Higher stall converter

[Ehall8702]

Putting my "new" trans ( 115k )in weekend after next . What should I do before I put it in? Would a higher stall torque converter be useful with bigger tires ( 35s) ? Maybe a shift kit ( though I'm not a trans guy, if it's relatively easy I can do it) ? Already have a deep pan coming and am going to do front and rear seals while it's out . Of course flush the whole system and empty TC donuts all fresh juice. What else should I do with minimal budget?

 

[df2x4]

An S10 converter swap is a common mod that a lot of people seem to like. A TransGo HD2 shift kit will firm up the shifts nicely.

Honestly though, if it were me I would not spend any money trying to hop up a 4L60E. In my experience no matter what you do to them they will break eventually, and the less you mess with them the longer they survive. If you want to make it live for as long as possible I would think about maybe returning that aftermarket deep pan (I don't think they help much) and spending that money on upgrading the actual cooler. Does your truck have a factory AUX transmission cooler in addition to the one that's built into the radiator? If so you can upgrade to a larger TruCool M7B by trimming a little bit off of the factory mounting brackets and adapting the fittings. Here's a link to the how-to thread on that.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/how-to-factory-auxiliary-trans-cooler-upgrade.18104/

If you don't have a factory AUX cooler at all then you're definitely going to want to install something. The one built into the radiator is not enough by itself even for a stock truck IMO.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

^^^What he said. Keep in mind you want to match your TC to the power band of your cam. If you go to too high of a stall you'll reduce your low end torque and the engine will run out of RPMs. As @df2x4 said the S10 TC is popular because it will give you a little more stall and is about the cheapest way to go.

The best way to adapt for 35's is higher gears. Like going from 3.42s to 4.11s or 4.56s

 

[Ehall8702]

^^^What he said. Keep in mind you want to match your TC to the power band of your cam. If you go to too high of a stall you'll reduce your low end torque and the engine will run out of RPMs. As @df2x4 said the S10 TC is popular because it will give you a little more stall and is about the cheapest way to go.

The best way to adapt for 35's is higher gears. Like going from 3.42s to 4.11s or 4.56s

Gears are next in line, has 3.73s now still saving for 4.56s , already have sum 37s also.

 

[Ehall8702]

An S10 converter swap is a common mod that a lot of people seem to like. A TransGo HD2 shift kit will firm up the shifts nicely.

Honestly though, if it were me I would not spend any money trying to hop up a 4L60E. In my experience no matter what you do to them they will break eventually, and the less you mess with them the longer they survive. If you want to make it live for as long as possible I would think about maybe returning that aftermarket deep pan (I don't think they help much) and spending that money on upgrading the actual cooler. Does your truck have a factory AUX transmission cooler in addition to the one that's built into the radiator? If so you can upgrade to a larger TruCool M7B by trimming a little bit off of the factory mounting brackets and adapting the fittings. Here's a link to the how-to thread on that.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/how-to-factory-auxiliary-trans-cooler-upgrade.18104/

If you don't have a factory AUX cooler at all then you're definitely going to want to install something. The one built into the radiator is not enough by itself even for a stock truck IMO.

My thought process is deeper pan, more fluid, more time to let fluid cool . And I honestly can't remember if I have an aux cooler or not but I'll check and definantly get one. The deep pan was only $30 so it'll go on anyways just cause it is cheap, already have deep pan filter also. But I definantly will be adding a aux cooler ( upgraded one if it ready has one). As for the S10 TC, which year do I need to get and just out of curiosity, why?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Here's a calculator that may help...

https://www.tciauto.com/racing-calculators

 

[df2x4]

As for the S10 TC, which year do I need to get and just out of curiosity, why?

I've read that the '97 is the best year to get because they'll stall a little higher than the rest, around 2200RPM as opposed to around 2000RPM for other year S10s. Don't quote me on that though, I never did that swap as my red truck had a V6 from the factory so it was already equipped with a looser converter than the V8 trucks.

 

[brutpwr]

I like 4:88's with 35's and 5:13's with 37's...

 

[Ehall8702]

New trans is already in used converter from old trans ( flushed and emptied), put my 34.5x10.5-20s on that I cut for the winter. At 60mph ( gps speedo) rpms are at 1800, stock in my gf truck at 60 is at 2k . I can't see any reason to change gears yet, can't feel any power loss and doesn't drop out if OD on hills any more than a stock setup does so I'm gonna focus on other things I want to do to my truck and get to gearing a little bit down the road. Thanks everyone for the advice, will get sum 4.56 gears in maybe next summer.

 

[RichLo]

Trans Brake with launch control helps to get the tires moving faster....