Can a th700r4 be made cool(ish)?

Can it be done? I have a mild Ls motor that Im replacing a 4.3 that's swapped into a rig with a transfer case adapted to it. It would be a monumental pain in the ass to swap in a different tranny, so here's what it would do ideally. (I hate autos, so I know little about them and want this to be the least auto it can be)

1) shift firm, I want the shift over with, but livable.

2) handle an Ls motor with a cam and breathing mods, in a 3500lb rig that gets abused

3) have paddle shifters that shift when I ask it to

4) keep the torque converter locked up whenever possible. Maybe so it doesn't act like a slush box in anything but 1st? if thats possible.

Look up Hurst Lightning Rod shifter. It'll never be cooler than that.

1 yes. 2 yes but needs rebuilt with stronger guts eventually. 3 no. 4 kinda.

honestly, get a 4L60E with your LS. it'll bolt right in place of your 700r4, your ls computer will control it, you can control the solenoids with flappy paddles if you know how to wire it, and it's already got all the updates that one would want to do to a v6 700r4 to hold the power better.

it's really not a monumental pain in the anything. it's just an updated electrically controlled 700r4. with no TV cable to bugger up.

patgizz wrote: 1 yes. 2 yes but needs rebuilt with stronger guts eventually. 3 no. 4 kinda. honestly, get a 4L60E with your LS. it'll bolt right in place of your 700r4, your ls computer will control it, you can control the solenoids with flappy paddles if you know how to wire it, and it's already got all the updates that one would want to do to a v6 700r4 to hold the power better. it's really not a monumental pain in the anything. it's just an updated electrically controlled 700r4. with no TV cable to bugger up.

I wonder if it'll be a problem that its got a different output shaft to adapt it to a non chevy transfer case? Anyone know if that shaft will work in a 4l60e?

700r4 only has electronic control of the tc lockup- all shifting is done via hydraulic sorcery that is managed by the tv cable.

4L60e is when they went to electronic controls- the "e" stands for "electronic"- and ditched the tv cable.

i've had this fantasy of making an H pattern shifter to operate a 4L60e without a computer.. you'd need to put the gear selector in "D", but then all shifts would be done via switches mounted to the shifter handle.. i have seen that some teams in LeMons/Chumpcar have shifted GM electronic automatics with switches on the dash or steering wheel without any electronic magic boxes, but i don't know how well it works or how durable it is..

So am I correct in thinking that a 4l60e can handle all of the requirements and is the same enough to use my output shaft/transfer case setup? Who is the place that sells e36m3 to make that happen, tci?

Naming the tcase, spline counts, etc. would be helpful. This is a married tcase?

The 700R4 can be built to handle a ton of power. Phoenix Transmissions builds one that will handle 700hp. As for the paddle shifter setup, someone does indeed make one.

I want to know more about makeing your own push button shifters for a 4l60e. I've just never found the info im looking for to diy it.

sesto elemento wrote: So am I correct in thinking that a 4l60e can handle all of the requirements and is the same enough to use my output shaft/transfer case setup? Who is the place that sells e36m3 to make that happen, tci?

i believe 700r4 guts will fit in a 4L60e case, if that's what you are asking... but it would probably be a step backwards, since they incorporated a lot of ongoing upgrades over the years.. they also did change the flange on the back of the main case where the tailshaft or transfer case adapter bolts up from 4 bolts to 6 sometime in the mid 90's...

For the most part (with modest changes over the years), a 700r4 is externally identical to a 4L60E.

Either one will handle the abuse. Quality rebuild, upgraded valve body (or shift kit) and you'll get what you want. The 4L60E has a computer control to modify shift firmness by controlling the pressure. The problem you'll find is that WOT shifts won't really get firmer, they'll just be firmer during part throttle. The reason is, WOT defaults to full pressure anyway. The limiting factor is with the available pressure. Valve body mods will be required to get firmer shifts at WOT.

A common upgrade to shift quality and firmness is the Corvette servo. Worthwhile. External mod, $20.

And, quite literally, get a cooler. A big one. Not one of those "tube and fin" deals, but a real one. I had a $30 trans-go shift kit installed in the 700R4 in my wife's 'Burban, and put in a 18k lb rated cooler. It barks tires on WOT 1-2 shift and I've towed a few cars with it. I do leave it out of OD when towing, though.

Am I mistaken in remembering that a lot of the offroad racing guys build 700R4's for their rigs?

Most off road race trucks are Turbo 400 3-speeds with no lockup and a manual valve body. I'm sure there are some 700r4s out there too, though.