sun shell and 3-4 clutch pack are also negatives for me.
Turbo 350 and Turbo 400 are both durable transmissions but lack over drive and you aren't getting a bolt on over drive unit such as a Gear Vendors for under 2 grand for either of them.
The 4L80E is a VERY heavy transmission and either requires stand alone electronics or a manual valve body.
The 700R4 would be the last on my list. It has a poor gear spread for performance applications and it's survival at higher power levels is iffy. Weak points such as the sun shell and 3-4 clutch pack are also negatives for me.
Turbo 350 and Turbo 400 are both durable transmissions but lack over drive and you aren't getting a bolt on over drive unit such as a Gear Vendors for under 2 grand for either of them.
If your looking for simple and easy go with the TH350 they are very forgiving
You can build a 700-R4/4L60E or 200-4R to hold lots of power by spending big money or you can buy a used 4L80E, slap in a recalibration kit, get a stand-alone controller, and call it a day. Buy once, cry once in either case.
That being said, the physical mass and reciprocating losses of the 4L80E are negligible especially with the later units - even more-so with some internal updates. The 4L80E comes with a huge sense of confidence and reassurance by comparison to the light-duty transmissions.
That being said, the physical mass and reciprocating losses of the 4L80E are negligible especially with the later units - even more-so with some internal updates. The 4L80E comes with a huge sense of confidence and reassurance by comparison to the light-duty transmissions.
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Couldn't agree more. The best thing I did for my truck was to stop throwing good money after bad on the 4L65E and put in a 4L85E. I shattered the output shaft, and the planetary gears were on the way out behind 400 HP in maybe 50k miles.
Motorheadmike nailed it. Sure, you could have a 200-4R built to handle the power... but how much is that rebuild going to cost you? And how much more will you spend in the future if/when it breaks?
On the other hand, you can just go grab a 4L80-E out of a junkyard Express van, knock off the mud dawbs, and bolt it into your car. Drop $600 on a TCI EZ-TCU controller and you're done.
On the other hand, you can just go grab a 4L80-E out of a junkyard Express van, knock off the mud dawbs, and bolt it into your car. Drop $600 on a TCI EZ-TCU controller and you're done.
Great info guys! i really appreciate all the opinions and advice. I am by no means a transmission guy. Im almost tempted just to put a 4 speed in the ****er and go with that.... but clutches tend to no agree so well with me!! LOL. Once again, thanks for all the input gentleman....
It will be far more expensive to convert it to a manual transmission than to build/swap any of the autos previously mentioned. All the parts needed add up fast.
Here is a late model (89) 2004R out of a Caprice for cheap ($100) in the MI area.
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