Re: 4L80E as replacement
Like I said before once you blow up a few rebuilt 700s it makes more sense to look into a stronger piece for the sake of $$ and aggravation of R&Ring the trans if youre doing everything yourself. If you dont do your own work and pay someone to R&R then just one blown up 700 its a pretty big hit in the pocket book but if you blow up a couple 700s then you prolly just spent similar amounts of money than if you would have done the 80E to begin with.
Whats an average build cost for a syty trans now? $1500? $2500? How much does a shop charge to R&R that trans? $1k? Right there a non DIYer is already into a moderately capable trans for $2500-$3500 and youll still have to cross your fingers that it wont come apart every time you mash the gas.
Syclone#1992 said:
If you think about it:
Transmission:
~800.00 in the bone yard for a low milage late model unit around here for John Q Public and my buds at the salvage yards have quoted me the "good ol boy" price of $450 or 2-3k for a new/rebuilt unit from what Ive seen. Rebuild kits can be had from Transtar for about 180 bucks.
Bout a grand give or take but the popular 9/11 is right around that now so its not a huge jump in price for an 80E TC. The last unit for a 700 I bought was the billet/updated piece which costs 800 or 900 dollars (Id have to dig out my paper work to say for sure).
An aftermarket unit isnt cheap but I hear there are some smart ppl working on a set up to use a GM power train thingy and it will be very affordable for us mere mortals from what I hear. I dunno anymore than that about where its at in developement though.
You'll prolly need one of these sooner or later anyways and the guy that builds the replacements can make you a longer one for a couple bucks extra (I cant recall his name but Mike Cambell has one of his prop shafts so maybe he'll chime in).
~40 bucks at your local drive shaft shop or free if you are a DIYer (Ive shortened many).
While I havent actually done it (yet) Ive looked it over and it looks to me like its a simple matter of moving the cross member back and drilling 4 new holes in the frame for the mounting bolts. A competent shop could do that for 150-200 bucks Id think (prolly less).
Labor to install/fabricate:
This could get pricey IMO but on the other hand I wouldnt want any shops replacing the engine, trans, or doing just about anything else on my truck since practically no one knows what a syty is let alone how to properly work on one.
IMO an 80E install isnt for a novice DIYer by any means but if you can swap an engine and have a moderate amount of tools then the swap gets quite a bit cheaper. To me the control unit is the big bite in the wallet but Ive spoken via the net with some fellow gear heads that have used the Compushift unit (Ive spoken to the engineers via phone that designed/build it too) and those guys love it. Its not hard to set up, program, or use since the end users I spoke with are knuckle dragging/big carb/lumpy cam guys like myself not computer whizzes.
BTW, when speaking with the engineer about the compushift unit I asked about features including TC lock up at WOT in any gear etc, etc and every question I peppered him with was answered with "no problem the unit can be set up for that by the user". He wasnt a typical phone sales guy either because I could tell he was sharp and knew what was going on since I asked him electronic specific questions like current sinking capability, built in fail safety features, etc to which he had a correct and technical answer for each one. I spent prolly 45 minutes on the phone with the guy and get this....I told him at the beginning I was buying a unit second hand from another car guy. He spent 45min on the phone helping someone that didnt really put any money in his pocket so that says alot to me. You dont have to take my word for it just call em up and see for yourself.
Oh yeah would a stronger tranny need a stronger transfer case too? Something else to ponder upon, whats the weekest link after you have a 4L80E? Just trying to pick your guys' brains.
Very true that the next weakest link will be found but I can only recall a had full of broken xfer cases and those were from worn chains slipping or the viscous unit going bad causing the classic "the truck hops when I turn sharply". Relatively speaking Id MUCH rather have to swap a broken xfer case due to cost/hassle compared to broken trans' and so far the only ppl that have broken a rear diff
racing are going high 9s which a LOT of us will never see.
It really boils down to two things to me... If you have the budget to pay to have the swap done I doubt you will be sorry due to being able to just about forget about killing the trans and enjoy your truck or if youre like me and a decent DIYer you can do the install yourself saving quite a bit of money once the initial cost of the control/trans is swallowed then us low budget guys get to enjoy a durable trans for moderate cash outlay as well as doing a trans R&R only
once which also allows us budget minded ppl to put our scarce dollars into going faster (and poking fun at the big budget guys for being slower just for the heck of it too
).
Add up the $$$ for each trans+$$$ for what it will cost to install and see what the figures look like to you. After that do the same math but add in the extra $$$ (hypothetically speaking) should you break one, two, or (yikes) three 700s and then see if the totals are still lop sided in the 700s favor.
